Month: March 2018

Gwakasonné – Lovli (Guadeloupe, 1987, GKS)

Gwakasonne was a band from Guadeloupe island, composed by several great Jazz and Gwo Ka players such as José Bellerose and Edmony Krater, and leaded by Roger Oumaou.

They recorded 3 albums together in the 80’s, that are really hard to find nowadays.

The track presented here, “Lovli“, is taken from “Temwen“, their last album recorded in 1987, and is a great example of the unique kind of music they used to play, a perfect blend of Gwo Ka and Spiritual Jazz elements – Enjoy !

Gwakasonne – Lovli

You can also listen to this song on my Youtube channel here : https://youtu.be/83nJW5jzRRQ

Have a nice week end,

Armand

Francisco – Mamaille Lévé (Martinique, 1978, 3A Production)

Frantz-Charles “Francisco” Denis was a singer, piano player, composer, drummer and dancer born on the 9th of november 1932 in Saint-Pierre (Martinique).

He opened and owned several cabaret in the island (La Paillote, Le Shango, La Cabane Bambou, La Plantation..) in which he played with his bands such as “The Blue Star”, recorded several albums and singles and became one of the most important icons of the West Indies latin sound.

He died on the 19 April 2013.

The song presented here, “Mamaille Leve“, is a brillant example of the sound he created, a mixture of Biguine, Creole and Latin influenced sound, recorded in 1978 with awesome piano arangements – hope you’ll like it !

Francisco – Mamaille Leve

You can also listen to this track on my youtube channel here : https://youtu.be/s_6_Yx3_mqw

Best regards,

Armand

Derrick Harriott and The Chariot Riders – Float On (Jamaica, 1977, Crystal Records)

For today, I decided to make you rediscover the song “Float On“, originally recorded in 1977 by The Floaters (a band from Detroit), but that the Jamaican artist Derrick Harriott covered the same year with his band The Chariot Riders on his own “Crystal Records” label.

The result is a superior alternate Island version, a blend of Soul, Ska and Reggae, exactly the kind of Lovers Rock I like – Enjoy !

Derrick Harriott and The Chariot Riders – Float On

You can also listen to this track on my Youtube channel here : https://youtu.be/lMcvsOtzEyw

Best regards,

Armand