Afropop / Caribbean / Dancehall / Kompa / Soul/R&B

PAN M 360 at Nuits d’Afrique | A Look Back at Rutshelle Guillaume’s Closing Triumph

by Rédaction PAN M 360

When Rutshelle Guillaume filled the Rialto last spring, it was a community show. That’s a thing of the past. Presented on the main stage of Nuits d’Afrique in front of a packed house, the Port-au-Prince singer’s show (relocated to Florida) went beyond the market of the Haitian diaspora, most of whom were already loyal to her… and very present on this Sunday evening.

A decade of hard work has brought Rutshelle Guillaume to this altitude. If her business is done right for the future, this genuine conqueror could possibly reach the upper echelons of international pop.

Her most fervent fans have crowned her the “queen of konpa”, and we listened carefully to her repertoire, performed on stage with choreography, to see that konpa, the Haitian groove par excellence, is this time combined with other Caribbean, African and North American influences: dancehall, ragamuffin, afrobeats, power ballads and soul/ R&B are all part of this global konpa, expressed above all in Haitian Creole.

With a stage presence like this, Rutshelle Guillaume ticks all the boxes of the globalized superdiva. Scheduled for release before the end of the year, her next studio album will tell us a lot about her professional future. In another sign of recognition, on Monday, July 22, at Montreal City Hall, she was awarded the Prix Nuits d’Afrique pour la Francophonie “given to an artist of international renown, who embodies a unifying vision of the Francophonie and the diversity of cultural expression in the international French-speaking world”.

And it comes from Haiti! Whatever you think of the chaos there, you need to have traveled there to perceive its immense cultural and artistic virtues. From a distance, is it unthinkable that such global pop could flourish in the rubble? Probably not. Up close, on the contrary, we know it’s possible. Here’s further proof! At a time when Haiti is in the worst of its difficulties, this is certainly a token of hope and pride from the Magic Island.

It’s hard to imagine a better closing to the 38th Nuits d’Afrique.

On this occasion, PAN M 360 brings you a cross-report: Keithy Antoine, Haitian-born broadcaster and PAN M 360 contributor, chats with Alain Brunet on site, during the concert. Here’s the text exchange!

AB : Big variety machine!

KA : Yes, she’s powerful.

AB : It’s incredible that such an artist has developed in such a difficult context.

KA : Yes, but she’s traveled a lot, and she’s well surrounded.

AB : No artist from Port-au-Prince has had the impact she will.

KA : That’s what she’s working for! It’s wonderful.

AB : She’s the diva Haiti’s been waiting for.

KA : She’s popular, but not yet an icon.

AB : There are Haitian artists from Port-au-Prince who are icons, but none have made such an impact abroad, so quickly.

KA : We’re in a different era, so it’s hard to compare. But I’m not downplaying her popularity.

AB: In quantitative terms, it’s clear that she exceeds the standards of her era.

KA : Yes. I’m not downplaying it.

AB: It’s also the revenge of konpa in the recent history of West Indian music. Konpa was very strong in the 50s, 60s and 70s. Now it’s back with a vengeance.

KA : You could say. Or its real rise.

AB: Konpa can be seen as the foundation of modern Creole groove. With Rutshelle, it can get big.

KA : To each his own! But trying to win over a wider audience changes the sound too.

AB : But the basics are still there. The Farfisa organ sounds, the guitars, the congas – in short, all the typical elements of konpa are there when she goes in that direction.

KA : But it’s not pure konpa either. And konpa has to change like other styles.

AB: Not pure konpa, yes. It’s more like konpa-based global pop.

KA : With a veneer of variety. In fact, I had a lot of fun, not a lot of fun. This pop is clean clean.

AB : Exactly. It’s pop-variety. There are some nice reforms, but it can be perceived as skimming. Artistically, at least, it’s not yet striking.

KA : That’s not bad. It’s good, it’s very good, it pleases a lot. Bon dodo!

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Africa / Central African traditional music

PAN M 360 at Nuits d’Afrique – Les Aunties, from Ndjamena to Montreal

by Sandra Gasana

Nine women, quite ordinary, in the image of other Chadian women, mothers, all dressed in orange skirts and black tops, sitting in a circle, each with her microphone and calabash.

In fact, they always massage their calabashes before tapping them. And despite heavy rain from the very first minutes of the concert and for a good part of it, the audience remained on hand, with their umbrellas or raincoats, for those who had planned ahead.

Depending on the song, one of them starts singing, while the other eight respond in unison. Sometimes, they walk in circles, with one singing and the others providing backing vocals. At other times, one of them sings, another starts dancing around her, and the others stay behind. In short, we had several configurations on stage, but all of them captivated the audience’s attention, fascinated to see these ladies of a certain age on stage.

