The Mudcat Café TM
Thread #30431   Message #1968669
Posted By: Azizi
15-Feb-07 - 11:25 AM
Thread Name: What's the difference between calypso and reggae?
Subject: RE: What's the diff btwn calypso and reggae?
Of course, there are many other genres of Caribbean music besides calypso, reggae, and soca.

For those interested, http://www.zoukstation.com/index2.php is an online Afro-Caribbean radio station that plays reggae, salsa, zouk, kompa, African mix music and more.

Here's an excerpt from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Zouk :

"Zouk is a style of rhythmic music originating from the French Caribbean islands of Guadeloupe and Martinique. It has its roots in Cadence music from Dominica, as popularised by Grammacks and Exile One. Zouk means 'party' in the local creole of French with English and African influences, all three of which contribute the sound. In Europe it is particularly popular in France, while on the African islands of Cape Verde they have developed their own type of Zouk".

-snip-

Here's an excerpt from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kompa:

"Kompa(sometimes written Compas Direct, konpa direk, konpa or compa) is a musical genre as well as a dance that originates from Haïti. It was first explicitly named «Compas Direct» by Nemours Jean-Baptiste on a recording released in 1955. It involves mostly medium-to-fast tempo beats with an emphasis on electric guitars, synthesizers, and either a solo alto saxophone, a horn section or the synthesizer equivalent. Unlike zouk, the lyrics are mostly in Haitian Creole, and it has a faster rhythm than zouk.

In North America, kompa festivals take place frequently in Montreal, New York, Miami, and Boston."