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Words by Jesse Serwer—
If you’re headed down to Art Basel Miami this week, you can count on seeing work by artists from around the world. But, despite its close proximity to and obvious influence on MIA itself, the Caribbean will actually be one of the most underrepresented regions at North America’s biggest art event.
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Words by Jesse Serwer, Photos by Martei Korley—
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Words by Jesse Serwer—
You might recall a couple months ago we told you about Sofrito: International Soundclash, Hugo Mendez and Frankie Francis of London-based “tropical” DJ collective Sofrito’s compilation connecting the dots between African, Caribbean and South America rhythms with rediscovered rarities from Trinidad’s Lord Shorty, Haiti’s Les Difficiles de Petion-Ville, Guadeloupe’s Mas Ka Klé and more. To celebrate the release of the comp today, Strut Records has given us an exclusive download of one of the most brilliant tracks on the set, “O Ti Yo,” from the kings of cadence-lypso, the Midnight Groovers.
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Words by Jesse Serwer—
“I want to introduce you to a brand new musical sound called soca…it starts with di bass drum.” That’s the late Lord Shorty (later known as Ras Shorty I), father of soca music, getting his James Brown on, with an instrument-by-instrument breakdown of his then-new creation.
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Words by Scott Brown—
A sacred set of Caribbean songs have made it into the canon of Miami party music. Songs like “Get Involved,” from the Bahamas’ Dr. Off, and an assortment of dancehall hits, like Red Rat’s ”Tight Up Skirt,” get locals dancing regardless of heritage. “Zouk la Sé Sél Médikaman Nou Ni” is another must-have for any Miami DJ’s collection. While the zouk sound please the kompa-loving Haitian massive, the infectious rhythm of the song has remarkable cross cultural appeal.
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Words by Erin MacLeod—
Gwo ka means, quite literally, “big drum” in Guadeloupan Kreyol, but the music that is Gwo ka means that and so much more. It means dancing and singing, but it also means history, culture and independence.