Right next to the stage, I could see the great Chadian star Afrotronix, who had come to encourage his compatriots. It was only at the end of the show that we learned that he was behind the group. “It’s a movement that’s just beginning. We grew up seeing our mothers, and it was these women who made us what we are today,” he says, mentioning in passing that his mother is in the audience.

Les Aunties often talk about women and their right to education in several tracks that evening, as well as domestic violence. “Montreal woman, how are you doing ?” asks one, then replacing Montreal, with Kinshasa, Cameroon and Ndjamena. At this point, we hear applause from the crowd, and it soon becomes clear that Montreal’s Chadian community is represented.

At a certain point in the show, they all wear a traditional Chadian dress, over their original skirts, and continue to sing together, seated or standing, with or without calabash, in a circle or in a row. During a song, the title of which I don’t know, the music is quieter and they line up as if going to a mosque for prayer, before taking off their traditional dress and returning to their initial attire. Sometimes, one of them takes center stage, and all the women around her encircle her, addressing her sympathetically and obviously singing for her.

At some point during the concert, each of them takes the floor and addresses the audience in their native language. This is where Afrotronix takes on the role of translator, translating the words into French.

No way!” she says to the applause of the crowd. It’s clear that these women are not afraid of words, and that they speak from experience in their desire to break the silence. From that moment on, it was madness on stage: we witnessed dance performances by several members of the Chadian community who came to perform traditional dance steps, in the center of the circle formed by Les Aunties.
The step they often performed consisted of moving shoulders and chest movements, rather like Ethiopia’s Eskesta. A percussionist also joined in, improvising on one of the tracks, while one of Les Aunties was at the turntables, headphones on and console in front of her. From time to time, Afrotronix came to adjust buttons on DJ Aunty’s console. In fact, the entire Chadian artistic community was on hand to contribute to the success of this original group on Saturday night. Moral of the story: there’s no age limit to following your dreams. If Les Aunties have done it, then anyone can.

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Africa / afro-soul / Hip Hop

PAN M 360 at Nuits d’Afrique – Fredy Massamba Was Blessed with Some Rain

by Sandra Gasana

Rain is often associated with a blessing in many African cultures, and certainly in other parts of the world. As the concert was about to end on Saturday evening, the rain may have kept some festival-goers away, but many stayed till the end of Fredy Massamba’s first-ever concert in Montreal.

For the occasion, he was accompanied by the one he calls “master” Donald Dogbo on drums, Willie Bareto on keyboards, Christian Obam on bass, Charles William Mpondo on guitar, Hendry Massamba on backing vocals and percussion, and Floric Kim on backing vocals. The two backing singers had arrived three days ago from Brazzaville for the occasion. And what a great idea it was to include them in this show!

From the very first track, he plunges us into his world, with the drum, or Ngoma, at its center, a track featured on his most recent album Trancestral. “I have three albums to my credit: Ethnophony, Makasi and Trancestral,” he reminds the crowd. “I invite you to take a journey together between Brussels, Brazzaville, Kinshasa, Douala, Ndjamena and here in Montreal,” he adds.

He then takes a step back in time with Zonza, featured on his debut album Ethnophony , which is much more groovy and lends itself well to a festival performance.

You can tell that Fredy is particularly fond of the African continent. He talks about it in several songs, lists many of them and even wears a white shirt with maps of Africa on it. The choice of the two backing singers was a wise one, as they contribute enormously to the success of the band. They do a remarkable job on stage, and you can feel their complicity with Fredy, who seemed to appreciate their presence.

He mentions the women of Kivu, of Goma in the track Bidilu Bio, and denounces “this war that makes no sense”. The song starts gently, highlighting the artist’s soulful voice, and suddenly moves into reggae, making you want to move despite the sensitive subject matter. Increasingly at ease on stage, he in turn gives the backing singers (very well dressed) space to shine, having opportunities to take turns singing verses, all the while involving the audience.

“I was told I had to sing a love song. Where I come from, in Congo, we have Koffi Olomidé, Fally Ipupa, Lokua Kanza. There’s no shortage of love songs,” he tells a smiling audience, before performing Makwela.
We discover his rapping talents on the track Nkembo, but the most touching moment is when he suggests inviting Papa Wemba (Paix à son âme) on stage.

He “goes and looks for him” backstage and gives us the impression that he’s with the great artist who left us a few years ago. His imitation is remarkable, and moves festival-goers who knew the great Congolese star. Fredy tells us that he always wanted to do a featuring with Papa Wemba, but never got the chance. Hence the symbolic gesture.

