Episode 160: French Caribbean

Today’s show takes us back to those neighbors of ours who we know so little about… Caribbean islands in our own backyard that we never visit, in fact we almost never even think about them. I’m referring to the French West Indies: in particular, the islands of Guadeloupe and Martinique, and the nation of Haiti. These are some of the few places in the Caribbean where French is spoken, and they have developed a musical culture that is distinctly different from neighboring cultures speaking Spanish and English. Of all the music I play on Tropicology, I would say that the French West Indies has the music that is least exposed in the United States, and as a result it can be hard music for gringos to place. Today is going to be a nice sampling of the genre.