Most Helpful Customer Reviews
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4.0 out of 5 stars
More Than Just A Pretty Face. . . , November 16, 2008
Even a native almost HAS TO, at times, sit in absolute awe with the varying wonders of the culture of the Caribbean and surrounding areas. I mean, there is definitely no other place like it on the planet and while you can say that just about anywhere, when it denotes something in the positive in terms of the culture, it REALLY means something BIG here. For example, we are a very energetic and musical people, of course. Pick any island of your choice and just take a small sampling of what the local radio stations play on a regular basis and you're certain to hear vibes from all over the world, regardless if even the people of that particular island overstand the language. The same region can produce and take in vibes as diverse as from American hip-hop, pop and R&B, to Hindi and Chutney; and from the ever popular ULTRA-HYPE dancehall and soca, all the way to what we have here, my becoming more and more beloved, Zouk. And even taking precedent over the music (appropriate in this case) are the people ourselves, who are even more diverse than are our tastes. While definitely, given our history, you're certain to find a very healthy population of people of Afrikan descent, you'll also find people of Asian ancestry, Indian ancestry and many Europeans as well, all of whom have enriched our culture even more, adding to one of the smallest, yet most potent cultural `mixing pots' on earth, period. And speaking from a personal standpoint: we have some of the most downright DIVINE and LOVELY women in the entire world. Islands like Dominica, Puerto Rico, Trinidad and Tobago and of course Jamaica (although I guess I now have to add Guadeloupe to that list as well) boast some of the most beautiful and EYE-CATCHING ladies you'll find anywhere in the world. To make the point, just look at some of the musicians to come around lately. While you will always hear mixed opinions about the elders (the likes of Tanya Stephens, Macka Diamond and ESPECIALLY Lady Saw, all of whom have proven themselves talented to the point where their looks have long ceased to be an issue really at all), do you REALLY need me to tell you to have a look at Ce'cile? Or D'Angel? Or (current personal favourite of mine) Tina Nunez? And that's just Jamaica. Make no mention of the unearthly cute Destra Garcia or how the world simply became a better place the SECOND Fay-Ann Lyons made her choice of costume for 2008's Trinidad Soca Monarch competition. And also representing Dominica (and getting closer and closer to my point in this case) is Zouk star, the captivating Michele Henderson. All of these ladies represent, in so many ways, the ridiculously lovely Caribbean culture, not only in their looks, but music as well: True living and breathing testaments to the overall beauty of the region.
So now where do we add Thayna? While Lady Saw, Macka Diamond or even the newer Lady Spice downing a (real or fictitious) opponent in the dancehall or even Lyons' surfing the crowd doesn't always make for the most visually appealing set of circumstances (but didn't she make it look SO good!), Zouk is an entirely different case altogether. You simply will not hear, in any language, any type of music which is so naturally romantic or sensuous as Zouk music. My French is so-so (my Creole is worse) but even if it was non-existent and I couldn't overstand not one word, none at all, I would still have to admit it so. And because I am still relatively new to Zouk, I take advantage in listening to and finding almost any new artist who captures the ears (or the eyes) with something unique, rather good or bad. My first `venture' into the incredibly popular French West Indian art form was with another Guadeloupean, the angelic Kénédy. Kénédy's album, Mon Oasis was a downright brilliantly romantic entry for me into Zouk and in looking for a next choice (after listening both Fanny and the very impressive Princess Lover as well) I ran into quite a few names (like Lindsey Lin's, K'tya, Cristiane Vallejo, Talina and a few others), but none of them caught my eye and subsequently, my ears like Thayna with her very wonderful debut album Nouveau Départ (A Fresh Start). First thing being first: Whoever took the picture on the cover for Thayna needs some type of an award. I have to admit, although I had heard a radio station in Guadeloupe spinning a song or two from the artist, I probably wouldn't have picked up Nouveau Départ based on that alone (currently I'm enjoying myself with Lindsey Lin's' breathtaking sophomore album, A Mon Image), but, like anyone else, I'm a sucker for a pretty face and the cover art and some pretty decent bit of what I had heard SOLD ME! What I would find after digging into the album, however, was a piece which grew on me fairly quickly and shows that she definitely has the skill to match the look (perhaps the most interesting thing about that `look' is that should you ever see Thayna outside of this album cover (and that video), while not AT ALL unattractive, she has a very unassuming look to her). Nouveau Départ comes via African Zouk superstar Kaysha's own label, Sushiraw and reaches the masses via the largest (TO MY KNOWLEDGE) distributor of the music, Section Zouk. You take a look at that cover and combine in what you actually hear on the album and it is well fitting. Thayna is a young artist literally soaking in potential; armed with a very youthful and `curious' voice (she often sounds like a little kid asking a question despite not doing anything of the such) which makes the vibes on Nouveau Départ really worth checking on top of what you would normally hear on a Zouk project. Nouveau Départ is a very FRESH sounding vibes as well. When I listen to entire Zouk albums, I often find myself reaching for a Soca tune or a Dancehall tune as just SOMETHING to pick things up here and there and I didn't necessarily find myself doing that with Nouveau Départ which, by its end, proves itself to be a quite a lovely album and a WONDERFUL introduction of a name and a FACE definitely to keep an eye on.