And it was after this emotional moment that the rain came down on the Radio-Canada stage (Coincidence? I don’t think so). First the backing singers and Fredy entered together on the song Zua Idée, before being followed by all the musicians. “Even in the rain you’re here!” he says gratefully. You can see the professionalism of the musicians when a situation like this happens. The band carried on as if nothing had happened, Fredy singing with the same ardor. The rain didn’t discourage the audience; on the contrary, they were impatiently waiting for it to stop so they could get back to dancing. And that’s exactly what they do for the last song of the show, Ntoto, during which he takes out his famous bottle on which he has fun blowing, and which we had mentioned in our interview a few days earlier (PAN M 360 at Nuits d’Afrique | Fredy Massamba, a Congolese (from Montreal) on 3 Continents – PAN M 360). And so ends Fredy Massamba’s very first show, blessed by a summer rain shower.

“Thanks to Nuits d’Afrique, my dad Touré, my friends, my family, RFI, Hangaa Music, Vanessa Kanga, and you, watching me in the rain.”

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Africa / Indian Ocean / Maghrebi

PAN M 360 at Nuits d’Afrique 2024 | Sofaz Grooves!

by Keithy Antoine

The members of Sofaz hail from Réunion, Morocco, Burkina Faso and mainland France. These globetrotters and groove trotters put on a great show on Friday!

Sofaz took to the TD Radio-Canada stage for the 38th Festival International Nuits d’Afrique. To the delight of his many fans, Sofaz had everyone singing, dancing and jumping up and down. The 6-piece band instantly set the mood for a unique evening, generating a sense of unity and family among the diverse crowd gathered to celebrate life now. We could all celebrate the music that unites us, and allows us to smile at our immediate neighbors.

Musical instruments, their origins and histories, are central to Sofaz’s work, and it’s clear to see and hear. We hear the familiar sounds of guitar, keyboards and drums, but also the djembe from West Africa or the guembri and crotales from North Africa. Sofaz’s compositions are electrifying, danceable and hypnotic, making this multi-sensory experience impossible to resist. With the crowd gathered for this band from the Indian Ocean, I absolutely had a great time!

And it continues at Montreal’s Nuits d’Afrique until Sunday.

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photo credit: André Rival

Afropop / Caribbean / Kompa

PAN M 360 at Nuits d’Afrique 2024 | Birth of a Haitian star

by Keithy Antoine

A new Haitian star is born! Her name is Modeline Raymond, or Moray for her close friends. The singer-songwriter performed on the Loto-Québec stage at Esplanade Tranquille on Friday evening. It was her very first big stage performance in Montreal, accompanied by a full band, including drums, congas, guitars, backing singers, keyboards and bass. We can enthusiastically say that they rocked!

Once again, the Festival international Nuits d’Afrique is a great opportunity for many emerging artists to build their careers, and to present themselves to a large audience of fans and connoisseurs.

On stage, Moray was in her most authentic and natural element. She sang mainly in Creole, danced well and, without tiring, radiated on stage. Contagious joy! The singer is having fun, inviting the crowd to swirl along with her, in complicity with her band. A lovely summer afternoon of sunny, upbeat Afro-pop sounds and rhythms, Latin soul, and konpa stuck tight, as she candidly puts it!

Modeline Raymond is an artist worth discovering!

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Africa / Afropop / Gospel / Hip Hop / Reggae

PAN M 360 at Nuits d’Afrique 2024 | Joyce N’sana On The Rise

by Keithy Antoine

One of the most eagerly-awaited acts in the downtown area was Friday’s performance by Congo-Quebec artist, songwriter and performer Joyce N’sana, who was named Révélation Radio-Canada 3 years ago.

She gave us a wild set on the big TD Radio-Canada stage! I was won over by the rhythm and the commitment of the people around me too! This little woman with a big voice performed her best songs with her proverbial energy and wisdom, driven by her love for her audience, her catchy sounds and her beautiful blend of styles – reggae, gospel, hip-hop, jazz, all topped off with the blues. Not for nothing does she call it afrobluehop!

The Festival international Nuits d’Afrique de Montréal is a celebration of our diversity, culture and music,” says Joyce N’sana, who is on the rise. And rightly so!

