Wesli Band is the group created by Wesley Louissaint, alias Wesli. Born in Port-au-Prince, the Haitian capital, he comes from a family where music is second nature. He began very young in the local church choir and then went on to the guitar, the instrument that has been his musical base since then. Several years later, he joined the Afro-roots quartet Jazz 4ever, with which he performed in a number of venues in Haiti.
In 2001, he settled in Montreal. Since arriving, he has continued along his musical path. He has shared the stage with great names in African and Canadian music, including King Mensah, Amadou Sodia, Sekouba Bambino, Corneille and the Cirque du Soleil. A guitarist, percussionist and singer, he also works actively as a producer and composer. As the years go by, his efforts have ended up bearing fruit. He won the Radio-Canada award as 2009-2010 Revelation of the Year, and he received a 2010 Babel Med Music France award. He has also been nominated for a Canadian Folk Music Award for solo world music album of the year in 2009.
It was in the same year that Kouraj, his first album, came out. In the songs, Wesli brings up the misery that persists in the Caribbean, Africa and elsewhere. His lyrics describe the difficult living conditions in these countries but call for keeping up hope, not giving up and always seeking to escape from it. This message is accompanied by colourful, lively and original music.
Kebeko
Haïti, Peru, Quebec World Music
Biography :
Would you like to meet a group that comes directly out of the Quebec nest and is absolutely representative of a multicultural world? There’s no hesitation here and only one way of doing it: attending a show given by Kebeko, a group that brings us into a world where blending styles is the law.
For the last few months, this new Montreal combo, formed around singer Ramón Céspedes, has been concocting a mixture of rock, world music and Quebec folk and adding a large pinch of groove! Coming from the Montreal underground world scene, Kebeko is a good example of the artistic benefits produced by Montreal’s cultural blending. Its music and texts, mostly in French, mirror a cosmopolitan city that moves to the beat of modernity without losing sight of its roots.
The group is clearly marked by the central figure of Ramón Cespedes. This composer and performer is a multi-talented artist. From a mixed Haitian and Peruvian background, this Québécois has created his very own style, Afro-Keb.
Sarazino
Maghreb, Latin America World Music
Biography :
Sarazino came out of the imagination of Lamine Fellah, a musician, composer and producer. Born in the Algerian city of Constantine in 1970, Fellah is the son of a diplomat and spent much of his childhood and adolescence roaming the world – Spain, Switzerland, Burundi, Burkina Faso. In each of these countries, he learned about different musical styles, rhythms and instruments. Whether West African melodies, reggae, flamenco, Arab-Andalusian music or French song, everything entered the ears of an attentive Fellah with his passion for this great wealth.
At age 14, he was living in Burkina Faso. He decided to take the leap, creating his own pieces and founding a group with friends of his. Four years later, he left for Montreal to study political science and economics, but music continued to be the great passion of his life. He took advantage of Montreal’s night life to imbue himself in new sounds and styles.
In 1993, tragedy arrived at his door: his father was assassinated by Islamic militants, and his family was forced into exile. This drama gave Lamine Fellah a renewed need for freedom and for harmony between peoples. Two years later, there emerged Sarazino and then its first album, Et Puis Voilà, sung entirely in French but blending African, Algerian and French influences.
Konono No. 1 (or All-Powerful Likembé Konono No. 1, its full name) got started in the late 1960s in the Democratic Republic of the Congo at the instigation of Mingiedi Mawangu. A virtuoso on the likembé. That instrument, sometimes called the “thumb piano,” consists of metal strips attached to a wooden sounding board.
The musicians in Konono No. 1 come from a region straddling Congo and Angola. The group’s style borrows heavily from the trance music of the musicians’ Bazombo ethnic group. After leaving their rural region for the capital, Kinshasa, the group’s members had to electrify their instruments to be heard. Tinkering with their original instruments, they adapted their musical style to amplified sounds, entering the category of “tradi-modern” music.
The group currently consists of three electric likembés equipped with microphones made from old car alternators, traditional or thrown-together percussion instruments (made with kitchen utensils or car parts), three singers, three dancers and sound equipment including megaphones dating from the colonial era. The instruments wear out in concerts and rehearsals, and they get cracked and dented, resulting in a continuously evolving sound. Over the years, their sounds have moved closer to the rock and electronic music world while maintaining deeply African roots.
Sokoun
Tunisia, Lebanon, Quebec World Music
Biography :
Sokoun is the story of a meeting between three men, three musicians curious about the talents and sensibilities that could advance their music. Mohamed Masmoudi, Zied Ben Amor and Joseph Khoury met thanks to the musical comedy Sherazade. This is a story transpiring between Tunisia, Lebanon and Quebec.
In 2009, encouraged by arranger Guy Saint-Onges, they formed the Sokoun Trio (“sokoun” is Arabic for “tranquillity”). In the wake of this, they produced the album Zanneh (meaning “drone”). Their mainly oriental compositions are also strongly marked by Mediterranean musical styles and jazz.
Mohamed Masmoudi, of Tunisian origin, is among the best known oud players. Devoting himself to several instruments, including bass, guitar and oud, he has also taken part in a number of prestigious productions as a musician and composer. Masmoudi is a musician benefiting from years of rich and varied experiences.
Also of Tunisian origin, Zied Ben Amor is a multi-talented musician. In addition to mastering the violin, he has shown himself to be an excellent oud and guitar player. Some of Zanneh’s finest pieces are enhanced by his suave and gentle voice. Several of the melodies he inspired have been used by the Cirque du Soleil.
