The rich musical tapestry that makes up New Orleans no longer needs to justify itself. Haiti has nothing to be jealous of in this particular field: more than 300 different rhythms bring the days and nights of the island to life. There is still more common ground between these two places: a population that speaks creole, flavoursome food and a history of carnivals and natural disasters spring to mind. So when both the young and veteran Haitian members of Lakou Mizik were invited to play at the 2017 New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival, the connection was immediate. They realised that the rhythms and the soul of their music resonate just as strongly in Louisiana. The similarity and possibility of dialogue between the two styles also became apparent for many artists from New Orleans.
This realisation gave rise to the HaitiaNola project. Produced by Eric Heigle from the Lost Bayou Ramblers, the album is a rich catalogue of traditional songs, ritual dances and some original compositions, which the best of the best from Louisiana's music community added to with their colourful magic. The Preservation Jazz Hall Band brought their brass to Renman, Trombone Shorty lent his virtuosity to Pistach Griye, Cyril Neville’s unmistakable voice features on Sa Na Kenbe, Leyla McCalla’s plays her cello delicately and sings on Rasanbleman, and The Soul Rebels transform Manman Lavi and Bouyon Lakou with their energy. Eric Heigle invited his band to play on Grann, as well as his friends from Arcade fire, Win Butler (percussion and electronics) and Régine Chassagne (vocals) on Iko Kreyol. Here the warmth of human spirit mingles with a musical explosion. © Benjamin MiNiMuM/Qobuz