Simbi

Formed in Gothenburg, Sweden during 1987, the seven-piece ensemble assembled singers and players whose prior work had already touched multiple corners of the Swedish music circuit. Haitian vodou rhythms form the core of their style, which they expand by folding in rock, funk and jazz, while soulful frontwoman Lotta Sjolin handles the lead vocals entirely in Haitian Creole. The band swiftly turned into a favored local draw on stage and began logging early slots on Swedish television and radio. In 1991 the group received an invitation to Haiti for the 200th anniversary of the landmark slave rebellion, becoming the only non-Haitian act on the program; audiences responded warmly to the evident authenticity of their performances. Appearances in Canada and the USA followed in 1992, the same year the members tracked their debut album, Vodou Beat, which reached stores the following year. Also in 1993 they joined King Sunny Ade, Gilberto Gil and others at the world’s first vodou festival, staged in Benin, West Africa. Though the sight of a Northern European outfit channeling ceremonial rhythms tied to a Caribbean island may appear improbable, Simbi exhibit the dedication and originality that lift them past any sense of mere novelty.