Polobi & the Gwo Ka Masters share new single ‘Kawmélito’

Out today, ‘Kawmélito’ is the first single to be released from the album. The accompanying video follows Polobi across various locations in Guadeloupe, showing his deep connection with the natural surroundings that have been inspiring his music since childhood.

Moïse Polobi, 69 years old, descended from a family of former slaves. He’s been singing and sounding his djembé-like Gwo ka drums since childhood, heart-beating the memory of his ancestors in Guadeloupe. He was initiated at an early age, thanks to his dancer mother, who guided him into the intricate universe of lewoz, traditional gatherings where mind and body commune, boosted by the explosion of drums and the chants of singers.

In September 2020, after the global lockdown, Polobi joined a musical session at the home of one his neighbours, percussionist Klod Kiavué. That evening, he delivered a set of mystical songs, chronicling the daily life of a simple man deeply rooted in his environment. Hymns to Grande Savane; to Petit Bourg – mintues away on his moped; to the nearby Moustique and La Lézad rivers where he will lower his bamboo traps to catch the ouassou; to the woods of Tanbou and Duquerry which watch over this microcosm. Taking his peers to task, invoking the ancestors, he addresses the world in a Creole language that belongs only to him. His hoarse singing, woven with onomatopoeia and improvisation, leads him irresistibly into a trance.

In the audience, passing through Guadeloupe, Valérie Malot (artistic director of French music agency 3D Family) fell under the spell and immediately arranged to take Polobi into the recording studio.

Find out more about the album

Abri Cyclonique by Polobi & the Gwo Ka Masters is out on 17 February 2023 on Real World Records and is available to pre-order on CD and LP now. The first single, ‘Kawmélito’, is out now on all digital platforms.

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