Here is a new occasion to travel fast and far without leaving our homes. Great Haitian singer Moonlight Benjamin is back this year with her new album Simido. Review.
Released at the very end of January, Moonlight Benjamin’s new opus is a hidden nugget of gold, like the one we can sometimes find in the wild. But here, no need to dig deep and ravage the earth to find Simido. Earth is coming with the album.
The journey, the culture and Moonlight Benjamin’s spirit are everywhere in this Haitian blues-rock fusion. If we don’t quite understand literally what the lyrics are saying, as they’re in Haitian Creole, the power of her voice carries all the messages high and far. Haiti history, the oppression upon her people and the different politics that marked the island befriend spirits, strength and hope in every track.
The raging guitars accompany the drums high tempo perfectly. And quickly, we get back it, to that powerful voice. With Nap chape, Salwe, Simido or Kafou, the Caribbean islands are highlighted in a very different way from what we’re used to, and it feels great.
Like a warm and infinite night, the artist’s voice because the full moon that shines on the island with both compassion and a protective presence. Moonlight Benjamin wraps us or bewitches us in her voodoo rock and we realise we can’t live without her music anymore.
If it is easy to call her the Haitian Patti Smith, we prefer to memorize her voice’s warmth and to call her by her own name, Moonlight Benjamin, as she is unique and carries with her a mix of emotions all very beneficial to our respective and isolated situations all while putting not-to-be-forgotten history to light.
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