Kalfou Danjere

Boukman Eksperyans

album cover

Songs of Subversion

The credits on Kalfou Danjere/Dangerous Crossroads begin: "Recorded in May 1992 in the midst of political mayhem at Audiotek Studios, Port-au-Prince, Haiti." Mayhem, indeed. The year before, in a cultural crackdown by Haiti's military government, the family band Boukman Eksperyans was harassed and banned from the country's annual February carnival. The reason: Its enormously popular song "Kalfou Danjere," a fable about how those who lie and cheat will be judged at the metaphysical cross-roads, was interpreted by the government as a subversive commentary. Soldiers began turning up at the group's (infrequent) live performances and, members said later, intimidating them.

Like many Haitian acts, Boukman Eksperyans (named for a voodoo priest who worked to unify slaves during a successful revolt against France in 1804) slips thinly disguised outrage about current events into its songs, often via double entendre and coded slang. But those messages come under the cover of pure sweetness, carried by music that, in the tradition of Bob Marley, aims to uplift as much as to agitate. The rhythms, many built on drum machines and complementary hand-drumming, exude a festive feeling, while the singers, both as soloists and members of the chorale, share an uncommon sense of mission: Whether they're tossing around a voodoo chant or supplying somber hummed responses to a dancing lead, they bring the quality of prayer and reflection to every track on this remarkable disc. Rarely has music born in—and concerned with—conflict sounded so centered, hopeful, serene.

Genre: World, Haiti
Released: 1992, Island/Mango
Key Tracks: "Tande m tande," "Jou nou revolte."
Next Stop: Bob Marley and the Wailers: Survival
After That: Boukan Ginen: Rev au nou
Book Pages: 108–109

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