Wesli – Makaya (WUP, 2025)
As is often the case, I must agree wholeheartedly with my colleague/boss Angel Romero. His summing-up of the album Makaya by Haitian/Canadian artist Wesli was spot on, but I gotta throw in a few thoughts of my own.
Anybody who knows anything about Haiti (I’m certainly no expert), knows that their music, like that of many Western Hemisphere nations, is a mixture of African, indigenous and European influences. Festive styles such as rara and konpa (the latter being something of a take on merengue) remain popular in both rooted and updated forms, and inspirations from genres like jazz, Afrobeat, hip hop and reggae are increasingly factored in across the board. Armed with that knowledge, it’s evident from the start that Wesli isn’t going to play it anywhere near safe, expectation-wise.
There already being detailed descriptions of songs from the album on the site before you, I hardly need add that the many ways in which Wesli connects his clearly beloved Haitian foundations with other lands (Nigeria, Jamaica and far-flung Reunion Island among them) and styles (soul, funk, rock, electronica, zouk and more) are a rousing success. Given my penchant for music that leans more traditional, I’m naturally partial to the tracks of that ilk. Still, there’s no denying the power packed by the songs that are touched, to varying degrees, by modern methods of production, crossover artistic expression, and fusions that keep Haiti at the forefront while giving supporting roles to musical ideas found elsewhere.
I fully acknowledge that what I have written here is more of an editorial than a true review. But, in my defense, I did keep it short, as well as keeping my intent to further praise a release that merits as much praise as it can get.
Buy Makaya.
Author: Tom Orr
Tom Orr is a California-based writer whose talent and mental stability are of an equally questionable nature. His hobbies include ignoring trends, striking dramatic poses in front of his ever-tolerant wife and watching helplessly as his kids surpass him in all desirable traits.