VODU 155

  1/  Vodu Funkadelic                            (Bernard,Bernard)             4.01
  2/  Zaka                                       (Bernard,Bernard)             3.46
  3/  Tak This Tak That                          (Bernard,Bernard)             4.35
  4/  Mama Dadu                                  (Bernard,Bernard)             4.30
  5/  Fete Rara                                  (Bernard,Bernard)             4.53
  6/  L'Amour                                    (Bernard,Bernard)             4.17
  7/  Pale'M Mal                                 (Bernard,Bernard)             4.46
  8/  Boom Boom Bip                              (Bernard,Bernard)             4.04
  9/  Lissila                                    (Bernard,Bernard,Marley)      3.51
  10/ Feel No Evil                               (Bernard,Bernard)             3.24

          Recorded at Chung King Recording, New York, New York
          Tracks 1,2,3 and 10 recorded at Greenpoint Studio, Brooklyn, New York
          Engineering and editing at Greenpoint: Robert Musso
          Assistant at Greenpoint: Layng Martine
          Pre-production on tracks 1,2,3 and 10 done at Midi Mania Recording,
            Brooklyn, New York
          Produced by Vodu 155 and Ismael “Ish” Allen with remix, translation and
            additional production by Bill Laswell
          Tracks 1,2,3 and 10 produced by Vodu 155 and Bill Laswell
          Track 8 produced by Vodu 155, Ismael “Ish” Allen and Robert Wilson with
            additional production and remix by Bill Laswell
          Executive Producer: Trish Farrell
          Axiom support/coordination: Peter Wetherbee/Bill Murphy
          Masterial Inc.: Tracy McKnight
          Mastered by Howie Weinberg at Masterdisk, NY

Lionel Bernard & Constant Bernard: all instruments except where noted; Jephte Guillaume (4,7): bass; Nicky Skopelitis (8): additional guitar; Bill Laswell (2,3,10): bass; Sly Dunbar (3,10): beats; DJ Nastee (8): cuts.

          1994 - Mango/Island (USA), 162-539 940-2 (CD)

REVIEWS :

Haitian brothers who moved to New York as teenagers and quickly immersed themselves in the city's melting pot of musical influences, Vodu 155's Lionel and Constance Bernard are very conscious of and true to the spirituality of their roots, but are by no means limited by them. Just as Haitian voodoo is a hybrid of African tribal beliefs influenced by Spanish Catholicism and other forms of Christianity, Vodu 155's music is a creative mixture of African rhythms, Haitian patois, Jamaican reggae/dancehall, and American funk and hip-hop. On songs like "Vodu Funkadelic," "Zaka," and the autobiographical "Boom Boom Bip," the band (which includes bassist/producer Bill Laswell, guitarist Nicky Skopelitis, and reggae legend Sly Dunbar on drums) combines their disparate influences in an original manner that renders their sound virtually incomparable. Although its broad reach occasionally exceeds its grasp, Vodu 155's debut is an innovative album that deserves to be heard by world music fusion fans and more adventurous hip-hop heads alike.

Bret Love (courtesy of the All Music Guide, via the Get Music website)