Magnum Band is certainly the other iconic Haitian compas band (I’ll leave it to you to decide which is the first, as the list is very long!). The Pasquet brothers left their original bands (Tabou Combo, les Gypsies de Pétionville) to form Magnum Band in 1976. The success was obvious. On this very Masonic Jehovah (apart from the cover, read the list of acknowledgements on the back) released in 1980, the orchestra is at its best and Dadou’s guitar works wonders – with even a few (grand)oriental touches on « l’Amour ». Magnum Band don’t shy away from a little diversion to Jamaica on Substitute For Your Love, but it’s mainly when it comes to compas, millimetre breaks, fiery relaunches and molten brass that their talent shines through. By the way, did you know that Dadou and his brother Claude were the uncles of the late Teri Moïse, who came to prominence at the time with the success of Poèmes de Michelle, whose exceptional credits (Jean-Phi Dary, Patrick Marie-Magdelaine, Magic Malik, Thierry Fanfant…) I suggest you reread?
Jehovah – Magnum Band, 1980