On Friday evening, the 38th Festival international Nuits d’Afrique de Montréal was in full swing, aided by fine summer weather. A perfect balance of inclusion and diversity through its 6-day program of free outdoor shows in the heart of the Quartier des spectacles, featuring well-known names and those yet to be discovered. The 38th Festival international Nuits d’Afrique de Montréal runs until Sunday, July 21! Check it out!

photo credit: André Rival

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Africa / Afro Latin / Afro-Antillean / Afro-Electro / afro-soul / Afrobeats / Afropop / Caribbean

PAN M 360 at Nuits d’Afrique 2024 | Listening to Club Sagacité

by Alain Brunet

In front of an almost empty room, at least from 10.15pm to 12.15am, the artists of Club Sagacité, an extension of Moonshine, still allowed us to devote ourselves to them. Listening attentively for lack of atmosphere. Whether it was a question of context or timing, the content was clearly not attractive to the current Nuits d’Afrique market.

Whatever the case, Club Sagacité is not to be missed. DJs San Farina and Fanella, the first two artists on the program, offered convincing selections of the present and future of Afro-descendant DJing. Completely global, with some very special peaks.

Club Sagacité, as we understand it, is a Moonshine school club, a successful concept developed by Pierre Kwenders, Hervé Kalongo and other Afro-descendant leaders such as San Farafina.

We heard afrobeats, soul/R&B, jazz groove, konpa, excerpts from Creole songs, Central African music, reggaeton and more, all melted into a notorious electronic melting pot. The diversity and integration of references is a fascinating reflection of the trends currently marking this generation of twentysomethings and thirtysomethings who find themselves consuming the content emanating from such collectives.

It’s more global than Western, less focused on American or European musical production – which is nonetheless very present in the vibe. In short, our musical world is changing, and all these Afro-electro waves are shaping the Montreal landscape. And for the better. Thank you Club Sagacité.

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Maghrebi / Musique Kabyle / Rock

PAN M 360 at Nuits d’Afrique 2024 – Numidz: When Kabylia Rocks!

by Michel Labrecque

Numidz is a band from Algerian Kabylia who chose to immigrate to Montreal. Don’t confuse Berber Kabylia with Arab culture. Although deprived of a country, Kabylia has its own flag, present on stage, and its own language, recognized very belatedly by Algeria.

Numidz consists of five musicians and one singer. Although influenced by traditional Kabylian music, the band also likes to rock, drawing inspiration in particular from an old Kabyle underground group, Les Abranis.

It’s this aspect that really sets the band apart from what you might hear from Algeria. And that’s what appealed to the very mixed crowd, with a minority Kabyle and Algerian component, but very present with its repeated “youyouyou”.

Understandably, their decision to immigrate was not an easy one, but the members of Numidz are thriving in Montreal. They were clearly delighted to be performing outdoors, as well as to be welcomed by the public.

Numdiz is a committed group: we heard a feminist song, a tribute to Nelson Mandela, a hymn to the freedom of peoples, as well as a song by Idir, the great emblematic singer of Kabylia who left us a few years ago.

But it’s when he rocks intensely that Numidz really stands out and displays his intensity. I couldn’t help but think that at the same time, in Milwaukee, USA, Donald Trump was about to address his Republican party, denouncing the wave of immigration that is driving up crime in his country. An assertion contradicted by the statistics.

For on the Nuits d’Afrique outdoor stage, just as Numidz launched into a danceable rock-funk set, five Asian women began to dance frenetically, smiling. Nearby, the father of a racially mixed couple was teaching his little mixed-race daughter to dance. A lesbian couple gazed into each other’s eyes, right next to veiled girls waddling along.

Poor Donald Trump. Clearly, the crowd here is not on his side…

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Africa / Bikutsi / Makossa / Pop-Rock

PAN M 360 at Nuits d’Afrique – Valérie Ékoumè: A Multicultural Afro-Rock Party

by Michel Labrecque

On July 18, a large natural fan ended the Montreal heatwave in a matter of hours. But it was very hot at the concert by Franco-Cameroonian Valérie Ékoumè, because the lady knows how to turn up the heat during her performance. And not just about!

As the singer told my colleague Frédéric Cardin in an interview, she likes the way Montreal and other parts of Canada welcome her. And she returns the favor. After fifteen minutes, she had the crowd in her pocket and could make us dance and sing to her heart’s content. The former collaborator of Manu Dibango and Youssou Ndour is now flying high on her own wings.

The singer, sometime keyboardist and drummer, is surrounded by two musicians in red suits with elephant-head masks, a guitarist and a drummer with a no-holds-barred attitude, using pop-rock techniques as much as Makossa, Bikutsi and Esséwé rhythms. We’re immersed in pulsating Afro-pop, as evidenced by his latest album, 2022 Monè.

But it’s Valérie Ékoumè, with her powerful yet nuanced voice and stage presence, who reigns over the crowd like a queen. But a benevolent and committed sovereign, notably against inequalities in Africa.

