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Music and dance are an integral part of Guadeloupe’s culture and traditions with all major festivals and events on the island celebrating the spirit of rhythm and movement. Guadeloupan music is a mixture of sounds and rhythms borrowed from French, English, Spanish and African music. |
Despite its small size Guadeloupe has had a significant impact on world music that became all the more pronounced after the introduction of Zouk music in the 20th century.
Guadeloupan music began to have a definitive sound in the 17th century on the same principles as the Creole language. The fusion of European and African music produced various styles guided mainly by drums. Though Martinique and Guadeloupe are most frequently known only for the internationally-renowned zouk style, the islands have also produced popular musicians in various updated styles of traditional biguine, chouval bwa and gwo ka. The world-famous zouk band Kassav' remains easily the most famous performers from the island, while the Guadeloupan Carnival band Akiyo has become the only group in that style to record commercially.
Gwo ka is a family of hand drums used in Guadeloupe to create a form of folk music. There are seven basic rhythms in gwo ka, and multiple variations on each. Different sizes of drums establish the basic rhythm which culminates in a crescendo. Rural Guadeloupans still use gwo ka drums in communal experiences called lewozes, while a more modernized version called gwo ka moderne add new instruments ranging from djembe drums to electric bass guitar. Gwo ka moderne artists include Pakala and Pukoutan'n, alongside more pop-influenced musicians like Marcel Magnat and Ti Celeste, while Gerard Hubert and others have fused gwo ka with zouk.
A more modernized version of gwo ka is gwo ka moderne, which adds new instruments ranging from conga or djembe drums and chimes to electric bass guitar. At root, however, these styles all use the same fundamental seven rhythms as folk gwo ka. Zouk legends Kassav' played an important role in the modernization of gwo ka, giving urban credibility to a style that was seen as backward and unsophisticated; they initially played in a gro ka format, using songs from the gwo ka Carnival tradition of mas a St. Jean and even placing an homage to traditionalist drumming legend Velo on their earlier albums.
Gwo ka is often accompanied by another type of percussion instrument called twi ba as well as vocal elements.
Between the two World Wars the beguine was invented, influenced by the New Orleans rhythm of the jazz orchestras. In 1980s came the Zouk which today has become synonymous with West-Indian music. Previously, the zouk was a popular festival in the countryside. Bands as Zouk Machine, Malavoi and Kassav exported this musical genre in the whole world.
French Antillean Carnival in ParisCarnival is a very important festival on Guadeloupe and the neighbouring Martinique. Guadeloupan Carnival traditionally includes dances of African origin like laghia, haut-taille, grage, calinda and bel-air. Traditional instruments include chacha, makye, boula, tanbou chan and tanbou has drums. Both islands feature participatory, call-and-response style songs during their Carnival celebrations.