Kaysha's is a name which definitely carries a lot of name amongst fans of Zouk and international pop and R&B. So much so is that the case that Nouveau Départ was actually one of the most anticipated Zouk albums of 2008, as Kaysha himself had gone as far as to proclaim she the Princess of his burgeoning label and he helms her maiden voyage. Getting things started on Nouveau Départ is the album's first (and only to my knowledge) official single and the most single impressive track of the bunch, the downright STUNNING Lettre Ouverte (Open Letter). This tune is just a heavy hitter. By far one its most remarkable qualities is that it doesn't particularly go anywhere unique at all to my ears, instead it opts for a far more conventional and straight-forward type of vibes which just catch on from the opening and continue to remain high throughout the duration of the track. Definitely the biggest tune here altogether and not at all a surprise why Kaysha chose it as Nouveau Départ's initial single (and DEFINITELY check out the ridiculously lovely video as well). Next up is a little bit of variation with the very relaxed, but somewhat stirring Mal Sans Toi. I have to say that my ears ALMOST pick up a one-drop vibe in there somewhere and again, Thayna's very unique vocals REALLY take the tune to the next level. The beginning is a bit unusual and slow, but the aforementioned `relaxed' soon becomes `stirring' within the early middle portion of the tune before closing with an even more dynamic approach as Thayna even reaches into her bag of tricks and stretches her vocals just a bit, which is a very nice touch indeed. Completing the opening is the very R&B-ish Le Remède (The Remedy, which seems to be a pretty popular Zouk song title to my experience). I can't exactly call this tune one of my favourites on Nouveau Départ, but it still really isn't a BAD tune actually. And, it is definitely worth mentioning that it really does pick up in the bridge portion which has a very nice `sing-a-long' quality to it (especially because it's partially in English, for me), but I would still have to say that it doesn't necessarily reach the heights of the two opening tracks, although not a complete and utter failure (or a failure at all for that matter). Altogether it is a pretty good way to start the debut album of a significant young Zouk talent.
There's another young singer here of note to mention as well by the name of Shana. (I THINK) Shana is actually Thayna's sister who initially brought her to the attentions of Kaysha. Shana is a pretty straightforward R&B singer (in English) and the one time she literally chimes in, on the very nice Love Is Blind, the two score with one of Nouveau Départ's overall BIGGEST tunes. Anytime when you can take something like Zouk, which is, to my ears at least, VERY accessible to combinations with something like pop or R&B and combine it, it's a very nice thing and Love Is Blind is a fine example of that (and it is worth mentioning that Shana does a bit of the writing on the album, including Lettre Ouverte). Kaysha himself actually makes an appearance with Thayna on the album on the pretty good tune Je Sais (I Know). To be perfectly honest, I think the tune would have done better as Thayna solo, not to take anything away from Kaysha, but she sounds HEAVENLY on one of the best compositions on the album. To complete the Sushiraw family reunion is hip-hop/Zouk duo Abégé (who apparently opens up for Kaysha in tour) with their tune alongside Thayna, C'est Dur Sans Toi (It's Hard Without You). This one is a bit better than Je Sais, but not as good as Love Is Blind, but solid still. Again, I have to say it might have been a better tune with Thayna solo, but you can't really complain as it is definitely solid still with Abégé on hand to change things up and the tune really has a nice subtly uptempo nature to its vibes. When things do go...
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