KONPA (KOMPA, COMPAS)
The infectious rhythm of Haiti’s national dance music is known as KONPA (Con Pah, Kompa). The relentless KONPA dance beat knows no language barrier. Whether the KONPA artist sings in Spanish, English, French or in native Creole language, the rhythmic mix of grooves and textures from around the world when blended together truly represents WORLD BEAT music.
In KONPA music there is a strong dose of the Dominican Republic’s national dance music Meringue, (the Dominican Republic and Haiti share the island of Hispaniola). There is also an element of Haiti’s dance-till-you-drop carnival music, Rara, the hypnotic drums of Haitian voodoo rituals, the Quadrilles and Contra dances from Haiti’s French colonisers and Funk from soul era, which was dominated by James Brown, for good measure.
Music from Dominica
