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2 Dutch Antilles 3 Notable recordings 4 References |
Zouk's development can be traced back to the Guadeloupan gwo ka and Martinican tambour and twi ba traditions. Gwo ka is a type of percussion music which consists of seven basic rhythms and variations on them. It has been modernized into gwo ka moderne, though traditional rural performances (lewoz) are still common. Like many Antillean genres, the band Kassav' helped bring gwo ka to the forefront of international consciousness by including a gwo ka ensemble in the studio and incorporate influences from drumming legends like Velo.
Tambour/twi ba ensembles is the origin of Martinican chouval bwa, biguine and later, zouk. Chouval bwa includes multiple distinctive instruments and includes internationally famous performers like Claude Germany, Dede Saint-Prix, Pakatak and Tumpak, while biguine has achieved international fame since the 1920s and has since been modernized and adapted for pop audiences, making it a major influence on zouk.
In the 1950s, Haitian compas and cadence rampa became the dominant pop sound of the Lesser Antilles. Weber Sicot and Nemour Jean-Baptiste were especially popular, and were followed by mini-jazz artists like Les Gentlemen, Les Leopards and Les Vikings de Guadeloupe in the late 1970s. The following decade saw the invention of a distinctively Antillean cadence music, especially as the result of Gordon Henderson's Exile One, who invented cadence-lypso by adding calypso horns. Exile One also helped to turn the mini-jazz combos into guitar-dominated big bands, paving the way for the success of La Perfecta, Les Aiglons, Experience 7 and Malavoi, among others.
Drawing on these influences, the supergroup Kassav' invented zouk and popularized it with hit songs like "Zouk-La-Se Sel Medikaman Nou Ni". Kassav' arose from Paris in 1978 and adopted a nationalistic tone to their pan-Caribbean and pan-African fusions. Kassav' soon added rock and roll and other influences and became some of the biggest stars in the Caribbean, France and elsewhere as zouk diversified into multiple subgenres. These include zouk-love, pop ballads by artists like Edith Lefel and Gilles Floro. Zouk funk artists like Elza Bruta and Muriel Custos and ragga-zouk bands like RuffNeg, Lord Kossity and Karukeragga have fused the genre with other influences.
French Antilles
Dutch Antilles
The islands of Curacao, Bonaire, Aruba, St. Eustatius and St. Martin are known for the Combined Rhythm, which includes local favorites like [[Happy Peanuts] and Expresando Rimto i Ambiente. The South American country Surinam is dominated by the native kaseko music, which was developed by Surinamese in their native land as well as in the Netherlands; pioneers include Yakki Famiri and Carlo Jones.Notable recordings
References