Krosfyah

Approximately ten years ago four friends, Mike, Edwin, Felix and Tony, from the lower income, Clapham area of Barbados, grew tired and frustrated about their lives as musicians. As part of the group Higher Level, they toured the Gold Coast hotel circuit of Barbados, playing mostly a selection of cover tunes, which bored them tremendously. They wanted a change. As Michael, the leader of the group states. "Here we are, four guys who loved to play music and planned to make a living out of it. But we were tired of playing covers. We wanted to play more original material. Whether it was, reggae or soca, whatever, we wanted to find our way."

In an effort to maintain their sanity, the guys took a leap of faith and abandoned ship. Gone was Higher Level. Gone was a steady paying gig. "But we knew we could do it," says Edwin Yearwood, lead singer, " we immediately got a gig to play for New Year’s Eve at the Discovery Bay" one of Barbados’ leading hotel on the West Coast. Soon they were regulars again, playing covers and "folk songs" at some of the most exclusive properties on the island’s Gold Coast, "selling tourists the Bajan way of life – for amusement". Although that stint afforded the band an opportunity to sharpen their skills and develop their musical identity, they were not happy with the road they were travelling.

However, their popularity gained momentum throughout the island, the group Crossfire was the hottest name around. They were nominated to represent Barbados on a promotional tour of neighboring Trinidad. This promotional tour was the Tourist Board’s effort to woo other Caribbean folks to come to Barbados for Crop Over, the annual festival held on the island in August. It was 1993 and Crossfire was hot, not only did they rip up Trinidad, the land of Calypso, they delighted the massive and crew with their potent blend of soca and reggae.

Although they emerged successful from the trip to Trinidad, the group still yearned to play original music but was trapped in a commercial cycle of covers. They immediately withdrew from the circuit and went into a self-imposed exile, to reassess their musical mission. This experience evolved into a spiritual transformation for the group, losing members along the way. However, the founding members, Mike, Edwin, Tony and Felix, were always constant, sharing similar perspectives on the mission of Crossfire.

Upon emerging from their self-imposed exile, the group embarked on a mission to broaden their national profile and appeal. Their rebirth came in the form of a stylistic spelling change to the word Crossfire. As Felix offers, "In Barbados, we don’t speak proper English so we decided to spell our name the way we pronounced it – hence, Crossfire became "krosfyah"." krosfyah, spelt with a common "k", represented the different personalities of the founding members. krosfyah would represent their musical vision for the next millenium. They set to the task of penning and recording original tracks.

In the latter part of 1993, the newly reformed krosfyah released their first single "Hot Tempo" with that release came a new funky image. This release heralded the new sound of krosfyah. A sound that would generate a long line of successful songs, both regionally and internationally. When the band emerged on stage their exuberance was magnetic. Their high energy affected everyone in a spellbinding manner. The appeal was definitely aimed at the younger audience who immediately embraced the new krosfyah. From their hip-hop style of dressing in high boots and baggy clothing, to bright colored bandannas tying up baldheads or covering funky dreads, krosfyah appealed to their audience visually. From their hybrid sound to their high-energy stage presence, every krosfyah performance became the Ultimate Party.

www.krosfyah.com