Gerry D’Mello, Bendore
Daijiworld Media Network - Toronto
Toronto (Canada), May 19: After a long and patient wait by the Konkani music lovers in Canada, the great young composer, singer and a ‘Dream Boy’ of Konkani music and songs, ‘Kenna..Kenna’, ‘Thembe..Thembe’, ‘Thiji Yaad’, ‘Hi Jeenne’ and ‘Thujem Rupnnem’ fame Kevin Misquith finally landed in Canada on Saturday, May 18 for his maiden performance in North America. The conqueror of a song lover’s heart Kevin Misquith, is the star attraction for the ‘Kalasaanz’ programme this year to be staged at the ‘Meadowvale Theatre, Mississauga’, one of the prestigious theatres in Canada on May 25.
Max Mendes, the dynamic president of Canara World Foundation Inc (CWF), informed Daijiworld, “We are extremely excited and proud to host such a unique music show in Canada with Kevin’s singing that will surely create a history in Canada. His maiden performance will open a new door to an exciting entertainment arena in Canada. This event will give a great opportunity for Konkani Music amateurs to showcase their ability. The members of the organizing committee have worked very hard to plan this magnificent event”. He was highlighting the programme details of ‘Kalasaanz’, an event that Canara World Foundation presents often to showcase the talents of Canarite immigrants in Canada.
The following are the visions of Canara Kala Saanz (CKS) programmes:
* Bring the Konkani origin particularly the Mangalorean community together.
* Provide a platform and an opportunity for local talent to perform (singing, dancing, acting etc.)
* Promote, propagate and provide an authentic dose of Konkani
* Support Mangalorean artistes by giving an opportunity to come and perform in Canada
* Recognize the educational and leadership qualities of community youth
* Recognize the contribution and achievements of leaders who through their selfless acts devote their time, talent and expertise for the betterment of the community
* Help the newcomers to integrate by providing them a platform to showcase their talents and also enable them to network with others during Kalasaanz shows.
For those who believe that Konkani music fails to attract today’s youth, Clive Kevin Misquith is certainly an exception. When the common catchphrase, we often hear these days is “Konkani music has no future”, this young lad is not just attracted but has taken a plunge into the Konkani music field with remarkable success. Today, Kevin is a well-known name in Konkani speaking households which goes to prove beyond doubt that Konkani music does attract youngsters. The arrival of Kevin on the scene along with his music band “Milestone” has been like a breath of fresh air with newness in Konkani songs and music apart from introducing new genres of music, new style and freshness in its live on-stage performance and presentation. Having taken Konkani music both as a hobby and as a passion Kevin has become the bridge between the music practised by the likes of Konkan Kogull late Wilfy Rebimbus and the new generation of musicians like him who want to have fusion of Konkani music with jazz, rock and pop to make it lively and appealing. With nearly 50 live musical shows in a span of eight years to his credit it looks as though Kevin all set to rewrite the history of Konkani music in his own inimitable way.
Born on January 19, 1987, in Manama in Bahrain where his father was working, Kevin spent his childhood there. His mother Violet is a homemaker and he has a young brother by name Keron Misquith. Following the gulf war the family returned to Mangaluru and settled in Surathkal. His early exposure to music was through the songs aired on Doordarshan and by listening to cassettes at home. His father Elias Misquith was fond of listening to songs of Wilfy, Rafi and Mukesh, his favourite artistes and Kevin got an opportunity to listen to them. This early exposure kindled his taste in music and he fine-tuned it by learning guitar and classical vocals. “This formal training has given me a sturdy foundation in music and its intricate aspects”, says a soft spoken Kevin.
Kevin had his early education in Surathkal and then joined St Aloysius College for his college education. The college atmosphere provided him the right kind of spur he needed to take Konkani music to a higher pedestal. In college Kevin and other like-minded budding musicians got together and started a music band comprising amateur musicians. The exposure, feedback, interaction with budding musicians and regular practice moulded his talent to a considerable extent. It proved to be the foundation on which Kevin the musician emerged. And now there has been no stopping the Kevin juggernaut from rolling. “The exposure I got through the internet media also has broadened my horizons exposing me to music of various types, different genres and variety of languages from different parts of our country and the world. This wide exposure has certainly moulded me as a musician. My lyrics, my compositions and the songs I perform and sing are all an amalgamation of the best of what I adopt to add flexibility and freshness to my music,” he explains.
Having made his debut at a teenager at 17, Kevin is now sitting pretty with 30 musical shows held in different parts of India and almost 5 CD’s to his credit. With few more shows scheduled for this season Kevin is moving in the right path in his goal of keeping the legacy of Konkani music alive and kicking.
Kevin has been able to find a strong base in Konkani music by being ‘different’ and his overt enthusiasm and loads of talent has perfectly complemented his endeavours. Being innovative is one of the secrets of his winning the hearts and minds of music lovers both young and the old alike. The high octane energy which the band exudes in all its live performances is quite palpable and it has succeeded in winning the hearts of a cross section of Konkani music lovers.
Kevin started his music journey with the release of his debut album ‘Rupnem’ in 2004 at the age of 17, when most teenagers don’t have even vague idea what they want to do with their lives. The encouraging response to the CD emboldened him and he came out with the CD titled ‘Tuji Yaad’ in 2007 and with that he showed that he was not a ‘one CD wonder boy’ but is here to stay. 2008 saw Kevin coming out with his third CD ‘Hi Jeen’ and this album was nominated for the Global Konkani Music award and ended up winning the best lyricist award. 2008 also saw another milestone in his music career as he made his debut with his live performance at Don Bosco Hall, Mangaluru.
