KOMPA! MAGAZINE

[kompamagazine]

We asked carnival veteran and respected HMI musician FABRICE ROUZIER what he thinks of the following 13 carnivals.

READ WHAT HE HAD TO SAY BELOW!
_____________________________________________________________

1) SWEET MICKY : Very powerful song. Some of Micky's best work in ages. And yes, i am eating my previous comments . Carimi has a huge fight on their hands. I hope they are ready ? The production is also very well done. Kudos to Micky, Stephane and crew. I can see how this will excite the throng of Micky supporters. Bravo ! One of the best for the moment. I like it a lot despite the personal attacks. But hey, this is Micky...

2)*NU LOOK : Man ...Arly has a very powerful voice but the beginning of the song has absolutely nothing to do with the rest. I think they waited too long to have their most succesful part of the song , The "Voup Kap" portion. I also think that the rythm section lacks dynamics. Some bands introduced too many breaks in their songs, Nu-look in my honest opinion has way too few. Gazzman is a hell of an animator but he needs stronger material to make it for three days. I read that some of you think that slow songs cannot make it on the parcours. I beg to differ. In 1985, the carnival season that is still considered the best ever, Tabou Combo was on a float playing nothing but "Jalouzi", a bolero/soft compas. Arly et co could make a huge difference if they choose to be different.

3)*KREYOL LA : Much better effort than last year. Digital Express is back . They may have a better song than their opponent. The BARIKAD CREW skit in the middle really hurts the dynamic of the song and should have been left out. One of the most played as of 2/2/2009 and one of my personal favorites.

4) *KREZI : An OK song. I re-listened and tried to get into it to no avail yet. A stronger musicianship factor than their opponent but a "rememberance" factor close to nill. 9 minutes is just way too long for a carnaval song these days when you're competing for radio time slots in the last days of the pre carnival season. On the beton, it may be another story with that crew's creativity. Also, one of the most played as of 2/2/2009

5) *CARIMI : I think that the skit at the top of the song and the rythm / harmonic sections are ,dare i say it, on the sissy side. You cannot have a bad ass rythm section ( Stanley and Noldy / Greg ) and not use them on a recording like this. But this is Carimi and teen-agers eat this up. I have not seen the Zandolit dance but my guess is they'll have to come up with more stuff if they want to succeed during the 3 day fest.

6) *RAM : This is no "Dessalines" by a long shot. I like the techno part half way through and i imagine people vibing to it. These guys have done it so many times that it becomes second nature to them. No worries there.

7) *VWA DES ILES : The King Posse-like intro throws me off but the rest of the song is typical vwadezil. They are one of the few acts that have managed to find a signature sound and word plays and people dig it at least on the radio.

*AZOR : "You do not change a winning team" seems to be the formula here. Crowds literally ride on his voice alone. This is a sure winner every year. This guy does not stop for delco issues, for red lights or for occasional shootings and bottle throwings. From Stade Sylvio Cator and back non stop !

9) *BARIKAD CREW : Maybe my age is starting to show but i am having a hard time digesting the current hip hop batch. I have done my share of hip hop gigs in the past and i just don't "get" this. Having said that, i think Fred Hype et co have also managed to properly mix aging North American beats with some semblance of Raboday. I can't picture people dancing to this stuff in front of a moving truck but take my word for it, this is BY FAR the most popular song/group here in Haiti. People all over know each and every word of this song.

10) *ROCKFAM : May not be as popular as BARIKAD but they have funny word plays in their carnival song. BARIKAD claims that they have the best team. ROCKFAM claims that they have only two major players : ZAGO meaning large smelly feet and KAKA, no explaination needed. Zago and Kaka are actually two Brazilian internationals and in a soccer centered country like Haiti, this kind of humor works. There are actually no hooks in the song and i don't "get" it.

11) *RARAM : Same as Azor, these guys have a pattern and they use it very effectively. The only down side is that the slogan " an ke pan" is not as powerful as "ponmen zel" or "opakok". This year, they actually use a full accoustic drum set ! It will still be huge in my opinion. It's amazing how more musical , catchier and better constructed, these songs are as compared to their konpa, hip hop counterpart even when their main harmonic instruments are PVC tubes. Genius !

12) *TEMPO : Very nice. Would be a contender with a nice video and a presence of this band in Port-au-Prince to promote the song. Unfortunately, i don't think i have heard it more than twice on the airwaves here. I fail to see how the soft voices portions would fare on the "parcours" but the groovy parts are right up there with the best of them.

