This month’s listening picks from the Caribbean — featuring reviews by Nigel Campbell of new music by Celia Wa; F.Y.A.H.; Toofless; and Shaggy feat. Sting
Celia Wa
Fasadé (Bigidi/Heavenly Sweetness)
Paris-born Guadeloupean musician and singer Celia Wa created a new genre called Karibfutursound that fuses traditional Caribbean rhythms (including native gwoka) with modern electronic sounds, jazz, soul, and hip-hop. That avant-garde vision of Caribbean music — a futuristic soundscape rooted in Antillean cultural heritage and “a powerful and unshakeable Creole identity” — serve as the bases for her new album, her first full-length in a 12-year recording career. Kréyòl lyrics dance over flute interludes and gwoka drums and selective African musicianship to move beyond language towards a broader understanding of island rhythms, heritage, and modern influences. Lyrics that recall uncomfortable memories of alienation, as on “Démounaj” — Everything they’ve done, Don’t forget / Everything they’ve taken, Don’t forget / Everything they’ve said, Don’t forget / We’re done mourning our woes — become wonderful discoveries. Bèl mizik!
F.Y.A.H.
Free Your Authentic Heart (Dub Rockers)
Reggae bands in Jamaica — a combine greater than the sum of the individual singer/musician parts — are a premium in the modern scene there despite a few Grammy-winning outliers. Singers rule the roost — iconic even. However, F.Y.A.H. is bucking a trend in the broader reggae scene, where non-island acts are defining what reggae is to a whole new generation. Conscious lyrics are also mixed with love songs in a trendy sound that explores connections with other genres, with global markets in mind. One hears soul music and rock sonics bubbling under to elevate the 13 songs on this album above the mundane. Founder Delroy Hamilton says, “I have a deep love for authentic Jamaican music, but as a musician, I also appreciate other styles. You’ll hear those influences … but at the core, it’s always reggae music. That’s something I’m not trying to change.” Not par for the course, this new album seeks to enhance the perspective of what reggae is and can be for listeners. Fire!
Toofless
Phoenix (self-released)
We are told that “this album is what happens when heartbreak meets dedication and divine intervention.” Toofless (Timothy Dabreo) is among a modern cohort of island musicians who use vibes, Adamic curiosity, and technology to create music that is not boxed in by genre limits. That said, this candid pop album — 25 minutes of songs that describe that jilted feeling of tabanca while balancing hip beats that say dance — is a delight in the context of what is possible in the modern Caribbean, unhindered by obstacles. Over the arc of the nine songs on this album, Toofless explores all facets of being dumped without falling into the depths of despair and morbidity: You said that you’d be gone, so I asked if you were certain / You said we need to be alone, if that’s true let’s close this curtain. This perspective is a revelation — Caribbean Gen Z resolution. Rising up and starting over is a great attitude; doing it on a music album is maturity unbound. A winner!
Shaggy feat. Sting
Til A Mawnin (Ranch Entertainment/VP Music Group) • Single
The riddim is one building block of modern dancehall and reggae: one bed of music — harmonies and drum and bass rhythms — upon which many and various melodies are sung. In 1979, Dennis Brown first sang on this I’m Not Getting Crazy riddim, and subsequent hits have used this bed of music to make reggae gold. Now Shaggy has updated the riddim with lyrics and chants that celebrate sound system culture, and with the help of his best friend — 17-time Grammy winner and Rock & Roll Hall of Fame inductee Sting — he has another hit on his hands. The juxtaposed Patwa of Shaggy’s chants and the smooth croon of Sting’s repeated refrain allow listeners to live in two worlds. Shaggy perfectly describes the vibe and atmosphere of the Jamaican dance party: Some a push up di lighter, some a sound di air-horn … new clothes, new car, everything prep … Tell selector pull up di tune an’ watch di forward him a get. This is a history lesson and cultural capsule in song.