Babaliah Loves Haïti


First mix of Haïtian music. 70's Konpa from the mini jazz era. Sometimes latin, sometimes psychedelic. Always groovy and soulfull. The melody can be by sax, guitar or organ, and in a lot of bands, those leading instruments share the leadership. But what became obvious to me when, step by step, Haïtian Konpa became one of my favorite musical style, is the alchemy : How is it possible to find such a unity in both ruthmic and melodic sections. Of course there are killig chorus, but the way the guys can switch from one rythmic/melodic pattern to another as if they were one, with such natural team reactions, is amazing. Another thing that I learned to love about Haïtian 70's konpa is the way haïtian bands sometimes choose to claim their musical (cultural) identity by choosing this rythm, sometimes for really mellow love songs, although they show off in the intro of their tracks their huge skills to play the toughest kind of funky african-american music... I call it "art faussement naïf"