150 Million Gold Francs

1. Sa Pa Fem Anyen

2. Just Friends 05:17

3. Haiti's Journey

4. Sa Nou Fe Nap Peye

5. 150 Million Gold Francs

6. Gaya Ko W

7. Nan Pwen Miray Lanmou Pap Kraze

I’d like to take you on a musical journey, and share with you meditations on Haiti.

The very first sound we hear, before we inhale oxygen, is the voice of our mother. The record begins with my mother singing an old hymn that I used to hear and play in church during these 40 days/40 nights revivals. And through these revivals, I made some lifelong friends who shared the same passion I have for music. Though our paths, over years, would diverge, I wanted us to reunite for my debut record.

The result of that reunion is an evolution of the rhythms I grew up playing — and some that I learned to play later in life due to my parents’ attempt at keeping “secular” music away from my sisters and me. Most of these rhythms are usually played by multiple percussionists, but I wanted to orchestrate them on the drum set without the use of overdubs — a virtue I hold true throughout the album.

During my study of these rhythms, Haiti’s history would fascinate me. I am proud to say I come from a lineage of men and women who were the first African republic to gain its independence from its colonizer France. But they paid a steep price for freedom. 150 million gold francs (2.7 billion dollars in today’s currency) was later reduced to roughly 90 million. But Haiti’s never recovered from that deficit. Generations later, we still face repercussions of our ancestors’ righteous fight.

Internal political turmoil, corruption, and poverty, which have led to horrific crimes, combined with natural disasters to suppress the state’s resilience. The bleeding hasn’t stopped. Sullivan’s intro to “Sa Nou Fe Nap Peye” transmits our emotional response to this suppression. Still, we can rise up. “Gaya Ko W. Nan Pwen Miray Lanmou Pap Kraze!” translates to “Let’s get our s*!# together.” There’s no set of painful circumstances love can’t overcome. I hope as you’re listening to my music, you’ll experience the complexity of my journey. 

Releases April 12, 2024

Godwin Louis : Alto Sax
Harold St. Louis: Keyboards
Dener Ceide: Guitar
Sullivan Fortner:Piano and Organ
Addi Lafosse: Electric Bass
Jonathan Michel: Track 1 & 4
Obed Calvaire: Drums
Recorded at Sear Sound
Engineered by Chris Allen
Mix by Jeremy Lucas and Obed Calvaire
Produced by Obed Calvaire
Executive Producer Robert Mailer Anderson

Endorsements:
Zildjian Cymbals
Yamaha Drums
Vic Firth
Aquarian Drum Heads
Meinl Percussion
Prologix Pads
Zoom Audio Recorder
Hi-hat checkere made by Miguel Fernandez

Cover Photo and artwork by Jasmin Ortiz Gonzalez
Photo by Lawrence Sumulong