Cadence-lypso
Encyclopedia
Cadence-lypso, popularized as simply Cadence is a cultural music of Dominica
based in Guadeloupe
in the early 1970s. Cadence-lypso is a fusion of Dominican and Caribbean/Latin rhythms and has totally revolutionized the music scence in its genre, and it has now become the main dance Music of Dominica
, Guadeloupe
and other French creole
Caribbean islands.
Cadence-lypso is the precursor for zouk
and soca
music.
(based on the island of Guadeloupe
) in 1973 that combined cadence rampa
and calypso
.
It was developed in the 1970s by groups from Dominica, and was the first style of Dominican music to find international acclaim.
In spite of the influence of CADENCE rampa and CaLYPSO, hence the name "CADENCE-LYPSO", this musical phenomenon created by the group "Exile One" has evolved over the years. Cadence music has evolve under the influence of Dominican and Caribbean/Latin rhythms, as well as rock and roll
, soul
, and funk music from the United States. By the end of the 1970s, Gordon Henderson
defined Cadence-lypso as "a synthesis
of Caribbean and African musical patterns fusing the traditional with the contemporary".
Aside from Exile One, other bands included the Grammacks
, Black Roots
, Black Machine, Naked Feet, Belles Combo, Mantra
, Black Affairs, Liquid Ice, Wafrikai, Midnighte Groovers and Milestone
, while the most famous singers included Bill Thomas
, Chubby Marc, Gordon Henderson
, Linford John, Janet Azouz, Sinky Rabess, Tony Valmond, Jeff Joseph, Mike Moreau and Anthony Gussie. Ophelia Marie
is a popular singer of cadence-lypso in the 1980s.
Cadence-lypso was influenced by nationalist movement that espoused Rastafari and Black Power
. Many groups performed songs with intensely ideological positions, and much of the repertoire was in the vernacular kwéyòl language.
In the year 1969, Gordon Henderson decided that the French Overseas Department of Guadeloupe had everything he needed to begin a career in Creole music. He met the singer Hippomene Leauva from the then famous “Les Vikings” who introduced him to the band which included Pierre Edouard Decimus who later founded the group Kassav.
Gordon recorded a few songs with Les Vikings which became instant hits in countries beyond the usual market such as Surinam and Holland. At some point he felt that he should start his own group and asked an former school friend Fitzroy Williams to recruit a few Dominicans to complete those he had already selected. The group was named Exile One
.
Exile One was copied by bands from all over and most of all from the island of Dominica. In forty years, Gordon Henderson has worked with scores of different musicians who have adopted the “Cadence-Lypso” a style that he named himself.
Exile One was the most innovative and exportable creole band of the Caribbean. The first to sign a production contract with a major label call Barclay Records. The first to export the music to the four corners of the globe: Japan, the Indian Ocean, Africa, North America, Europe, The Cape Verde
Islands.
- Tracing the History of the Music to its Dominican Roots
Neva Wartell (Reprinted from National Geographic)
With seeds planted in the French Antilles and cultivated in the studios of Paris, zouk exploded onto the music scene in the late 1980s, taking over dance floors throughout Europe, Africa and the Caribbean.
Guadeloupans Jacob Desvarieux and the brothers Decimus are widely credited for having created the zouk phenomenon in the high-tech recording studios of Paris in the 1980s.
Yet they themselves acknowledge that zouk was merely a natural progression from the "kadans-lypso" of such bands as Exile One (led by singer Gordon Henderson), Grammacks, and the Midnight Groovers –all from the tiny island of Dominica – whose late '60s Caribbean fusion set the stage for some of the region's most significant musical developments – such as zouk, "new generation" compas, and soca – in the decades that followed.
Cadence-lypso has also become a part of bouyon
music.
