A primal scream, a mystifying and mystical musical mixture, almost shamanic, an incantation of liberation in the midst of raging guitars and propulsive drumming ... Moonlight Benjamin’s music is a spellbinding ‘cry of pain’ which showcases her thundering vocals and lyrical themes on faith, energy and our connection to the source. The songs from Haiti’s Vodou priestess delve deep, immersing her philosophical messages in heavy blues rapture, killer riffs and hand-clapping, foot-stomping percussion with influences as far reaching as Dr John, Malian singer Oumou Sangare and Alabama Shakes.
Born to Vodou parents in Haiti’s Port au Prince, Moonlight spent her childhood in a Roman Catholic orphanage where she was adopted by Reverend Doucet Alvarez after her own mother died in childbirth. Raised on gospel music, it was only in her late teens that she began to explore her Vodou roots, before leaving Haiti in 2002 to begin jazz training in France. It was in 2017 that Moonlight met artistic director and guitarist, Matthis Pascaud, the collaboration from which her unique, volcanic sound was born.
Making her mark in 2018 with her exhilarating debut album, Siltane, followed in 2020 by the explosive Simido, Moonlight Benjamin returns in 2023 with Wayo, a hard-hitting, blues-infused, whirlwind of a record from the ‘Vodou Priestess of Blues-Rock’.
official website : https://www.moonlightbenjamin.com
all pics (copyright) Cedrick Nöt