Monday 16 October 2023, 7.30pm
Delighted to welcome Haitian group, Chouk Bwa & The Ångströmers to OTO for the first time following the release of new album, Somanti.
In September 2016, Haitian vodou band Chouk Bwa Libète (WOMEX 2015) met Brussels-based duo The Ångströmers. Their new project combines a deep dub sensibility with Haitian rhythm science and spirituality.
Modular synths and other vintage electronic instruments bring another dimension to Chouk Bwa's music, though obviously it's still the band's groove and fluid tempo that drives the energy of the ensemble: no laptops, no drum machines. Certain freedoms cannot be constrained. Moreover, the electronic instruments are directly connected to the drums that feed them with impacts and caresses. All the vodou families are present with their numerous rhythms and songs.
From December 2019 to May 2022, Chouk Bwa & The Ångströmers were brutally separated by the covid crisis. In May 2022 they were finally back on stage, playing about thirty concerts in Europe. Between two concert series, they took the opportunity to record their live set. The connection between the vodou tradition on the one hand, and analog electronics on the other hand, gets deeper and deeper, with also a kind of rage due to the incredible difficulty of the world.
