- In the 1980s, zouk was a soundtrack to life for many people in the French West Indies. The style, which drew inspiration from funk, boogie, Latin and African music, could be heard blaring out of public buses driving around the region's islands. It was also played at parties, called tans, where two main dance styles emerged: zouk béton, which was quick and cheery, and zouk love, which was slow and sultry. The music from this era is captured on Digital Zandoli, a compilation put together by two diggers, Julien Achard and Nicolas Skliris, for the French label Heavenly Sweetness. The opening track, Puzzle Pulsion's "Mwoin Ka Songe," barely registers a pulse of 100 BPM, and suddenly transports the listener to a tan full of slow-dancing couples on a humid night in the tropics.
The sound of zouk was popularised outside the French West Indies by Kassav', and one of that band's founding members, Pierre-Edouard Décimus, contributes the standout "Devenn." There's a pleasing range of tempos and textures throughout Digital Zandoli. Some songs start with a flourish before settling into a languid groove—like "Fle Pou'w," which seems to happily exhaust itself after some exuberant opening bars. Others, like The Group NSI's "Mande Moin On Lajan, Pa Mande Moin Za Fe An Moin," are the opposite: its bursts of trumpet and vocals bring the song to life after a languid introduction.
Two of the most boogie-influenced tracks, "Vacance Union" and "Mizik Nou," you wouldn't be surprised to hear in a beachside set from Hunee or Antal. The slap bass on "Nou Ke Sa Enmew" feels like a tropical version of Eri Ohno. Tucked away at the end is Eddy La Viny's "Indiano," an experimental cut that sounds like something composer K. Leimer would have crafted if his studio had been in Pointe-à-Pitre instead of Seattle.
Digital Zandoli is reminiscent of Honest Jon's' enduring series London Is The Place For Me, which chronicles the spirited calypso, kwela, highlife, jazz and reggae made by Caribbean post-war immigrants in London. The whole package of this compilation—from the carefully written sleeve notes, to the quality-over-quantity selection, to the colourful cover art—makes it a lively snapshot of a lesser-known music scene.
Tracklist01. Puzzle Pulsion - Mwoin Ka Songe
02. Pierre-Edouard Décimus - Devenn
03. Ramon Pyrme & Jean Claude Cornely - Vacance Union
04. Zanma - Poutchi
05. Swanha Desvarieux - Nou Ke Sa Enmew
06. The Group NSI - Mande Moin On Lajan, Pa Mande Moin Za Fe An Moin
07. OREA - Biguine Inferno
08. Milton - Mizik Nou
09. Selekta - Fle Pou'w
10. Meliza - Enrage
11. Acayouman - Si Ou Ladje Moin
12. Eddy La Viny - Indiano