Gwakasonné

Gwakasonné is the cumulative creative 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. Over the course of three albums, all released in the 80s, Robert piloted a revolving cast of musicians, a venerable who’s-who of Point-a-Pitre avant-jazz pioneers, to deftly intone his cooperative/outspoken concepts. The songs on Vwayajé are compiled from these three releases, Gwakasonné, Temwen, and Moun, along with an electronic mantra taken from his 2007 solo album Sang Comment Taire. Viewed from our current artistic and cultural landscape, Robert’s work exists outside of time, both ancient and timeless in its declarations of freedom and foundational use of the Ka (drum) and voice, and contemporary in its borderless explorations of protest folk, electronics, ambient atmosphere, and spiritual jazz.