Song Writer - Haiti Observer Blog

Born in Port-au-Prince on the last day of December 1956, Lyonel Trouillot grew up with an interest in literature. From a family of lawyers, Trouillot began following the prescribed route early on and studied law until his love of the written word won out and he started writing seriously.

He was forced to leave Haiti in the 1980's due to the regime of Jean-Claude Duvalier and he ran to America. Having not lost his love of writing, Trouillot continued to write for magazines, newspapers and other publications as he'd done in Haiti, and also across the Diaspora. He created essays, novels, poems, and even song lyrics in the case of songs by artists such as Jean Coulanges, Manno Charlemagne, Atis Endepandan and Tambou Libète.

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Ayenn Starks is a musician born in New York in the US but by Haitian parents. He was raised in the US where he grew up to love and acquire an interest in the music industry. He also has a lot of interest in various instruments such as the piano and the keyboard where he has produced songs with these instruments and where he has clearly shown how much talent he has.

There a couple of songs he has done all about love where Ayenn Starks has shown how easy he can come up with something so captivating to the listeners and how easy he can combine the various different versions of Haitian music styles with those of the French to come up with something so wonderful and lovely. He is thus one exceptionally talented musician with a great future ahead.

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Bemol Telfort was born and bred in Port Au Prince, Haiti. He was song writer, singer, guitarist, bassist, conga player, composer arranger and bandleader. Growing up in Haiti where there are many artists made him admire singing. At the age of six he started playing Conga which he did till the age of 8 where he used body percussion. Since he had no money to buy a guitar, he made himself one at the age of 10 years.

His guitar was unique, though it lacked some scales like c major. Telfort attempted to come up with a guitar with c major scale. To achieve this he bought various guitar books that he came across. To earn a living he played conga, breathing percussion instrument and his own made guitar.

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The poignant song by Koralen Jean-Claude Martino, arguably most famously sung by Manno Charlemagne, speaks to the melancholy horrors of Haitians' second instance of being sold into slavery, by the United States during their first occupation of the country, between 1914 and 1934.

Strung together by notes of a minor influence, with lyrics that invoke the despondency of those experiencing life as the Vyewo, sold to work on sugar plantations in neighboring countries, the mainly somber melody is interspersed with contrastingly allegro moments, creating an empathetic understanding, even in those who do not understand the language sung.

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