Ewald Harold Krolis (16 May 1947 – 22 September 2006) was a

Suriname Suriname (; srn, Sranankondre or ), officially the Republic of Suriname ( nl, Republiek Suriname , srn, Ripolik fu Sranan), is a country on the northeastern Atlantic coast of South America. It is bordered by the Atlantic Ocean to the north ...

kaseko Kaseko is a musical genre from Suriname. It is a fusion of numerous popular and folk styles derived from Africa, Europe and the Americas. The genre is rhythmically complex, with percussion instruments including skratji (a very large bass dru ...

-singer and percussionist.

Biography

Krolis started singing at a young age; he formed The Rhythm Makers with Bertje Tjin A Kwie, André Stekkel and producer-to-be Stan Lokhin. Their repertoire of

, calypso,

soul In many religious and philosophical traditions, there is a belief that a soul is "the immaterial aspect or essence of a human being". Etymology The Modern English noun '':wikt:soul, soul'' is derived from Old English ''sāwol, sāwel''. The ea ...

, merengue and

reggae Reggae () is a music genre that originated in Jamaica in the late 1960s. The term also denotes the modern popular music of Jamaica and its diaspora. A 1968 single by Toots and the Maytals, "Do the Reggay" was the first popular song to use the ...

earned Krolis a residency at the local Torarica Hotel's Saramacca-bar. In November 1975, he moved to the

Netherlands ) , anthem = ( en, "William of Nassau") , image_map = , map_caption = , subdivision_type = Sovereign state , subdivision_name = Kingdom of the Netherlands , established_title = Before independence , established_date = Spanish Netherl ...

after Surinam became an independent state. Krolis settled in

Rotterdam Rotterdam ( , , , lit. ''The Dam on the River Rotte'') is the second largest city and municipality in the Netherlands. It is in the province of South Holland, part of the North Sea mouth of the Rhine–Meuse–Scheldt delta, via the ''"N ...

where he formed Caribbean Combo; the other members were his brother Robby, John Kembel, Ricardo Tjon A Kon, Lesley Leeflang, and August Cabenda. They were often joined by Ramon Laparra who went on to lead his own band Master Blaster. Caribbean Combo signed to Unice Records, an independent niche-label, and released their first two singles (''Merie Mie'' and ''Mie Ne Meri Deng''; packed in near-identical sleeveworks) in 1977. A debut-album followed in 1979; ''Switie Bamaro'' consisted of ten new recordings including cover-versions of The Blues Busters' ''Wide Awake In A Dream'' (translated in Surinamese) and Eddy Grant's '' Say I Love You''. Throughout the first half of the 1980s, Krolis released 12-inch singles such as 1984's ''Mie Lobi'' which came out on Mirza Records; its B-side ''Mi Kanto Ma Mi De Ete'' (''Fallen But Not Defeated'') became one of Krolis' best-known songs. Pop radio-station

3FM NPO 3FM is a Dutch rhythmic CHR radio station controlled by public broadcaster NPO. The vast majority of the songs played on-air are rock, alternative, indie and pop, though dance and Mega Top 30 tracks may also air at times. History As Ra ...

took notice by 1985 and invited Caribbean Combo for a live-concert. In 1986, Krolis got involved in a car crash that left him disabled and practically deaf; he secluded but managed to record one more album; ''Biegie Famier' Mang'', produced by Lesley Leeflang and released in 1995 to positive reviews. Plans for a follow-up album never materialised; Krolis died on 22 September 2006, in a hospital in Rotterdam.

Biography

References

Further reading