''HiFi Calypso'' is the second album by French writer, actor, filmmaker and singer Karl Zéro, backed by the Jamaican

reggae Reggae () is a music genre that originated in Jamaica in the late 1960s. The term also denotes the modern popular music of Jamaica and its diaspora. A 1968 single by Toots and the Maytals, " Do the Reggay" was the first popular song to use ...

band

The Wailers ''The'' () is a grammatical article in English, denoting persons or things already mentioned, under discussion, implied or otherwise presumed familiar to listeners, readers, or speakers. It is the definite article in English. ''The'' is the ...

Background

Karl Zéro's first album, ''Songs for Cabriolets y Otros Tipos de Vehiculos'', was a collection of covers of international

pop standards Traditional pop (also known as classic pop and pre-rock and roll pop) is Western pop music that generally pre-dates the advent of rock and roll in the mid-1950s. The most popular and enduring songs from this era of music are known as pop standard ...

of the 1940s and 1950 (including "

Perfidia "Perfidia" (Spanish for "perfidy", meaning ''faithlessness'', ''treachery'' or ''betrayal'') is a 1939 Spanish-language song written by Mexican composer and arranger Alberto Domínguez (1906–1975). The song is sung from the perspective ...

" and "

(I Love You) For Sentimental Reasons "(I Love You) for Sentimental Reasons" is a popular song written by Ivory "Deek" Watson, founding member of the Ink Spots and of the Brown Dots, and William "Pat" Best, founding member of the Four Tunes. The credits and Leeds Publishing Company ...

"). For his next album, he set his mind on recording calypso songs, and started looking for a reggae band. He then learned that

Tyrone Downie Tyrone Downie (20 May 1956 – 5 November 2022) was a Jamaican keyboardist and pianist best known for his involvement as a member of Bob Marley and The Wailers.Foster, Chuck (1999) ''Roots Rock Reggae'', Billboard Books, , p. 66, 116 He studi ...

, which was a member of

Bob Marley and the Wailers Bob Marley and the Wailers (previously known as The Wailers, and prior to that The Wailing Rudeboys, The Wailing Wailers and The Teenagers) were a Jamaican ska, rocksteady and reggae band. The founding members, in 1963, were Bob Marley (Robert ...

, lived in Montpellier. It turned out that Downie used to watch Zéro's weekly TV show, '' Le Vrai Journal''. He agreed to participate, and contacted other members of the band to recruit them to the project. Zéro wanted to record the album at

Tuff Gong Tuff Gong is the brand name associated with a number of businesses started by Bob Marley and Rita Marley#Children, the Marley family. 'Tuff Gong' comes from Marley's nickname, which was in turn an echo of that given to founder of the Rastafari ...

, where

Bob Marley Robert Nesta Marley (6 February 1945 – 11 May 1981; baptised in 1980 as Berhane Selassie) was a Jamaican singer, musician, and songwriter. Considered one of the pioneers of reggae, his musical career was marked by fusing elements o ...

recorded his music, but

Bernard Lavilliers Bernard Oulion (; born 7 October 1946 in Saint-Étienne), known professionally as Bernard Lavilliers (), is a French singer-songwriter and actor. Discography Albums Studio albums * ''Premiers pas...'' (1968) * ''Les poètes'' (1972) * ''Le St� ...

, who previously recorded there, alerted him to the rampant corruption he faced there. That dissuaded Zéro, who started searching for a studio "a little bit tropical", and settled on the Studio du Manoir, in the Southwesthern corner of France, which was used by

Noir Désir Noir Désir (, "Black Desire") was a French rock band from Bordeaux. They were active during the 1980s, 1990s and early 2000s, and have had two albums certified double platinum in France and three certified gold. They have been an influence on n ...

, amongst other French artists.

Recording

The list of songs was selected by Zéro (who prepared a list of 25 songs, including obscure compositions) and the band, who wanted to perform the songs that they knew from their childhood, or that they played when they started performing. The final track list reflects both influences, which includes the French classic " Salade de Fruits" or the obscure Leslie Scott and Irene Williams song "Crazy Like Mad", amongst the calypso classics "Coconut Woman" and " Mama Look at Bubu", both made famous by

Harry Belafonte Harry Belafonte (born Harold George Bellanfanti Jr.; March 1, 1927) is an American singer, activist, and actor. As arguably the most successful Jamaican-American pop star, he popularized the Trinbagonian Caribbean musical style with an interna ...

Track listing

* "Rastaman Chant" contains excerpts from the historical collection "Afrique, une histoire sonore".

Personnel

The Wailers

– keyboards * Al Anderson – guitar * Family Man – bass *Glen Da Costa &

Vin Gordon Vin Gordon (a.k.a. Trommie, Don D. Junior or Don Drummond Jr) (born 4 August 1949) is a Jamaican trombone player. Biography Gordon grew up in Jones Town, Kingston, Jamaica as one of eight children. He went to Kingston's Catholic Alpha Boys S ...

– horns

Additional musicians

* Karl Zéro & Daisy D'Errata – vocals * Richacha – drums *Christophe Dutray – additional horns *Al Anderson,

Alexandre Desplat Alexandre Michel Gérard Desplat (; born 23 August 1961) is a French film composer and conductor. He has won many awards, including two Academy Awards, for his musical scores to the films '' The Grand Budapest Hotel'' and '' The Shape of Water'' ...

, Daisy D'Errata, Glen Da Costa, Marie-Do & Kali, Tyrone Downie, Vin Gordon – backing vocals *Nelson Chambers – banjo on "Take Me Back To Jamaica" *Slim Pesin – additional guitars *Laurent Laisingué – steel drum *François Constantin – percussions

Production notes

*Produced by

*Recorded by Bruno De Jarnac, assisted by Yohan Rivernale at Studio Du Manoir *Additional recording by Olivier Gro at Twin Studio *Mixed by Bruno Jarnac, assisted by Nicolas Sacco at Twin Studio *Mastered by Geoff Pesche at the Townhouse *Artwork by Hrvoje Goluza

References

{{Authority control 2004 albums Karl Zéro albums The Wailers Band albums