Dominica
Dominica , officially the Commonwealth of Dominica, is an island nation in the Lesser Antilles region of the Caribbean Sea, south-southeast of Guadeloupe and northwest of Martinique. Its size is and the highest point in the country is Morne Diablotins, which has an elevation of . The Commonwealth...
based in Guadeloupe
Guadeloupe
Guadeloupe is an archipelago located in the Leeward Islands, in the Lesser Antilles, with a land area of 1,628 square kilometres and a population of 400,000. It is the first overseas region of France, consisting of a single overseas department. As with the other overseas departments, Guadeloupe...
in the early 1970s. Cadence-lypso is a fusion of Dominican and Caribbean/Latin rhythms and has totally revolutionized the music scence in its genre, and it has now become the main dance Music of Dominica
Music of Dominica
The music of Dominica plays an important role in the social and culture life of the Antillean island of Dominica. The Nature island boasts of Cadence-lypso, a genre developed in Dominica and made popular in the French deparments of Martinique and Guadeloupe. It spread through France and was very...
, Guadeloupe
Music of Guadeloupe
The music of Guadeloupe encompasses a large popular music industry, which gained in international renown after the success of zouk music in the later 20th century. Zouk's popularity was particularly intense in France, where the genre became an important symbol of identity for Guadeloupe and...
and other French creole
French-based creole languages
A French Creole, or French-based Creole language, is a creole language based on the French language, more specifically on a 17th century koiné French extant in Paris, the French Atlantic harbors, and the nascent French colonies...
Caribbean islands.
Cadence-lypso is the precursor for zouk
Zouk
Zouk is a style of rhythmic music originating from the Caribbean islands of Guadeloupe & Martinique. Zouk means "party" or "festival" in the local Antillean Creole of French, although the word originally referred to, and is still used to refer to, a popular dance, based on the Polish dance, the...
and soca
Soca music
Soca is a style of music from Trinidad and Tobago. Soca is a musical development of traditional Trinidadian calypso, through loans from the 1960s onwards from predominantly black popular music....
music.
History
The most influential band in the development of cadence-lypso was Exile OneExile One
Exile One is a legendary musical group of the 1970s from Dominica based in Guadeloupe. Gordon Henderson is the leader and founder of the famous musical group "Exile One" and the one who coined the name "Cadence-lypso" for a genre of music that revolutionized modern creole music worldwide....
(based on the island of Guadeloupe
Guadeloupe
Guadeloupe is an archipelago located in the Leeward Islands, in the Lesser Antilles, with a land area of 1,628 square kilometres and a population of 400,000. It is the first overseas region of France, consisting of a single overseas department. As with the other overseas departments, Guadeloupe...
) in 1973 that combined cadence rampa
Cadence rampa
Cadence rampa is a variety of music from the Caribbean country of Haïti. Cadence rampa is originally a modern Haitian Méringue popularized by the talented sax player Webert Sicot in the early 60s...
and calypso
Calypso music
Calypso is a style of Afro-Caribbean music that originated in Trinidad and Tobago from African and European roots. The roots of the genre lay in the arrival of enslaved Africans, who, not being allowed to speak with each other, communicated through song...
.
It was developed in the 1970s by groups from Dominica, and was the first style of Dominican music to find international acclaim.
In spite of the influence of CADENCE rampa and CaLYPSO, hence the name "CADENCE-LYPSO", this musical phenomenon created by the group "Exile One" has evolved over the years. Cadence music has evolve under the influence of Dominican and Caribbean/Latin rhythms, as well as rock and roll
Rock and roll
Rock and roll is a genre of popular music that originated and evolved in the United States during the late 1940s and early 1950s, primarily from a combination of African American blues, country, jazz, and gospel music...
, soul
Soul music
Soul music is a music genre originating in the United States combining elements of gospel music and rhythm and blues. According to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, soul is "music that arose out of the black experience in America through the transmutation of gospel and rhythm & blues into a form of...
, and funk music from the United States. By the end of the 1970s, Gordon Henderson
Gordon Henderson
Gordon F. Henderson, CC, QC was a Canadian intellectual property lawyer who joined the law firm Gowling Lafleur Henderson LLP in 1937, and later became its chairman....
defined Cadence-lypso as "a synthesis
Synthesis
In general, the noun synthesis refers to a combination of two or more entities that together form something new; alternately, it refers to the creating of something by artificial means...
of Caribbean and African musical patterns fusing the traditional with the contemporary".
