Kompa - Haiti Observer Blog

Mickael Guirand stepped down as lead singer of the popular Haitian group Carimi, citing personal reason. The note states: "I will take my distance from the scene as lead singer Carimi". The decision became official on Wednesday (12/2/15). Mickael Guirand, who spent over 14 years as lead singer of Carimi said that it was not an easy decision,

Haitian Kreyol:

Mickael Guirand rale yon kite sa! Li demisyone kòm chantè plon nan popilè ayisyen gwoup Carimi, site rezon pèsonèl. Me sa nòt la di:.. "Mwen pral pran distans mwen nan sèn lan kòm chantè plon nan Carimi" Desizyon an te vin ofisyèl nan Mèkredi (12/2/15) Mickael Guirand pase plis ke 14 ane kòm chantè nan Carimi. Li di ke se pa te yon desizyon fasil.

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Saturday May 18, 2013, the streets of Downtown Miami came alive with the singular Haitian musical beats of compas. A musical style with its beginnings well over a century ago, compas (kompa, konpa) took over the Klipsch Amphitheater at Bayfront Park with its sonorous beat and piercing, often provocative lyrics. The celebration took place on the Haitian Flag Day in the middle of May, the month designated as the Haitian Heritage Cultural Month. The tickets went on sale for anywhere from $35 to $100, and the '21 and over' age restriction shows just how rowdy, or at the least, suggestive, a compas festival can get.

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Compas music, popular among the middle-class of the Caribbean, particularly Haiti, is the island's favorite music to dance to. Generations of Haitians since the 1800s have grooved to this light variation of the meringue.

Sax player Nemours Jean Baptiste raised the profile of Compas in the early 50s when he performed in clubs in Port-au-Prince neighborhoods. The key to Compas's success back then was its freedom to improvise, while maintaining a consistent rhythm. Caribbean Compás musicians sing in several languages, among them Créole, English, and Spanish.

Mini-jazz, an offshoot of Compás, emerged in the 60s. It was derived from yeye bands, an airy form of rock and roll. Added instrumentation included electric lead and rhythm guitars, bass, percussion, and a horn section. Compás musician Shleu-Shleu led the Mini-Jazz revolution with bands that played in communes like Pétionville. Some exponents of this trend included Fréres Dé Jean, Bossa Combo, and Les Difficiles. In the 70s, synthesizers were added to the mix.

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Zouk music originally sprouted from Martinique and Guadeloupe, islands in the Caribbean. Characterized by an energetic beat, it emerged in the 80s through the success of Kassav', a French Antillean band.

Zouk, derived from cadence music, found popularity with fans of Exile One and Grammacks. Sung in Créole, Zouk distinguishes itself as recording music. Music artists often dominate the form, subsuming the players.

Translated, Zouk means festival, well-named because it uses carnival rhythms and contains West African influences. Innovative Zouk band, Exile One, incorporated U.S. Rock and Soul genrés, propelling Zouk mania throughout Martinique and Guadeloupe.

But Kassav' is the group that brought it to world-wide prominence. Kassav' added the sounds of Reggae, Salsa, and Compás to their compositions, attaining status as the "most popular, pioneering, and enduring band", according to one music industry executive. Zouk concerts over time adopted U.S., Australian, and European Heavy Metal influences, catching on like wildfire around the globe, particularly in emerging nations.

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Michel Batista is a Haitian artist whose songs are moving. They sweep one of the ground with a great temptation to dance to the wonderful beats. His background in being a vocalist in the Haitian Kampas tradition, has, in these most recent salsa records, proven to be a real contender in the roots Salsa-Pa-Ti genre.

He released his first salsa album in 2001 which was a great hit and was done by S&J Productions. It sought of brought him to the limelight, highlighting the potential he had. Michel Batista has done songs such as La Rumba, El Que Siembra Su Maiz, Candela, El Testamento, Tabaco Y Ron, El Jodon, Porque Ahora,Mi Tierra, Amor De Lejo and Porque Ahora Viene.

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Claude "Tico" Pasquet was a drummer and percussionist in Konpa music. He was born in Haitian family of music, where people like Dodof, Archibald, Alexandre, Jean and Andre came from. He developed drumming skills from his uncles Alexandre and Richard. He compared a drum to life in music because the drum made music sweet. He played in a group known as La Belle Etoile for two years and in 1967 his family migrated to New York.

His passion for music would not allow him to stay without singing so he joined another group known as Les Freres Sicot. This group made him to grow very fast in music and with time he started focusing on techniques of international drummers like Steve Gadd. In 1969 Claude "Tico" Pasquet joined a group of his own generation known as Babby Jazz and later Les Difficiles de New York. He was a skilled drummer whom everyone admired. He went back to Haiti in 1972 to play with Robert Martino in Les Gypsies but his unique drumming nature was noticed by all the fans.

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All that is known about him is that Claude G Cajuste is a lead guitarist from a Haitian band. The band he is part of is famous, though it has seen its better and worst days. He is an artist and a musician who utilizes her God given talent to the fullest without being ashamed of showcasing his talent.

The band's popularity grew 10 fold when star singer Ti Manno joined the band at the end of the 1970's. By the early 1980's Ti Manno came out with his own band, Gemini All Stars, with some young blood like Mario Germain on Bass, Ansyto Mercier on Keyboard, Patrick Casseus on Drums,Imgart Manigat vocal and Ti Claude Geffrard Cajuste on lead Guitar. After the album 'Expoitation" ironically the young blood left the band for unfair treatment by the manager who happened to be Ti Manno's wife herself.

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Edy Brisseaux was an outstanding Haitian musician who engaged with music as early as at the age of nine. Guitar was the first musical instrument to be learnt by him with his father who was also an amateur musician. Afterwards, he started playing trumpet during his high school life where he studied with another prominent musician Michel Desgrottes. When he was 17 he started to engage himself with top bands of Haiti such as: Dixie Band, Skah Shah, Caribbean Sextet, Zekle, Freres Dejan etc.

Brisseaux had a long passion to form a new band to bring new sound in Haitian music and subsequently formed his own band Bazilik in 1987. The first album of the band was released after five years of the formation in 1992. Interestingly, the first album of Bazilik was shaken the music industry of the country and was recognized as an advanced project in Haitian music. In addition, he was graded as a true avant gardist.

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He is a Haitian born star that has been able to achieve much more than other musicians have in the past couple of years. Jean Alcindor was born and raised in Haiti where he established his career in the music industry and where he also got noticed by his fans and had a great time raising as a star. He is an old member of Skah Shah and was a great hit back then.

Jean Alcindor has ever since his childhood been attracted and interested in the music industry and has worked hard to ensure that he is able to raise to where he currently is by simply working to ensure that everything he does is a great hit in the industry. As such he has reached a height not reached by others and has been able to easily make it for the good of the country.

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Jean Herard Richard "Richie" is a talented composer, singer and a drummer. He was a member of Zenglen and was among the artist who gave tributes to over 300,000 Haitians who died from the earth quake in 2010.

Jean Herard Richard "Richie confirmed rumors that were spreading that he wanted to leave Zenglen group to be on his own because he thinks he will make more money. He seems to imitate Gazzman Couleur who left Nu look and formed his own band group. Rumors say that he will be joined by some members of Zenglen and Gazzman Couleur.

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