Chronique no. 35 | Chronique Index
One of my favorite bands recently produced a new CD, and even though the material is not new, the music sounds as nice. Magnum Band Live, Volume 1 showcases a style of Konpa that only André (Dadou) Pasquet and his crew can play. While you should not expect to hear any new tunes, the live recording provides a different feel. The music was recorded during a tour in Guadeloupe and Martinique from June to August 1999. The songs on the album are so well written that I never tire of listening to them. Dadou Pasquet’s style of Konpa is unique and readily recognizable among Haitian artists. His melodies are quite sophisticated and I have always liked the way the horns sound, the offbeat phrases which add nuances to the melodies. Some of my favorites are featured : Courage; ansanm, ansanm; Pa ka pala; Confiance. All nine tunes on the CD are nice, though. The music is very precise and you can feel the musicians' ease with their instruments. Dadou Pasquet has a quite distinctive sound on the guitar, and among Haitian guitarists I can easily tell him from his peers. When he plays, you discretely hear each note, with amazing precision! Listen for example to the guitar solo on tunes no. 6, Paka pala, and no. 8, Confiance, and you will hear what I mean. He has what I consider a very percussive style, when he literally hits a string of notes. I do not know of any other Haitian guitarist with this kind of sound.
Another characteristic of Pasquet is that his lyrics make sense. They are not flat as a pancake. They are as important as the melody, something which seems to be at the lowest scale of concern for too many other bands.
Again, the music is not new, but if you are a Magnum fan, you should add this album in your collection. The recording and the mixing are very good, and supported by an excellent cast of musicians.
A few years ago, he took the Haitian music world by storm and for a while, was "the reference". Then, he faded away, still producing, but not nearly as dominant. However, he seems to have rebounded with this latest CD, Map Ba ou. Larose and Missile 727 are sending the message that this is a new sound. Indeed, he has slowed down his Konpa rhythm somewhat and it sounds pretty good. The beat is tight, steady and disciplined. The horn section with two trombones, a trumpet and a tenor sax, sounds very powerful. I like the way the drum, cow bell and conga fit in tightly to provide steady support to the music. This is your basic, classic Konpa Dirèk.
Larose has not lost his touch in one area : he always uses his music to send a message, and this CD is no exception. Right from he start, with Tune No 1, Hommage à Nemours, he raises an issue that no musician before him had: While it is nice, he says, to pay tribute to Nemours Jean-Baptiste, the creator of Konpa Dirèk, his family should also be given recognition. It is nice to recognize the man, but he left behind a family who has to be taken care of and he hopes that Konpa musicians will get together to help them.
Larose is another musician who shows that he pays as much attention to the lyrics of his music as to the melody. Whether he sings about love, a social issue or anything else, his lyrics make sense and they are nice to hear. Listen to Tune No. 6 , Ambition, or Tune No. 8 , Lè ou vle, for example. I wish songwriters from younger groups would emulate him. The mixing on this CD is also good, all instruments sound clear. This CD is good dancing music, the type of Konpa you will dance to without getting tired. It should be a nice addition to your collection.
Ska Sha #1 Plus (Version Arsène Appolon) also has a CD recorded in October 1999. It is important to specify which version of Ska Sha, since there are so many of them. In any case, Arsène Appolon, one of the stalwarts of the Ska Sha sound, maintains his reputation as a good Konpa musician. This time, he teamed up with a group of musicians from Martinique and Guadeloupe and it sounds good. This is a solid Konpa CD nicely directed by Arsène Appolon. You will not find any particular surprise, but it is steady Konpa. You will hear some Ska Sha tunes from other albums , an adaptation of « The Fugees » song by Arsène Appolon and this classic Ska Sha Tune « Caroline » sung in Spanish. This is a nice interpretation. You can sense that our fellow musicians from Martinique enjoyed the music. You also find among the supporting musicians this excellent sax player from Saint-Lucia, Luther François who is as much at ease playing Kon pa or Jazz.
Tune No. 7, Medley 2000, is a nice potpourri of Ska Sha Konpa. In short, a nice dancing CD. So if you like Ska Sha and Arsène Appolon, then add this CD to your collection.
Serge Bellegarde