The Drummers of the Société Absolument Guinin - Vodou Drums In Haiti 2 (The Living Gods Of Haiti) (2017)

Back in 1804, Haiti was the first Caribbean island to gain independence from its slave owners and a fundamental part of that revolt was down to the way its displaced population found unity thru religion and percussive communication, adapting and mutating their mix of deeply rooted West African drum rituals - as practiced by the Fon and Ewe, and incorporating elements of Yoruba and Kongo cultures as well as indigenous Taíno beliefs - into a new, syncretic language of spirituality and rhythmelodic meaning which couldn’t be understood by oppressive ruling classes, and could be used to encrypt non-verbal messages between the island’s many respective groups.

Bearing that in mind, Haiti therefore developed one of the richest percussive traditions in the world, which has more or less become a byword for rhythms that possess the mind, body, and soul like few others. And that’s exactly what you’ll find inside Drums In Haiti 2: The Living Gods of Haiti; a gripping, totally hypnotic set of 16 rituals that demand the attention of any and all DJ, dancers, rhythm-obsessed anthropologists and bored congregations looking for a new religion. The religion of the rhythm.