Natibel

The sound of gwoka, the ancestral music emanating from the tiny Caribbean island of Guadaloupe, dates back centuries. It was modernized in the late ’70s, its thunderous drums now sweetened with guitars, bass, synthesizers, creating a beguiling mix of ancient and modern rhythms. Trumpeter Edmony Krater was a driving force of that new sound, first as a player in iconic group Gwakasonné and later helming his own band Zepiss upon moving to Paris. Featuring Krater with Eddy Lebouin, Freddy Tisseur, Philippe Augusty, and Rico Toto, their 1983 debut still sounds ahead of its time: tropical and suave, ritualistic and funky. The amalgam of pounding goat skin-covered ka drums with slinky bass lines remains formidable.