Via Strut Records, Souljazz Orchestra returned last month with Resistance. Compared to previous albums, this one has a very strong French / Caribbean influence, placing it in some of the same territory as label's Sofrito and Haiti Direct releases. To mark the occasion the band put together a mix of vintage French, Caribbean and African material that influenced the record's sound. Notes on the mix, and sonic provenance, via Souljazz's Pierre Chrétien, below.
Souljazz Orchestra is based in Ottawa, Ontario, and Gatineau, Québec, twin cities on each side of the Ontario/Québec border, and a very bilingual area of Canada. Coincidentally, our band is also half Francophone and half Anglophone, and this duality does come out especially on this album. We’ve always had songs influenced by la Francophonie, it’s really a part of who we are as a group (“Secousse Soukous” on Freedom No Go Die, “Tanbou Lou” on Solidarity, “Sommet En Sommet” on Inner Fire, etc.)
Some people, especially those unfamiliar with Canada, don’t get how we got into this stuff. I guess I never really thought about it before, but I'll try to explain...
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