Muziki wa Zouk...Tuujadili

[Safari_ni_Safari]

Mimi nauzimia sana hasa enzi zile za KASSAV'..........hawa ndio waanzilishi....hasa hiki kibao MEDLEY

Kassav' - Medley - YouTube

 

[Safari_ni_Safari]

Jocelyn Berouad in action.....

Kassav' - Tim Tim Bwa Sek - YouTube


Zouk is a style of rhythmic music originating from the Caribbean islands of Guadeloupe & Martinique. Zouk means "party" or "festival" in the localAntillean Creole of French, although the word originally referred to, and is still used to refer to, a popular dance, based on the Polish dance, themazurka, that was introduced to the French Caribbean in the 19th Century.In Africa, it is popular in franco- and lusophone countries. In Europe it is particularly popular in France, and in North America the Canadian province of Quebec.
Zouk's origins can be traced back to the West Indies, having come out of the French islands of Guadeloupe and Martinique in the early to mid-1980's. In Jocelyn Guilbault's seminal book on the subject, "Zouk: World Music in the West Indies," she states that "Zouk is the creation of black, Creole-speaking Antillean artists," and puts forth the theory that it is the product of the struggle to form some kind of national identity among the four islands,Martinique, Guadeloupe, Dominica and St. Lucia. All four share a similar colonial past, having been under both French and English rule at various points in their history, and are populated predominantly by blacks, who are the descendants of African slaves. The word "zouk" comes from the Creole word meaning "party," and is such a part of everyday life that a common phrase heard on the islands is "When you hear zouk, you feel at home."
Music authors Charles De Ledesma and Gene Scaramuzzo trace zouk's development to the Guadeloupean gwo ka and Martinican bèlè (tambour and ti bwa) folk traditions. Ethnomusicologist Jocelyn Guilbault, however, describes zouk as a synthesis of Caribbean popular styles, especially Dominica cadence-lypso, Guadeloupean biguine, and Haitian cadence. Zouk arose in the late 1970s and early 1980s, using elements of previous styles of Antillean music, as well as imported genres.

The leading band to emerge from this period was Kassav', who came from Guadeloupe and Martinique. They gave the style a pan-Caribbean sound by taking elements from compas, reggae, and salsamusic, and became one of the most famous bands of the genre in the world. Kassav' was formed in 1979 by Pierre-Edouard Décimus, a long-time professional musician who worked with Freddy Marshall. Together, the two of them decided to take carnival music and make it a more modern and polished style. Their first album, Love and Ka Dance (1980), established the sound of zouk. They continued to grow more popular, both as a group and with several members' solo careers, finally peaking in 1984 with Yélélé, which featured the international hit "Zouk-la-sé Sel Médikaman Nou Ni".With this hit, zouk rapidly became the most widespread dance craze to hit Latin American in some time, and was wildly popular even as far afield as Europe and Asia. Zouk became known for wildly theatrical concerts featuring special effects spectacles, colorful costumes and outrageous antics.
Zouk music has thrilled and inspired millions of fans from around the world. The global influence of the genre is even more remarkable considering its roots. The islands of Guadeloupe and Martinique together cover barely 1,000 square miles, and each is inhabited by just 400,000 residents. Zouk music is steeped in the complex history of the islands, one of unsurpassed beauty, colonization, political turmoil, and the abundant fusion of bits and pieces of African, European, and Caribbean cultures. Naturally, zouk itself is the product of a combination of musical influences.
Zouk influence has been felt in Brazilian lambada and other Caribbean styles like, compas, bouyon, soca and combined rhythm, as well as African styles such as soukous, makossa, Kuduro, Semba,Coupe-Decale, mbalax, Gumbe, coladeira, and funana.