Mizik-Mizik® is a Haitian Konpa music band based in Pétion-Ville, Haïti in the West Indies.Konpa is a style reminiscent of Latin music with subtle flavors of Jazz mixed with various African rythms.
The band got together in the mid-eighties, heavily influenced by avant-garde Konpa pioneers like Zekle and the Magnum Band. The name of the band was patterned after California based Mister-Mister, one of the best new wave bands of the eighties.
Mizik-Mizik got its first shot by joining a group of young musicians in the first American Airlines sponsored musical contest “Mwen renmen Ayiti” (I love Haiti). They ranked 7th out of 309 participants with their track “Viv Ayiti” . Shortly after the contest, most of the members left Haiti to go pursue their studies in Europe ,in Canada and in the US.
While in college, several of the members still had the music bug. Clément “Keke” Belizaire, the guitar player and Fabrice Rouzier, the keyboard player spent a great deal of time learning and rubbing shoulders with some of the big names of contemporary Haitian music. Keke quickly became one of the more sought after session guitarists in Port-au-Prince. He lent his skills to very successful recordings by Sweet Micky, Jacques Sauveur Jean, Zekle, Raoul Denis Jr. and Emeline Michel. Fabrice also became the keyboard player / arranger of choice for many of today¹s most popular performers: Beethova Obas, Sweet Micky, Dadou Pasquet, Lakol, Emeline Michel, Masterdji, Papa Jube, Scorpio, Boukman Ekspreyans and Tabou Combo.
Recordings
In 1989, with the help of Frendy Piquion, they got back together briefly to record their first L.P. “Farinay “. This experimental album featured several styles of Haitian music, some Ragga and some Bossa Nova. It also features the first recorded work of roots music icons “Boukman Eksperyans “. This ( soon to be re-issued ) album also features the talents of Beethova Obas, Gary Didier Perez, Hans Peters, and trumpeter extraordinaire Eddy Brisseaux.
In 1992, Mizik-Mizik had a new orientation. The band devoted most of its repertoire to the Konpa Style. They released the “De Ger” album. It featured Emmanuel Obas and Vardy Pharel , from “Lov”, on vocals. This album had many “hits” and is still considered by many to be a “classic”. The ballad “Le nap fe lanmou” gave its name to the genre now called “Love Compas “. In 1993, Mizik-Mizik also one the best Carnival song with their song “De Ger”.
In 1996, the “Ki Moun Ou Ye” album was released. This recording featured some of the greatest songs from Mizik-Mizik. One of the songs from that album “Ayizan” spent more than 36 weeks at the very first spot of Radio Galaxy’s top 15. This recording also benefited from the powerful vocals of Eric Charles. Eric Charles started his career with Siwo, a konpa band based in Miragoane in the southern portion of the island. Eric co-wrote most of the tunes for this project . The same year, Nouvel Jenerasyon released a collection of Kanaval tunes from Mizik-Mizik aptly named “Mizik-Mizik nan Kanaval”.
In the year 2000, Mizik-Mizik has released a very succesful Kanaval anthem : “Pa gen ponyet”. This song pushes today’s young musicians to go back in time and learn from the elders. It emphasizes the use of “real” instruments and of “real” players. It has also released “Blakawout” . This controversial “troubadour” song has been at the #1 spot of Radio Galaxy¹s hit parade for 9 weeks straight. It is part of the Mizik-Mizik cd, with the same title.
Mizik-Mizik has the following lineup in 2001.
The drums are played by Rolls Lainé and Lelsy Charles formerly of Trio Select ( Coupe Cloue¹s band ). The percussions are played by Marc Bellande Jacquet of DP Express Fame The congas are played by Wesner St Louis. A very famous session player that learned his trade performing with the likes of Boulo Valcourt and Pierre Rigaud Chery The bass is played by Marc Harold Charles. A relatively new comer that had a brief stint with Djakout Mizik. The band now plays with 3 keyboards. The parts are shared by Karlill Francois, formerly with Magnum Band, Augereau Brouard and Fabrice Rouzier The vocals are handled by Eric Charles ( Siwo de Miragoane, DP Express ) and Clinton B Jean formerly of TRAK, a Haitian Salsa band. The newest member of the band is Mamina. She sings and plays the saxophone. She is from Guadeloupe and is the true heiress of Loubert Chancy ( Skah Shah ).