Aside from Exile One, other bands included the Grammacks
Grammacks
Grammacks was a 1970s musical group from Dominica.-Biography:The band was started in a village on the west coast called St. Joseph. The band was formed by Anthony "Curvin" Serrant, guitar Anthony "Tepam" George, bass Elon "Bollo" Rodniy drums and keyboard player McDonald "Mckie" Prosper. Jeff...
, Black Roots
Black Roots (band)
Black Roots were a roots reggae band from the St. Paul's area of Bristol, England formed in 1979. They released several albums before splitting up in 1990.-History:...
, Black Machine, Naked Feet, Belles Combo, Mantra
Mantra
A mantra is a sound, syllable, word, or group of words that is considered capable of "creating transformation"...
, Black Affairs, Liquid Ice, Wafrikai, Midnighte Groovers and Milestone
Milestone
A milestone is one of a series of numbered markers placed along a road or boundary at intervals of one mile or occasionally, parts of a mile. They are typically located at the side of the road or in a median. They are alternatively known as mile markers, mileposts or mile posts...
, while the most famous singers included Bill Thomas
Bill Thomas
William Marshall Thomas , commonly known as Bill Thomas, is an American politician, and a Republican member of the United States House of Representatives from 1979–2007, finishing his tenure representing California's 22nd congressional district and as the Chairman of the House Ways and Means...
, Chubby Marc, Gordon Henderson
Gordon Henderson
Gordon F. Henderson, CC, QC was a Canadian intellectual property lawyer who joined the law firm Gowling Lafleur Henderson LLP in 1937, and later became its chairman....
, Linford John, Janet Azouz, Sinky Rabess, Tony Valmond, Jeff Joseph, Mike Moreau and Anthony Gussie. Ophelia Marie
Ophelia Marie
Ophelia Marie is a popular singer of cadence-lypso from Dominica in the 1980s. She is sometimes referred to as "Dominica's Lady of Song", and the "First Lady of Creole"...
is a popular singer of cadence-lypso in the 1980s.
Cadence-lypso was influenced by nationalist movement that espoused Rastafari and Black Power
Black Power
Black Power is a political slogan and a name for various associated ideologies. It is used in the movement among people of Black African descent throughout the world, though primarily by African Americans in the United States...
. Many groups performed songs with intensely ideological positions, and much of the repertoire was in the vernacular kwéyòl language.
Exile One
Exile One is a legendary musical group of the 1970s from Dominica based in Guadeloupe. Gordon Henderson is the leader and founder of the famous musical group "Exile One" and the one who coined the name "Cadence-lypso" for a genre of music that revolutionized modern creole music worldwide.In the year 1969, Gordon Henderson decided that the French Overseas Department of Guadeloupe had everything he needed to begin a career in Creole music. He met the singer Hippomene Leauva from the then famous “Les Vikings” who introduced him to the band which included Pierre Edouard Decimus who later founded the group Kassav.
Gordon recorded a few songs with Les Vikings which became instant hits in countries beyond the usual market such as Surinam and Holland. At some point he felt that he should start his own group and asked an former school friend Fitzroy Williams to recruit a few Dominicans to complete those he had already selected. The group was named Exile One
Exile One
Exile One is a legendary musical group of the 1970s from Dominica based in Guadeloupe. Gordon Henderson is the leader and founder of the famous musical group "Exile One" and the one who coined the name "Cadence-lypso" for a genre of music that revolutionized modern creole music worldwide....
.
Exile One was copied by bands from all over and most of all from the island of Dominica. In forty years, Gordon Henderson has worked with scores of different musicians who have adopted the “Cadence-Lypso” a style that he named himself.
