Ewald Krolis

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 kaseko, calypso, soul, merengue and reggae earned Krolis a residency at the local Torarica Hotel's Saramacca-bar. In November 1975 he joined the exodus to the Netherlands after Surinam became an independent state. Krolis settled in Rotterdam where he formed Caribbean Combo as both the lead vocalist and the conga-player; the other members were his brother Robby, John Kembel, Iwan Tjon Akon, Lesley Leeflang, August Cabenda and 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; it's B-side Mi Kanto Ma Mi De Ete (Fallen But Not Defeated) became one of Krolis' best-known songs. Pop radio-station 3FM took notice by 1985 and invited Caribbean Combo for a live-concert; only few other kaseko-bands achieved this. 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 September 22, 2006 in a hospital in Rotterdam's Dijkzigt-area.

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