*13) KING POSSE : Same sound and same potential for damage. Could be a contender with their huge fan base but that song is a mere shadow of what these guys are capable of.
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phpbb:echo dicks;

Last edited by kompamagazine on Mon Feb 02, 2009 1:21 pm; edited 2 times in total

[kompamagazine]

This is simply an AWESOME BREAKDOWN of the 13 carnivals from a respected HMI veteran with an ear for the streets and more.

GREAT STUFF TO READ.

INTERESTING COMMENTS regarding all the carnivals.

KM!
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phpbb:echo dicks;

[Ayani]

Quote:

1) SWEET MICKY : Very powerful song. Some of Micky's best work in ages. And yes, i am eating my previous comments . Carimi has a huge fight on their hands. I hope they are ready ? The production is also very well done. Kudos to Micky, Stephane and crew. I can see how this will excite the throng of Micky supporters. Bravo ! One of the best for the moment. I like it a lot despite the personal attacks. But hey, this is Micky...

Ahhh oui

Nice breakdown Fabrice

Quote:

5) *CARIMI : I think that the skit at the top of the song and the rythm / harmonic sections are ,dare i say it, on the sissy side. You cannot have a bad ass rythm section ( Stanley and Noldy / Greg ) and not use them on a recording like this. But this is Carimi and teen-agers eat this up. I have not seen the Zandolit dance but my guess is they'll have to come up with more stuff if they want to succeed during the 3 day fest.

_________________
"Don't be concerned with how others define you. When they define you, they are limiting themselves, so it's their problem! "E.T.

[AKI_VARAONSITE]

TI FAB FINI PALE....!!! THIS IS WHAT I CALL UNBIASED REVIEW..


MICKY AS OF TODAY HAS THE BEST MERINGUE OUT THERE....KREYOL LA FOLLOWED !!
_________________
INTRODUCING YOUR BUSINESS TO THE WORLD..!!

[choubenz]

wowwww, excellelnt breakdown from a legend

learn from the best


Tempo manager a pap graize main radio host yo----mezanmi not even twice
_________________
Stress free.....LOOK la fek depoze

[modernsound]

Fabrice

Quote:

but a "rememberance" factor close to nill. 9 minutes is just way too long for a carnaval song these days when you're competing for radio time slots in the last days of the pre carnival season.

I would take out the whole ragga part of the Krezi Mizik meringue and start the meringue at Zanmi Vin Koute .


Zanmi vin koute would have been the Intro followed right by Epele Krezi repeating each letter at least 2 times.

Se tande' m tande part would be repeated at least 2 times. They could have even made that part longer that' s how much I like that groove!
_________________
.........Pa chita mal pou yo pa gad amba' w......

[wallywal]

yes, an excellent breakdown

Quote:

CARIMI : I think that the skit at the top of the song and the rythm / harmonic sections are ,dare i say it, on the sissy side. You cannot have a bad ass rythm section ( Stanley and Noldy / Greg ) and not use them on a recording like this. But this is Carimi and teen-agers eat this up. I have not seen the Zandolit dance but my guess is they'll have to come up with more stuff if they want to succeed during the 3 day fest.

when i say stuff like this about carimi people think am hating on them
et bien at least a well respected musician in the hmi thinks the same thing
that's not only for the carnaval song, their whole style is like this
that'ts one of the main reason i have trouble getting into this band's music
but hey they got their fans for this type of think
i think carimi's gonna have a huge problem this year called sweet mickey

Quote:

You do not change a winning team" seems to be the formula here. Crowds literally ride on his voice alone. This is a sure winner every year. This guy does not stop for delco issues, for red lights or for occasional shootings and bottle throwings. From Stade Sylvio Cator and back non stop

so true, this guy is unbelievable, whats more unbelievable is that everybody is dancing, from the lower class to the so called "bourgeois"
Azor is simply amazing.

[jeancelestin]

kompamagazine wrote:

