Disques Debs International: An Island Story - Biguine, Afro Latin & Musique Antillaise 1960-1972

A first release from the vaults of the label Disques, this French Caribbean selection encapsulates the riveting cross-pollination of island rhythms in the late 1960s and 70s. The range of moods, tempos and styles is breathtaking, reflecting label owner Henri Debs' sophisticated taste, nous and contacts – the biguines are quick, crisp and slick, the Afro–Latin tunes as immediately danceable as Puerto Rican and Cuban numbers of the same era, and the creative fusions electric. The late Debs had clearly played a pivotal role in updating and adapting the Creole music of Guadeloupe and Martinique.

The opener in Strut's planned three–CD set, An Island Story marks the first decade of the label's existence, with the cuts mostly recorded in the back of Debs' shop in Pointe-à-Pitre, Guadeloupe's capital. The selection takes in big band orchestras led by the Trinidadian Cyril Diaz and Haitian trumpeter Raymond Cicault, home-grown stars like saxophonist Edouard Benoit, and a new generation such as local ensemble Les Aiglons, whose ‘Les Aiglons Ka Satisfait’ is the CD's knockout dance track, its rolling, bass and clarinet-led rhythm making a hot seat for vocal refrains, whoops and shouts. Elsewhere, Remy Mondey's charming, jaunty biguine ‘Meringue Mondey’ showcases the links between hot Guadeloupian rhythms, Dominican merengue, punchy Cuban piano, and even cumbia bass. This is an exceptional Caribbean compilation from a golden era.