She sang a beautiful ballad, which she then translated into French. It tells the story of a family of African migrants who lost a child on their illegal immigration journey. An Italian woman, who took in the little girl, managed to find the family and give the child back to them. “It’s a beautiful story, isn’t it,” Valérie told us.

On stage, the musical arrangements are less subtle than on record. But the trio’s incredible energy makes up for this. I went to the front of the crowd to see that the party was firmly underway. Once again, a multiracial, multigenerational crowd dancing their hearts out.Some of Quebec’s nationalist politicians would do well to pay a visit to Nuits d’Afrique. There was a crowd there, overwhelmingly French-speaking, who perhaps spoke another language at home.

During a break, a Quebec woman of Haitian origin confided in me that, following certain recent statements by Quebec politicians, a racist space has opened up. That she sometimes hears people spitting when she’s out and about; she doesn’t think it’s a coincidence.

Nuits d’Afrique is an antidote to all that. So is Valérie Ékoumè.

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Africa / South African traditional music

PAN M 360 at Nuits d’Afrique 2024 | BCUC, the South African pow wow

by Alain Brunet

Bantu Continua Uhuru Consciousness (BCUC), from Soweto, South Africa, was one of the nuggets on the Nuits d’Afrique 2024 program. Essentially based on percussion, voice and the expression of South Africa’s 11 official languages and cultures, BCUC is a kind of African-style pow wow, committed and unifying.

The line-up includes Nkosi “Jovi” Zithulele, Kgomotso Mokone, Thabo “Cheex” Mangle, Mritho Luja, Lehlohonolo “Hloni” Maphunye and Skhumbuzo Mahlangu, Mosebetsi Ntsimande. The rhythms of the drums and hand percussion, as well as the patterns of the electric bass, support the continuous singing and vocal sounds – one woman and two men, sometimes solo, duo or trio. Melodies, harmonies, declamations, onomatopoeia, vocal percussion, nature calls and more.

Several distinct elements of South African voices and rhythms unfold on stage. Transcended by this extremely dynamic collective, capable of transcending its cultural heritage, this Southern African stall is more than interesting, and different from what we’re used to hearing from this end of the planet.

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Africa / Afrobeat / Dancehall / Downtempo / Hip Hop / Reggae

Festival International Nuits d’Afrique : L’Entourloop / Queen Omega & The Royal Souls

by Rédaction PAN M 360

Country: Trinidad and France

This show is part of the Les Grands Événements series presented by ICI Musique.

Description:

«The Entourloop and Queen Omega & The Royal Souls will first succeed each other on stage for a double program that will end in apotheosis!»

“L’Entourloop

It is not so much the mystery that hovers over their identity as their crazy vintage universe straight out of the popular and irreverent French cinema of the 70s and their jubilant sound, amalgam of Reggae, Dancehall, Dub, Ragga, Downtempo and Hip-hop, which make that, since 2013, They have hundreds of millions of streams on the Internet and fill the biggest venues. The casual seniors of the Entourloop take a ride on this side of the Atlantic before paying the Olympia in Paris, in the fall, to present their third album, Clarity in Confusion (2022). “Viciously effective” (Nova, 2023).

Queen Omega & The Royal Souls

«True icon of Reggae-Dancehall» (RFI, 2023), Queen Omega draws its energy and humanity from the Rastafari movement. The one who fights against all forms of oppression, advocating in particular the liberation of women and the independence of peoples, made a great return in 2023 with the album Freedom Legacy. His undeniable stage presence and his incredibly rich voice give him a strong aura as much as his riddims with multiple influences, both New roots, New soul, Afrobeat and Dancehall.”

TO GET A TICKET, CLICK ON THE LINK!

This content comes from the official website of the Festival International Nuits d’Afrique and is adapted by PANM360.

Africa

Festival International Nuits d’Afrique : Alpha Yaya Diallo

by Rédaction PAN M 360

Country: Guinea

This show is part of the Les Incontournables series presented by ICI Musique.

Description:

“As the Bafing, the river whose band is named, the music of Alpha Yaya Diallo, recipient of several Juno awards, flows from the heights of Fouta-Djalon, Guinea, throats the rhythms of Mali, to jump into the immensity of the rhythms of the world, from Senegal. The fluidity of its guitar lines, sometimes electric, sometimes acoustic, enhanced by the echo of drums, balafon, kora, ngoni, bass and drums, gives birth to a nomadic and generous West African sound. Expected for 13 years, his 8th opus, Doye Doye (2023), more committed, confirms a borderless approach to his roots.”

TO PURCHASE YOUR TICKETS, CLICK HERE!

This content comes from the official website of the Festival International Nuits d’Afrique and is adapted by PANM360.