I am James Momplaisir a.k.a Ti Lunèt. I was born on October 18, 1982 in Port-au-Prince, Haiti. I left the country at the age of 7. I started singing at church at 14-15 years old. We call you Ti Lunèt. Where does this pseudonym come from? I knew how to wear glasses. I was then nicknamed Ti Lunèt, and the name remained. Tell us about your experience in the compass? I must say that it is a long time that I work for the direct compass. Unfortunately, I never had the opportunity to come to Haiti. I had the chance to work with System Band. It was me who produced “Pa leve men sou li” from the album “Nan building nan” of this orchestra. It is also me who produced “The wife of my boss” of the album “Van vire” of Beljazz. I made a quick passage to Gabel. My first experience in the live compass was with a band called Next. After that, I formed Etwal Group 5 and so far, it’s with him that I do things. I work very hard for the Haitian public. I think people will be happy with what we offer them. You made a good start to Gabel with the song “Koute kè mwen”. Can you tell us about it? To tell the truth, Koute kè mwen is not my composition. It’s a feat of singer Jean Junior Marcelus. He wrote it at one time in Gabel. I think the music did what it had to do. Elie Lapointe had an experience with you recently in Etwal, your last group, before being replaced by Joshua. Can you give us more details about this departure? Definitely yes. It’s unfortunate that because of a family problem Elie Lapointe was forced to leave Miami to live in Boston. For me, he is still part of the team because we are always in touch. We communicate almost every day. We work together. But why did you choose Joshua to replace Elie Lapointe? I chose Joshua because I think he can bring a lot with good production.
5 Etwal offered in 2009 a first album titled “Lavi sa”. You had even picked up on it “Society” Joel Theodore. What has prevented this group to win on the Haitian musical chessboard? Yes. It was I who had interpreted “Society” Joel Theodore. There was a lack of promotion for this album. Surely it will be totally different for our next record. As you can see, we are taking another route and another strategy in terms of promotion. I think this time it’s for good. You have just released “My life” that makes its way, everyone speaks about it. It’s a song by Ti Lunèt or Etwal? Both (laughs). Do you manage your solo career alongside the Etwal 5 band? Normally, as soon as you say Ti Lunèt, it’s always 5 Etwal and vice versa. I manage both. Are you satisfied with the success of the song “My life”? Yes. Very satisfied, and the video will be released in 2014. The second album of 5 Etwal is in preparation. What phase is it in? The album is almost finished. We are making small arrangements so that everything is fine. In due course, the album should be available on the market. What will it be called? “New chapter”. It will include twelve musics, including “Fò’m ale”, “My life” and “In love”. Moreover, a song called “My life” has just been released to announce the arrival of this record. Why the title “New chapter”? I think at every step we take in life, it’s a new chapter, I think this time we’re opening a new chapter. It will be an extraordinary album. People will be able to choose the songs they like. When will it come out exactly? It will be released in February 2014.
Apart from Etwal, do you produce other artists too? Yes. The two new artists I am currently producing are called JP Love and Rocher who release two songs respectively: “Let me love you” and Nap rewè ankò “. I was with them in Haiti last summer to present their product. It is a rumor that Arly Larivière was inspired by your song to make another, is it true? I do not think Arly Larivière should go and listen to someone else’s songs to produce music. Arly is an artist who has already proven himself. I think it’s just people who tell about salads. We see that Ti Lunèt is more programmed than the group 5 ETWAL. What explains that? It was the success of the song “My life” that did that. The promoters loved it so much, they asked me to play for them solo. But when the album “New chapter” comes out, it is the group Etwal 5 which will have priority.
