La Martinique, Seconde Patrie du Konpa...?.

Format:

Video

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

South America, Mexico, Central America, and the Caribbean.

French.

Cajuns.

Haitians.

Musicians.

Martinique.

West Indies and Caribbean.

Jean-Baptiste, Nemours,.

Local Subjects:

South America, Mexico, Central America, and the Caribbean.

French.

Cajuns.

Haitians.

Musicians.

Martinique.

West Indies and Caribbean.

Jean-Baptiste, Nemours,.

Genre:

Documentary

Physical Description:

1 online resource (90 minutes)

Other Title:

Martinique, Second Homeland of Konpa...?

Place of Publication:

Paris, Ile-de-France : Qwest TV, 2017.

Language Note:

In French.

In English.

Original language in French.

Original language in English.

System Details:

video file

Summary:

If Martinique is indeed Konpa's second homeland, then Haiti is its foster mother. This non-didactic documentary looks at the ongoing relationship between musicians from the French West Indies and Haitian musicians. It provides a historical overview, backed up by music videos, and interviews musicians and journalists in Montreal (where there is a strong Haitian community), New York, Miami, Paris and, of course, Martinique and Haiti. These witnesses deliver tasty memories, significant anecdotes about straw huts, popular dances and encounters between Martinican and Haitian musicians, all of which led to the evolution of rhythmic practices. The musical movement known as Compas Direct (konpa in Creole), which blossomed in Haitian folk dances, left an indelible mark on artistic life in Martinique after its official birth in 1955 with the recording of “Rouge et Blanc” by Nemours Jean-Baptiste and his super ensemble. By slowing down the Dominican merengue, this magnificent Haitian musician necessarily changed the rhythmic accents. As journalist Bertrand Dicale intelligently points out, konpa is much more than a dance; it's a moment in Haitian history. In this poor country ravaged by dictatorship, in a slow, general and powerful movement, this hedonistic fashion, which affected the youth, quickly spilled over to the entire population and the entire Haitian diaspora. Economic circumstances favored its acceptance: the emergence of the cheaply produced 33t with colorful sleeves and the liberation of the Caribbean airwaves. Zouk, whose international fame eclipsed Konpa, had the good fortune to have emerged in a democratic country where the music market offered royalties and fees that enabled artists to live and express themselves, which was not the case in Haiti (for Haitian musicians, it was imperative to survive by touring the French West Indies without commenting on the Duvalier dictatorship). The kompa form of expression was too subtle and complex (album tracks were very long) to appeal to a broad international audience. The Tabou Combo band, although made up of Haitian musicians, conquered the world by erasing their Haitian roots and deploying an energy that, like rock bands, found its full expression on stage rather than at dances. In 1985, the emergence of Kassav definitively imposed another style. Today, the time has come for a natural fusion of Kompa and Zouk in a style that is more Caribbean than ever. Philippe Lesage

Notes:

Title from resource description page (viewed July 15, 2024).