*** Boukan Ginen

RÉV AN NOU

(Xenophile)

The Haitian music called mizik rasin (roots music) blurs the lines of politics, religion, protest, and pop culture. Barely two decades old, this music has the social conscience of reggae, the new-world African religious overtones of Afro-Cuban music, and the high-tech punch of the slickest Afropop.

Boukan Ginen stand near or at the top of Haiti's burgeoning rasin scene, and their second release shows why. Fast, hypnotic, percussion-driven grooves like "Nèg Yo Danjere (Those Men Are Dangerous)" bristle with passion and purpose. The group's choral-chant melodies hit like a blast of wind, and lead singer Eddy François offsets them with a solo voice full of craggy character. François's roots cry sometimes evokes Bob Marley, but he can also croon with the polish of a Cuban salsero. For all the brash keyboards, snarling guitars, and loping dance rhythms, this music maintains a mood of spiritual uplift, even revelation. The embrace of Africa, as a concept, a sound, and the home of Haiti's living ancestors, is palpable. But far from being nostalgic or distant, the music delivers the vitality of modern Haiti, with all its turbulence, darkness, and promise.

-- Banning Eyre