Rhythms of yesterday and today's music to rediscover Haiti with Wesli
Wesli © Randolph Graham / Wes Wup Urban Productions
07/29/2019
From his dive into the historical heart of Haiti and its traditions, Wesli has reassembled the material on which his fifth Rapadou Kreyol album, rewarded on both sides of the Atlantic, is based, on which he enjoys interfering borders, in time as in space.
With this particular sound of local vuvuzela, the kone beats the reminder, relayed after a few seconds by the powerful choruses that respond to the solo singing of Wesli. If the Haitian singer has Nèg Dahomé opening his album, it is in reference to some traditional voodoo ceremonies that begin with this rhythm.
The effect is as striking as it is immediate. The last possible resistances give way under the blows of the drums and notes égrainées by an unexpected kora, but welcome. The emblematic instrument of West Africa highlights the Mandingo heritage which, along with other influences of the sub-region, is part of the ancestral culture of this half of the Caribbean island - and which James Germain had also recalled by recording in Bamako in 2010.
Haitian identity
For Rapadou kreyol , referring to raw cane sugar fermented preserved in a bamboo and used for example " to sweeten coffee in the morning, " Wesli wanted to highlight the Haitian identity or rather help safeguard a heritage endangered by the increasingly " urbanized " approach to music in Haiti.
He, who has been living in Canada since 2001, returned to his homeland to visit " these places of voodoo culture " that are these backyards called lakou dahome, lakou congo , lakou soukri ... " Our parents have always said that if we wanted to really find the soul of our culture imported and exported from Africa, it is in these lakou-there that we had to go, "he recalls.
On the spot, he listens to the houngan and the mambo (masters and emcees) to explain to him these songs which are not in Creole, but testify to the survivals of the fon, yoruba and ewé languages spoken by the slaves torn from their continent.
Then comes the valorization of these multiple rhythms and songs with historical dimension. The success of Rapadou Kreyol lies undoubtedly in this field, avoiding the reefs on which many projects with noble intentions are smashed: some because they have remained too close to traditions to reach a public other than confidential, the others because they have gone too far and gone astray ...
Plurality and coherence
Wesli has found the ideal distance, which he knows moreover vary according to the 21 tracks of the album, which gives the whole a form of plurality without harming its coherence. Sometimes, the work on the voices gives relief to the percussion, as on Ayizan or Legba , the last piece which thus respects the worship rites. Sometimes, the artist seeks " similarities with other cultures ", and enriches these links, to the point of losing all conventional reference and to inscribe his song in a frame without boundaries. Thus Morisdezo , a folk rhythm (twoubadou) with these funk brass, his Latin piano, his rap, his unrestrained accordion ... Or Lole Lole , somewhere between Haiti and Cape Verde, with his irresistible turning on which arises a beautiful melodic line.
Distinguished in his country at the last ceremony of the Juno Awards (equivalent of the Victoires de la musique) in the category Best album of world music, and elected "Coup de cœur" of the Academy Charles-Cros in France, Rapadou Kreyol has allowed its author to take a new step. He can measure the impact, especially in terms of touring. That of 2019 promises to be dense, on the North American territory, but not only. In total, Wesli will be on stage this year in a dozen countries, including India and South Korea. Surely a first for a Haitian artist.
Wesli Rapadou Kreyol () 2019
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By: Bertrand Lavaine
Wesli
World Music - Haiti - album
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