Exile One was the most innovative and exportable creole band of the Caribbean. The first to sign a production contract with a major label call Barclay Records. The first to export the music to the four corners of the globe: Japan, the Indian Ocean, Africa, North America, Europe, The Cape Verde
Cape Verde
The Republic of Cape Verde is an island country, spanning an archipelago of 10 islands located in the central Atlantic Ocean, 570 kilometres off the coast of Western Africa...
Islands.
Cadence to Zouk
ZoukZouk
Zouk is a style of rhythmic music originating from the Caribbean islands of Guadeloupe & Martinique. Zouk means "party" or "festival" in the local Antillean Creole of French, although the word originally referred to, and is still used to refer to, a popular dance, based on the Polish dance, the...
- Tracing the History of the Music to its Dominican Roots
Neva Wartell (Reprinted from National Geographic)
With seeds planted in the French Antilles and cultivated in the studios of Paris, zouk exploded onto the music scene in the late 1980s, taking over dance floors throughout Europe, Africa and the Caribbean.
Guadeloupans Jacob Desvarieux and the brothers Decimus are widely credited for having created the zouk phenomenon in the high-tech recording studios of Paris in the 1980s.
Yet they themselves acknowledge that zouk was merely a natural progression from the "kadans-lypso" of such bands as Exile One (led by singer Gordon Henderson), Grammacks, and the Midnight Groovers –all from the tiny island of Dominica – whose late '60s Caribbean fusion set the stage for some of the region's most significant musical developments – such as zouk, "new generation" compas, and soca – in the decades that followed.
Cadence-lypso has also become a part of bouyon
Bouyon music
Bouyon is a form of popular music of Dominica which became popular in the late 1980s. The term Bouyon means something akin to "gumbo soup" in the local creole of Dominica...
music.
Cadence-lypso Orchestras
- Exile OneExile OneExile One is a legendary musical group of the 1970s from Dominica based in Guadeloupe. Gordon Henderson is the leader and founder of the famous musical group "Exile One" and the one who coined the name "Cadence-lypso" for a genre of music that revolutionized modern creole music worldwide....
- GrammacksGrammacksGrammacks was a 1970s musical group from Dominica.-Biography:The band was started in a village on the west coast called St. Joseph. The band was formed by Anthony "Curvin" Serrant, guitar Anthony "Tepam" George, bass Elon "Bollo" Rodniy drums and keyboard player McDonald "Mckie" Prosper. Jeff...
- Black RootsBlack RootsBlack Roots is the fourth feature-length film produced and directed by American independent filmmaker Lionel Rogosin. The film gathers a number of African American folk and blues musicians in a room, where they share stories and songs about the black experience in America...
- Black Machine
- Naked Feet
- Belles Combo
- MantraMantraA mantra is a sound, syllable, word, or group of words that is considered capable of "creating transformation"...
- Black Affairs
- Liquid Ice
- Wafrikai
- Midnighte Groovers
- MilestoneMilestoneA milestone is one of a series of numbered markers placed along a road or boundary at intervals of one mile or occasionally, parts of a mile. They are typically located at the side of the road or in a median. They are alternatively known as mile markers, mileposts or mile posts...
- Mammouth
- Experience 7Experience 7Experience 7 was a Guadeloupean cadence band formed in the mid 1970s, led by Guy Houllier and Yves Honore. It was also one of the very first band to emphasized future Zouk pioneer band such as Kassav'...
- Les AiglonsLes AiglonsLes Aiglons were a 1970s Guadeloupean cadence band. They were the best selling Antillean band with their record Cuisse-La, until the release of Kassav's Zouk-La Se Sel Medikamen Nou Ni...
- Kassav
- Windward Caribbean KultureWindward Caribbean KultureThe WCK Band was formed in 1988 in Dominica. The band played a blend of 'cadence-lypso' and Dominican 'Jing ping', which would later be labelled bouyon, a genre which they are credited with creating.-Discography:...
- Ophelia MarieOphelia MarieOphelia Marie is a popular singer of cadence-lypso from Dominica in the 1980s. She is sometimes referred to as "Dominica's Lady of Song", and the "First Lady of Creole"...