It is a stuffy Thursday afternoon, thunder is rolling off in the distance, and your Antilles blogger is hunched at his desk, trying to clear through miscellaneous CRB paperwork, as we prepare to wrap up the current issue of the magazine and begin publication of the next. Les Loups Noirs are keeping me company. The Haitian “mini-djaz” ensemble, specialising in a blend of traditional compas with jazz and rock-and-roll influences, were wildly popular across the French Caribbean in the 1970s. “Jet Biguine” gives you an idea why. The track was included in Tumbélé: Biguine, Afro & Latin sounds from the French Caribbean, 1963–74, recently released by Soundway Records (here’s a review by Joe Tangari).

And here’s another Loups Noirs track, “Cap Haïtien”, which starts wistfully then becomes a cool little dance number: