Various – Disque La Raye: 60’s French West-Indies Boo-Boo-Galoo LP

Description

LP version. Printed inner sleeve. In 1966, a new pulse spread like wildfire on the sidewalks of Spanish Harlem and local radio waves. Like no music genre ever before, boogaloo brought together African Americans and Latinos. As the ultimate musical syncretism of popular genres in the Barrio, boogaloo is often described as “the first Nuyorican music”. A revolutionary hurricane was then blowing on Amerika: in the trail of the Black Panthers and the Young Lords Organization, minorities were gathering in the streets to reclaim their rights from the establishment. Boogaloo was the soundtrack of a social revolution overtaking the country, before it got overshadowed by salsa. Boogaloo’s energy seduced young people from different backgrounds, well beyond the borders of the USA, and especially in the Caribbean cradle land. From Fort-de-France to Pointe–Pitre, old biguines and mazurkas from West Indian orchestras strong of a bloodline of virtuosos, from father-to-son, became outdated by those modern beats. OnFred Aucagos‘s “Ti Man’zelle”, there’s a subtle mix of imports from the mainland, the USA, and the neighboring islands. Musicians dabbled with boogaloo, coming up with rather unorthodox interpretations. This is precisely what gives this compilation its singularity. It incorporates influences from the African continent thanks to theRico Jazz(an adaptation of “Si Tu Bois Beaucoup” of the Congolese rumba orchestraO.K. Jazz). It rubs elbows with the “Jerk Vid” of aDavid Martialbefore he turned in a doudouiste clich. With the cheeky humor of the GuyaneseDany Play(“Mais Tu Sais”), the perkiness ofJoby Valente(“Disk La Ray” withCamille Soprannon sax), the listener (re)discovers classics published on two historic Guadeloupean labels: Aux Ondes of producerRaymond Clini, and Disque Debs, whose bossHenri Debscan be heard on “Ou Pas Z’ami En Moins”. “Ou Qu Di Moin” fromMonsieur Xis a Creole funk pamphlet, neither Latin, nor festive, and not strictly boogaloo for that matter. The Nuyorican rhythm is a tiny fraction of what the West Indies orchestras were playing, as they often incorporated biguine and Haitian kopi elements. Assisted byJean-Baptiste Guillot,Julien Achardspent over three years compiling this best of the Creole boogaloo. Also features:Maurice Alcindor,Gabby Siarras,Les Bois Sirop,Le Ry-Co Jazz, andLes Vickings. LP version comes with a printed inner sleeve with liner notes in English and French.