A traditional Haitian Mizik Rasin — roots music — band, Chouk Bwa, formerly Chouk Bwa Libète, realizes the source of a drum and dance style using percussion and call-and-response vocals that are infused with Haitian Vodou. In September 2016 Chouk Bwa met the Brussels based duo The Ångströmers. Frédéric Alstadt and Ripit are specialized in live experiments with vintage electronic instruments like modular synths. A 7 inch of their common live performance at Café Central (Brussels) has been released in March 2019. A new album has been released via Bongo Joe in May 2020.

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“(...) Vodou Alé is a joyous blend of ancient and contemporary sounds, an example of the innovation that can happen when artists build bridges across different musical eras and genres.” Bandcamp, album of the day

 

" (...) this collaborative union proves just how intoxicating and electrifying the voodoo spell can be. Given a sympathetic undercurrent and resonance of atmospheric electronica, the ritual sound and outpour of Haiti is reframed, guided into the 21st century. Not so much a novel direction as a subtle electronic music boost to tradition." Monolith Cocktail

 

“So well do they complement each other that, after a few listens, it becomes hard to imagine either existing without the counterpart.” ★★★★ MOJO, World Album of the Month 

 

“ The typical pattern for this kind of production is that the African, Asian or Caribbean half of the team arrives with a serie of time-honoured, complex and culturally rich rhythms, which their European teammates proceed to earnestly augment with the galumphing douf-douf-douf of clubland. Sometimes it doesn’t work out, sometimes it does: the best such pairings are those which properly respect the elders, and the match up between Haitian vodou ceremonial drum experts Chouk Bwa and Belgian techno  dubbers The Ångströmers takes care to do just that, mostly because the latter don’t make too much of a nuisance of themselves. This also makes it fairly austere: drums and chants alone, in the main, boosted by digital wanga and a pinch of dub powder.” The Wire

 

“(...) Although impactful, the production work leaves ample space for the Haitians to breathe without threatening to submerge their sound completely.(...)” *** Songlines 

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