Vodou Alé (Les Disques Bongo Joe) is not simply inspired by the ritualistic archetype that is voodoo, in fact, it is the perfect antidote to this esoteric paradigm of the Haitian tradition. Native to Haiti itself, Chouk Bwa are first-hand practitioners of the vodou faith of west African descent, their music...
Tag Archives: Afro-Haitian
On Sunday, we will host an intriguing musician at Hootananny. Rio de Janeiro-born but Lisbon-based singer/songwriter Marcos Aganjù has recently released his first full-length solo album titled Plantation Sons, which is an in-depth musical excavation into the African diaspora. In Marcos’ compositions, the Atlantic crossing becomes a route of notes...
Brazil, Haiti and Western Africa; these are the three founding elements of Marcos Aganju’s music; elements that the Lisbon-based Brazilian guitarist and technology researcher mixes, hybridises and allows to grow together with electronica and hip-hop to create a cultural and rhythmic crossing through the Atlantic Ocean. You can join him...
Not your usual Friday night… On 4th October, head for The Post Bar in Tottenham for a night of “love and war” messages. Brazilian singer/songwriter and guitarist Marcos Aganju, visual artist and educator Dally Schwarz, and London-based DJ collective Bombotropics will feed you with food for your thoughts and sounds for your...
For the 16th year running, Joyful Noise will breathe African music deep into London. We don’t usually like to generalize or put different music in the same basket, but one of the best traits of the London African Music Festival is its all-embracing character, highlighting the richness and diversity of...
One of the absolute highlights of WOMAD this year came in the form of a little-known Haitian rocker called Moonlight Benjamin. On Sunday evening, she delivered 45 minutes of enthralling voodoo blues, filled with guitars, powerful drums and the richly textured voice of Moonlight Benjamin herself. The result was an...
The Republic of Haiti was founded as a utopian ideal. Haiti meaning ‘country of mountains’, its name in homage to the native Taíno who developed the revolutionary culture alongside maroon slaves that led to the victory that was the Haitian Revolution. Haiti’s liberator and first emperor Jacques 1er did not...
From the depths of Haitian raisin mizik to the electronic ones… We are pretty excited to feature “Electric Mambo“, the first single & video from Chouck Bwa’s new project released with Brussels electro duo The Ångstromers. Together they reinterpreted the Voodoo tradition enriching the already high-flavoured Afro-Caribbean rhythms with modular...
Rasin music is Haitian Vodou music (drums and bells forming traditional rhythms, accompanied by traditional lyrics sung in service to a Vodou spirit) shaped into commercial art. It takes on a multitude of shapes: modernist, postmodern, folklore, according to the times in which the music was produced and marketed. In...