We asked carnival veteran and respected HMI musician FABRICE ROUZIER what he thinks of the following 13 carnivals. READ WHAT HE HAD TO SAY BELOW! _____________________________________________________________ 1) SWEET MICKY : Very powerful song. Some of Micky's best work in ages. And yes, i am eating my previous comments . Carimi has a huge fight on their hands. I hope they are ready ? The production is also very well done. Kudos to Micky, Stephane and crew. I can see how this will excite the throng of Micky supporters. Bravo ! One of the best for the moment. I like it a lot despite the personal attacks. But hey, this is Micky... 2)*NU LOOK : Man ...Arly has a very powerful voice but the beginning of the song has absolutely nothing to do with the rest. I think they waited too long to have their most succesful part of the song , The "Voup Kap" portion. I also think that the rythm section lacks dynamics. Some bands introduced too many breaks in their songs, Nu-look in my honest opinion has way too few. Gazzman is a hell of an animator but he needs stronger material to make it for three days. I read that some of you think that slow songs cannot make it on the parcours. I beg to differ. In 1985, the carnival season that is still considered the best ever, Tabou Combo was on a float playing nothing but "Jalouzi", a bolero/soft compas. Arly et co could make a huge difference if they choose to be different. 3)*KREYOL LA : Much better effort than last year. Digital Express is back . They may have a better song than their opponent. The BARIKAD CREW skit in the middle really hurts the dynamic of the song and should have been left out. One of the most played as of 2/2/2009 and one of my personal favorites. 4) *KREZI : An OK song. I re-listened and tried to get into it to no avail yet. A stronger musicianship factor than their opponent but a "rememberance" factor close to nill. 9 minutes is just way too long for a carnaval song these days when you're competing for radio time slots in the last days of the pre carnival season. On the beton, it may be another story with that crew's creativity. Also, one of the most played as of 2/2/2009 5) *CARIMI : I think that the skit at the top of the song and the rythm / harmonic sections are ,dare i say it, on the sissy side. You cannot have a bad ass rythm section ( Stanley and Noldy / Greg ) and not use them on a recording like this. But this is Carimi and teen-agers eat this up. I have not seen the Zandolit dance but my guess is they'll have to come up with more stuff if they want to succeed during the 3 day fest. 6) *RAM : This is no "Dessalines" by a long shot. I like the techno part half way through and i imagine people vibing to it. These guys have done it so many times that it becomes second nature to them. No worries there. 7) *VWA DES ILES : The King Posse-like intro throws me off but the rest of the song is typical vwadezil. They are one of the few acts that have managed to find a signature sound and word plays and people dig it at least on the radio. *AZOR : "You do not change a winning team" seems to be the formula here. Crowds literally ride on his voice alone. This is a sure winner every year. This guy does not stop for delco issues, for red lights or for occasional shootings and bottle throwings. From Stade Sylvio Cator and back non stop ! 9) *BARIKAD CREW : Maybe my age is starting to show but i am having a hard time digesting the current hip hop batch. I have done my share of hip hop gigs in the past and i just don't "get" this. Having said that, i think Fred Hype et co have also managed to properly mix aging North American beats with some semblance of Raboday. I can't picture people dancing to this stuff in front of a moving truck but take my word for it, this is BY FAR the most popular song/group here in Haiti. People all over know each and every word of this song. 10) *ROCKFAM : May not be as popular as BARIKAD but they have funny word plays in their carnival song. BARIKAD claims that they have the best team. ROCKFAM claims that they have only two major players : ZAGO meaning large smelly feet and KAKA, no explaination needed. Zago and Kaka are actually two Brazilian internationals and in a soccer centered country like Haiti, this kind of humor works. There are actually no hooks in the song and i don't "get" it. 11) *RARAM : Same as Azor, these guys have a pattern and they use it very effectively. The only down side is that the slogan " an ke pan" is not as powerful as "ponmen zel" or "opakok". This year, they actually use a full accoustic drum set ! It will still be huge in my opinion. It's amazing how more musical , catchier and better constructed, these songs are as compared to their konpa, hip hop counterpart even when their main harmonic instruments are PVC tubes. Genius ! 12) *TEMPO : Very nice. Would be a contender with a nice video and a presence of this band in Port-au-Prince to promote the song. Unfortunately, i don't think i have heard it more than twice on the airwaves here. I fail to see how the soft voices portions would fare on the "parcours" but the groovy parts are right up there with the best of them. *13) KING POSSE : Same sound and same potential for damage. Could be a contender with their huge fan base but that song is a mere shadow of what these guys are capable of.

BON, I HAVE NOTHING TO ADD, NAN SA MAESTRO THE BEST LA DI LA! ESPECIALLY ON NU LOOK'S CASE, WHICH STAFF AND I HAVE ALREADY ELABORTED ON!
WHAT A BREAKDOWN! MAESTRO SA BON TOUT BON VRE WI
BRAVO MAESTRO! CHAPO BA!
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AUX PAS, AVEC LE KOMPAS!

Last edited by jeancelestin on Mon Feb 02, 2009 1:40 pm; edited 1 time in total

[kompamagazine]

CELESTIN

OU PAT GIN GNB pou te di pawol yo...so you just hopping on Fabrice's words to send a message to ARLY?

ENFIN....

CELESTIN...PLEASE BAY MOUN REZON pou yo ka ba ou CREDIBILITE'W "back" non...PLEASE!

KM!
_________________
phpbb:echo dicks;

[speedy/kreyol la]

Bel review Fabrice.