Gardy Girault

Gardy Girault, an inventive Haitian DJ and producer, first earned notice during the mid-2010s by fusing Afro-Haitian rara rhythms with electronic house to create the style he named “rara tech.” By the close of the decade he had launched his own imprint and achieved wider international recognition, issuing multiple EPs while bringing his singular sound to audiences across North America, Africa, and the Middle East.

His path began in Port-au-Prince in 2008; after the 2010 earthquake he started shaping an approach that wove classic Haitian traditions such as rara, konpa, and rasin into progressive and deep house grooves. That hybrid first surfaced on the 2012 EP Reminiscence Then, then became more fully realized on his 2015 debut album Kiskeya and the accompanying singles “Journey to Tortuga” and “Sole.” Eventually Girault established the RiZing Musik label and put out the EPs Ghetto Leyan in 2018 and Selebre in 2019. Early in 2020 he released “Papa Pyè,” which featured vocals by voodoo priest and singer Erol Josué, followed by “Basen an Fon,” which showcased singer Anie Alerte.