Groupe Folklorique Martiniquais

Singer-songwriter Loulou Boislaville led the Groupe Folklorique Martiniquais from 1966 to 1981, building on the multi-genre ensemble’s already substantial success in the Caribbean. Boislaville spread the group’s spritely take on traditional mazurkas, biguines, valses and calendas internationally on visits to France and New York. Despite its decades of success, Groupe Folklorique Martiniquais came to a sad end when a massive fire in Fort-de-France ruined all the bands costumes, stage-sets and decor archive. Part of the island’s vibrant legacy had sadly been lost. Boislaville, who died in 2001, tried but couldn’t re-launch the group, spending his final years tutoring young bands and working with an association devoted to the care of the elderly. But this compilation accurately reflects their noted stylistic range and aptly captures Boislaville’s rather mournful, beseeching lead vocals.

The set’s opener, ‘Missié Michel (Oué Oué)’ is a crisp demonstration of the Martiniquean biguine, a galloping melange of tight rhythms topped by luscious extemporising from Frantz Regna on clarinet. The mazurka, ‘Grand Mais Grand’, alternates Boislaville’s Creole lead vocal with a chorus chant that has a beguiling melody and lilting delivery. Unfortunately the charm and verve of these early tunes soon dissipates, with much of the remainder drifting into show-band banality. The set is somewhat redeemed by the last inclusion, ‘Pot Pourri Carnaval’ which rocks along at a hectic pace – it’s almost a Central African soukous.