Kat Wouj
by Orchestre Septentrional · 2019 · kompa · 9:25 · Haitian Creole, French
Orchestre Septentrional entered the 2019 carnival season with “Kat Wouj,” a performance lasting nine minutes and twenty-five seconds. The format is closer to a street route than a ballroom song, giving the Cap-Haïtien orchestra time to deploy horns, rhythm, voices, and passages able to sustain a crowd. The “red card” title evokes play or punishment, but the lyrics must identify its target. What this page clearly documents is a kompa institution adapting its big-band discipline to the demands of the carnival street.