Various - Haiti Vodou: The Voodoo Drums of Haiti

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5...according to our Ant on Fri 05 Mar, 2010.

You'd need to be living on an other planet not to know about the extreme devastation caused to the island of Haiti and its people as a result of the recent earthquake. An act of god many would say… These things we have no control over but only try our hardest to pick up the pieces, to help rebuild peoples lives. I'm not going to slag off the Simon Cowell-curated 'Everybody Hurts' record. If you like that record then go and buy it as it's for an extremely worthy cause. However if you're looking for an alternative then this disc comes highly recommended. This is music from the people, for the people. The audio was recorded by Steve Garrett & Christopher Rees in October 2002… When I unpacked a box of new releases and handled this CD I looked at the cover "Haiti Vodou" in large letters and then "The Voodoo Drums Of Haiti" and thought I'm having one of these, even before I noticed the text "100% of all profits go to the earthquake disaster relief charities in Haiti". Simply put this is pure percussion, fast, primal, trance inducing, complex rhythms, vocal chants. Heavy and repetitive tribal grooves soundtracking age old rituals, brilliantly recorded too. This is a perfect example of how music can be even more affecting untouched by technology. These drummers would give even the likes of Dave Lombardo, Dale Crover, Joey Baron, John Bonham, Dave Grohl etc. more than a run for their money. Tight as hell and missing a beat is unimaginable. Those folks that enjoy releases on the Sublime Frequencies label really ought to check this out. I'd be recommending this as album of the week regardless of the fact that it's for such a good cause so the later really is a bonus. Breathtaking stuff!!!!!!

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Welsh record label Red Eye Music to release album of Haitian Voodoo drumming in aid of the Haiti earthquake disaster. Cardiff record label Red Eye Music will release Haiti Vodou: The Voodoo Drums Of Haiti in order to raise money for the disaster relief efforts in Haiti.

100% of the profits from the release will go to charities working in Haiti.

In October 2002 Welsh musician Christopher Rees and Cultural Concerns director Steve Garrett travelled to the Caribbean island of Haiti on behalf of The Haiti Fund (a charity set up in Wales in 1996 to help the people of Haiti through educational initiatives). After working with schools in the north of the island introducing new teaching methods incorporating the use of music, they returned to the capital Port Au Prince to research and record the sound of Vodou drumming. Vodou, commonly known /Anglicised as 'voodoo' is a widely misunderstood religion practised by over half the population of Haiti. Often shrouded in mystery and misinterpretation the religion and its music is the heartbeat of the nation providing people with the spiritual strength to survive their daily challenges.

Recorded over two nights in down town Port Au Prince, Haiti Vodou: The Voodoo Drums of Haiti presents a raw and heated introduction to the world of Vodou drumming (the sacred rhythms of spirit possession) via authentic field recordings in the tradition of the great Alan Lomax who himself visited the island back in 1936. The phrase 'mind-blowing' is often over used in music journalism these days but it can be justifiably employed here when describing the relentless energy and intoxicating intensity captured during the Vodou ceremonies. Haiti Vodou presents an exhilarating insight into the world of Vodou and will appeal to a wide range of percussionists, Caribbean music enthusiasts & scholars 100% of the profits from the release will go directly to the disaster relief efforts in Haiti

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