It was his fourth CD ‘Thembe Thembe’ that gave Konkani music lovers a gem in the form of songs announcing to Konkani music enthusiasts that Kevin Misquith, the singer, composer, lyricist and performer had arrived in a big way. Having realised that quality literature is a major embodiment of music Kevin experimented with lyrics established poets and new genres of music to come out with a winner in ‘Thembe Thembe’, one of the most popular albums of recent times.
In 2009 saw Kevin reaching another high point when he formed the music band “Milestone” with co-founder Ashwin Sequeira and since then this band has successfully staged several musical programmes. Recently i.e on December 14, 2014, Kevin held his 30th musical show, the first Konkani musician to reach that magical figure in a short span of six years. Kevin and his band has delighted Konkani audience with their foot thumping and zestful performances, that includes genres like soft ballads, disco, pop, rock and folk fusion. He has taken Konkani music aficionados into a totally new world of melody with a wide array of music. Kevin’s USP is that he took the risk to experiment with a distinctive blend of music and lyrics. This was a calculative risk which no other Konkani singer dare experiment. But Kevin took it as a challenge and has come out a winner only to strengthen his position as a trendsetter who brought freshness to Konkani music.
The year 2014 has been particularly successful for Kevin Misquith and he wants to sign off the year by releasing his 5th CD titled ‘Ek Geeth’. Like his 4th CD Thembe Thembe Kevin believes that ‘Ek Geeth’ will create quite a flutter among music lovers. It was indeed a mature decision on his part to pack his music with lyrics of reputed poets that can add value to his music. “I realised that my limited vocabulary was not adding enough worth to my music. Recently I started using lyrics of Cha Fra, Melvyn Rodrigues, Wilson Kateel etc., and that impact is reflected in my songs in his last two CD’s.”
Kevin Misquith was received at the Lester Pearson Airport in Toronto by the members of Kalasaanz-2019 organizing committee led by Max Mendes, the president of CWF who is also the main sponsor of the event. Upon his arrival, he spoke to Daijiworld. Here are some excerpts:
Q: Kevin, do you have any training in music & do you think it is necessary for Konkani singers to have training in music field to strengthen their base?
Kevin: No, I do not have any formal training in music, my passion for music itself is the driving force for me to make good music. Definitely yes! It is always better to have formal training, it will help you to better your work.
Q: Any family background/anyone in the family in music field?
Kevin: We are a family of music lovers but no one has a musical background.
Q: Do you have any role model singer in Konkani? Who is your favorite singer and composer?
Kevin: The one and only great Wilfy Rebimbus. I will not be able to name a single artiste as favourite as I have a few on list whose music always inspires me, various artists have inspired me in different ways. In konkani Wilfy Rebimbus undoubtedly my favourite composer.
Q: Where do you see Konkani music in the next two decades?
Kevin: It's difficult to answer this question considering the current scenario of independent music, with high piracy, no sales of music and konkani music having to completely depend on sponsors for it survival things don't look promising. Unless there is a revolutionary change on how music is marketed for all industries like konkani, things look difficult.
Q: Name one song of yours which you admire.
Kevin: There are a few, Kenna Kenna is one among them.
Q: What are the future plans or where can we see Kevin in Konkani music field ten years from now?
Kevin: I just want to keep singing and keep making music and go with the flow, I don't have a target as to where I should reach in ten years’ time. I just want to keep on moving with my music.
Q: Any chance of trying your luck in music of other languages?
Though I believe music should not have any language barrier, as of now I do not have any plans of producing music in any other languages.
Q: Your future plans!
Kevin: I do not have any long term goals, as said above I just want to keep singing and making good music. But speaking about near future I am currently working on putting together my 50th concert. So far I have presented 48 concerts, the 49th will be coming up in Canada and after that I shall be working on presenting my 50th concert. I am also trying to finish my album Chalath raav which I had announced almost a year back but still unable to finish it, I am working on finishing it.
Q: What was your feeling when you landed on Canadian soil for the first time?
Kevin: I am excited to be here, I am happy that Konkani music has brought me this far. I am grateful to Max Mendes and his team of Canara world foundation for giving me this wonderful opportunity.
Q: What is your message to your fans in Canada?
Kevin: To the Konkani music lovers in Canada I would like to once again invite them for the concert on the 25th May. I am sure that it will be a different experience. Be assured that you will get the best on the day.
After the thrilling success of ‘Wilfy Nite’ in 2005, 'Claud Nite' in 2008, 'Henry Nite' in 2009, 'Melwyn Peris Nite’ in 2010, ‘Claud Nite’ in 2011, ‘Local Artistes’ Nite’ in 2012, ‘Wilfy Nite in 2014’, ‘Local Artistes’ Nite in 2016 and this year I must say that the Konkani music lovers in Canada are highly privileged to have in their midst this great music star Kevin Misquith accompanied with Gulf Voice of Mangalore (GVOM) title winner Morvine Quadras and A Man with An Soulful Voice Jeevan Vas to be held on May 25 from 1.00 pm. onwards at the Meadowvale Theatre, Mississauga. Konkani’s A R Rahman in Canada Joyson D’Souza will be the music director. In addition, Canada's 'Comedy King' Flavian Pinto and Santhu-Monthu fame Santhosh D’Souza and Ronald Monteiro are all set with their rib-tickling jokes to send the audience to peals of laughter. This music extravaganza is going to attract Konkani music lovers in large numbers and undoubtedly will be a historical show.
The ‘Kala Saanz’ will be a veritable feast to the ears, eyes and minds of Konkani lovers. It will be a unique experience one cannot afford to miss.