The new single “Cold Island” from London’s only alternative hybrid rap, dub/ska and punk rock band D-Kel & Los Bandidos has just been released today! This group with a wide variety of musical styles consists of rapper and bandleader D-Kel, Barker, Alfie Unsworth, and Ryan Paul-Henry Sainsbury.
The members of the band met thanks to their common passion for the same styles of music, and the will to create up-tempo sounds, with, from time to time, some lyrics in Spanish.
What’s great about this innovative group is that they don’t care about genres. They’re inspired by a lot of different artists and styles of music and they don’t want to obey certain codes of music that might exist. They just mix the styles of music that they like in their sounds and it works very well. This fresh new music also allows them to attract a very varied audience.
D-KEL is inspired by artists such as Roots Manuva, Slaves, The Beat, The Specials, Jamie T, The Streets, Calle 13 and Tego Calderon. He is also inspired by Latin America where he grew up, which explains the Spanish lyrics at times.
About “Cold Island,” the band wanted “something with the sort of attitude you’d get in a grime song whilst sonically being rock and guitar driven”. Watch the video below:
#Peace.Love.ColdIsland
