Siwo – Jocelyne Béroard, 1986

Happy birthday, dear Jocelyne! And there you have it. Because a bit of joy around the band is more than necessary these days. Siwo is one of those albums that, like so many of you, left their mark on my musical history. And let’s face it, who wasn’t in love with Jocelyne when Siwo came out? With this record, released in 1986, Jocelyne Béroard opened her own Kassav’ children’s franchise (Milans, Madousinay and Yen Ki Lanmou would follow) and got the zouk world dancing with a string of tracks that have all become classics. The melodies are superb (Sa Ki Ta La, Mi Tché Mwen and of course the unmissable Kolé Séré), and Kaye Manman’s zouk-breaks still set concerts and dancefloors alight – in short, a festival from start to finish. Of course, Kassav’ is all there, but the backing vocals feature a host of big names, including Edith Lefel, Dédé St-Prix, Dominique Panol, Tony Chasseur and Jean-Paul Pognon.
By the way, did you know that Jocelyne recorded backing vocals for Lee Perry in her early days? And, even before she joined Kassav’, Jocelyne Béroard recorded with Roland Louis and his Zoukers, as well as for Marius Cultier.
For the record, two versions of the album Siwo were pressed, with or without the mention of Kassav’ on the cover!