Lakou Mizik is a band that’s also a balancing act—they’re a Haitian band, no doubt, but they aren’t afraid to let the tasting notes of jazz and reggae shine through as they revel in their country’s trademark genres, kompa and rara. Their shows have a way of bursting into communal parades, and in that spirit, Lakou Mizik is turning to the community to help them make their next album. The band is looking for help crowdfunding their new album, currently titled HaitiaNola.
As the title may tip off, the group visited their Francophonic neighbor to the north of the Caribbean when they were invited to the New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival. It shouldn’t be a surprise that a band given to parades and jaunty horns would find a lot to love in the Big Easy. Listening to their album, it seems obvious that they would find musical kinship in New Orleans. As the Haitians fought for their freedom in the early 19th century, French colonialists, people they enslaved, and black freedmen fled to the closest French territory in Louisiana, where Kreyol became Creole. There was some very Cajun-sounding accordion anchored tracks on Lakou Mizik’s 2016 record—which also, we should note, was crowdfunded.
So it’ll be interesting to hear the fruits of the band’s latest labors. The album already boasts guest spots from the Preservation Hall Jazz Band, the Lost Bayou Ramblers, and one-time Caroline Chocolate Drop artist, Leyla McCalla. Now they need the money to finish mastering the record and pay for the studio time.
Afropop is focused on nothing more than how music moves with people, so this project could hardly be more firmly in our wheelhouse and in the interests of our readers. Check out the Indiegogo page and contribute if you can. Their campaign ends Nov. 13.
