Various - Disques Debs International Volume 1: An Island Story

  by Dave Goodwin

published: 25 / 9 / 2018

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The wonderful people at Strut have been busy again. Hot on the heels of their 'Beginning of the End' series the Afro-Caribbean champions launch their first ever compilation series which accesses the archives of one of the greatest of all French-Caribbean labels, none other than the great Disques Debs International label which is based out of Guadeloupe. That label was originally set up by the late Henri Debs during the late 1950s. Both the label and his studio has continued to trade and make wonderful sounds for over fifty years, and has released over 300 7” singles and 200 LPs in the process. 'Disques Debs International' cover genres and individual styles varying from zouk and reggae to early biguine and bolero. Not only that, but Debs played a pivotal role in bringing the créole music of Guadeloupe and Martinique to a wider international audience. This is the first volume in a series and marks the first decade of the label’s existence, taking in the styles of big band orchestras, a plethora of home-grown stars, touring bands that took their sound out to the masses and a new generation that would emerge at the end of the 1960s. All of the early releases on the Disques Debs label were recorded in the back of Henri’s shop in Pointe-a-Pitre, employing his own sextet playing percussive biguines to young saxophonist Edouard Benoit, the leader of Les Maxels and regular arranger for Debs bands. Other artists ranged from big bands like Orchestre Esperanza and Orchestre Caribbean Jazz to poet and radio personality Casimir “Caso” Létang and folkloric gwoka artist Sydney Leremon. As well as the home grown sounds that were abundant around that time, Disques Debs also capitalised_ on recording foreign touring artists visiting Guadeloupe during the early 1960s including Haitian trumpeter Raymond Cicault and Trinidadian bandleader Cyril Diaz. This album has been carefully compiled by Hugo Mendez (Sofrito) and Emile Omar (Radio Nova). 'Disques Debs International' is released in conjunction with 'Henri Debs Et Fils' and 'Air Caraibes'. The vinyl version also houses a WAV download and features a host of rare and unseen photos from the Debs archive, while available in both it and the CD formats are extensive sleeve notes and interviews with Philippe Debs and Max “Maxo” Severin of Les Vikings. The album contains twenty-one tracks of blissful Afro Latin from some recognisable standards to some real obscure material. Cyril Diaz's 'Feeling Happy' sets the scene early on and there are some epic cuts to be found in the shape of 'Remy Mondey' and 'Les Shupa Shupa D`Haiti'. Merveilleux!

Track Listing:-

1 Ces P`Tits Je T`aime
2 Travail Zènfants! Chantez Après!
3 Feeling Happy
4 Colliè Et Zanno
5 Douce Kombass
6 Mr. Morin
7 Lan Misè
8 Salvana
9 You You Matayango
10 À Mon Ami Lucien Jolibois
11 Ou Pas Bel
12 Moin Çé On Maléré
13 Si I Bon Di I Bon
14 Meringue Mondey
15 Van Van
16 Batterie Shupa
17 Lovency
18 Stanislas
19 Les Aiglons Ka Satisfait
20 Nanao Nanao
21 Assez Fait Cancan

Label Links:-

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https://twitter.com/strutrecords
https://www.youtube.com/user/strutrecords
https://www.facebook.com/StrutRecords
http://www.strut-records.com/

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