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Bouyon dance: a genre that is lived with the body

You cannot understand bouyon music sitting down. From Roseau carnival to the videos shot in Gwada and Paris, every bouyon riddim calls for a dance, and every dance relaunches the sound.

Music born to move

Bouyon comes down from dance music: the jing ping of traditional Dominican balls, bele, quadrille and the chante mas of carnival. Its fast tempo, its keyboards looping round and round and its electronic bass are made for the street, the fete and the parade. In Guadeloupe and Martinique, its nickname jump up says it all: music that makes you jump.

How bouyon is danced

There is no single official step, and that is the strength of the genre. Every era and every riddim imposes its own moves: swaying on the choruses, collective jumps on the build-ups, danced answers to the calls of the singer or the DJ. At carnival, the dance is collective and free. On social media, producers dance themselves on their own beats to launch the movement, and the public then demands the long version of the song.

Dance to the right sound

To find the songs that make people dance right now, start with the bouyon playlist by Bouyon Shattaz, then follow the producers and artists of the scene on the bouyon artists page. The new releases that launch a dance arrive first on @bouyonshattaz.