Kinetic Mas invites all to its Celebration

It felt like a well-stocked house party. It was clear many of the people gathered at the Kinetic Mas bandlaunch on August 10 knew each other. Many came with friends and coolers in tow, forming subsets of the larger lime.

Unlike the launches of mega-bands like Tribe or Yuma, the smaller space at Alberto Street, Woodbrook, was more intimate. The DJ played tunes like the late Winston Soso’s I Don’t Mind and the late Black Stalin’s Black Man Feeling to Party, which added to the nostalgia of the event in the old house converted into a mas camp.

Those attending, too, got an immediate view of the costumes.

The band's 12 sections blend creativity and innovation with the traditional wear and symbols of regions that include Africa, Asia and Europe. Its Monday wear is a short, kaftan-like top with colourful borders and a red beret.

For the band, this was another step toward the revival of "spectator mas," said co-bandleader Gerard Weekes.

By "spectator mas," Weekes meant costumes which tell a story and express creativity in intricate and detailed designs.

Weekes said the current concept of Carnival was changing and Kinetic was one of the bands leading the charge.

The band grew out of Ann Marie Placide’s Jus Wee and Friends, Weekes’ Mas Passion and Peter Samuel, who came out of Peter Minshall's camp – Samuel was king of Minshall's band eight times – and also had his own bands, he said.

“By us merging together, we are really making that statement that we want to return to that level of Carnival which is what we call spectator Carnival, which draws people to the table, draws people out to see what we present.”

He said there was a lot of discussion around "Participation Carnival," which means people interested in simply partying and which included the use of beads and bikinis.

But Kinetic Mas wants to tell a story.

“We continue to depict real mas. We continue to depict the elements of tapestry, culture and all that goes with it,” Weekes said.

That is why its 2025 presentation, Celebration, is a continuation from its winning 2024 presentation, Yokoso.

“It brought all of the elements of culture in different regions. We chose Japan out of last season’s presentation. That depiction brought us to the whole concept of 'celebration,' where we felt we needed to take that whole concept and take it regionally. Now we went to 12 regions.

"So Celebration really makes Trinidad Carnival the land of celebration.”

The presentation gives an open invitation to all of the world’s cultures to converge to the point of celebration: Trinidad and Tobago.

Each costume does not speak of a specific country but is a fusion of cultures and designs from a specific region like Asia, Weekes said.

While spectator mas might attract a more mature audience, Weekes said a younger market was also interested in it, particularly people in the creative arts industry. Co-bandleader Samuel said younger people in the arts were more interested in spectator mas because it gave them a change to design and action their ideas.

Weekes said it helped with the design development, as spectator mas did not box them in and allowed wider use of material and creative design.

“They did not have a stage to present themselves or to do it (create spectator mas).

"About ten per cent of our demographics tend to fall off each year because of ageing and different life challenges. But what we are now looking toward is finding that market, that younger ten per cent, that wants to come into this type of mas.”

While he said the band had to orient its designs to a younger market, he also said it was never going to get into the market of the Tribes or Yumas: that was an industry in itself.

“But we are hopeful that our little twist of our costume styles would encourage those who are wanting and willing to do it to come to our realm,” he added.

The band hopes its use of young designers fresh out of the University of Trinidad and Tobago (UTT) would help in this regard.

Kinetic Mas’s philosophy of using unrecognised designers led the band this year to the doorstep of Sheldon Warner, who designed five of its 12 sections. The band plans to go after even younger designers to get what it is looking for, Weekes said.

Whether it stays in the medium category or shifts up to a large band depends on the registration process, Weekes said.

“If our numbers do go beyond the stipulated number of 750, it will be in the large band category,” he said.

In 2024, the band was in the medium category because of numbers; and with a short season, economically, not many people could immediately come up with the money. At the August 10 launch, interested players were given a discount for registering on the night.

The band is hoping in 2025, because Carnival is in March, people will have time to amass money, because there are two months after Christmas to get organised, Weekes said. Kinetic mas costumes range from $3,800 to $5,000.

The band would love to be a large band next year, he added. The turnout at last Saturday’s launch suggested to Weekes that this is possible. He thinks its winning streak will draw more people to it, too.