Slai

Originally from Guadeloupe, the zouk recording artist Slaï surfaced toward the end of the 1990s among the emerging talents within that specialized style and soon established himself not merely as a respected performer but also as a label proprietor and accomplished producer. His childhood unfolded in the Parisian suburbs before he headed back to his Guadeloupean roots for the greater part of his teenage years. After absorbing zouk and reggae sounds during his time in the Caribbean, he moved again to France, where he settled in 1996 and crossed paths with Guy Bordey, another West Indian music writer and performer. The two joined forces to create BS Productions, which put out their debut disc, Fresh, in 1997. Slaï then launched an extended tour across the French Antilles that propelled his recent single “Flamme” from the album into a substantial success; the accompanying song and video elevated him to minor-celebrity status in France while making him a leading figure throughout the French-speaking Caribbean. Through BS Productions, Slaï and his partner Bordey also advanced the careers of several up-and-coming acts, among them Marina Carliste and Beatrice Poulot. Slaï’s self-titled 2002 album yielded another radio favorite, “La Derniére Danse,” which performed strongly in both the Antilles and France and reached the Top 20 on French record-sales charts. His 2004 album Florilège achieved even greater commercial impact, moving more than 200,000 copies within a few years of release. Four years passed before his next project, the highly successful Caraibes, appeared and sustained his rising profile until the arrival of the 2011 album Escale.