Gwakasonn̩ - Vwayaje 2xLP

Label: Seance Centre

Gwakasonné is the ecstatic articulation of Robert Oumaou's artistic and political vision, a unified expression of his interests in American jazz, pre-colonial rhythms, Guadeloupian independence, and Créole poetics. Viewed from our current landscape, Robert's work is exceptionally enduring, grounded in its declarations of freedom and foundational use of the Ka (drum) and voice, and prescient in its borderless explorations of protest folk, electronics, ambient atmosphere, music from the African diaspora, and spiritual jazz. The long-form hive-mind expression of the group has parallels with similar explorations by The Grateful Dead, electric Miles, Pharaoh Sanders, and even the Boredoms, but these are only oblique references for a truly peerless sound. Fusing Gwo Ka drumming and tuning systems with contemporary jazz and vanguard recording technologies, Robert's ecstatic phrasings, embrace of electronic instruments, and daring lyrics set the group apart as the beatific expression of a sagacious soul.