Music:

Member Since: 05/10/2006
Band Members:

World Music Promotions June e-News
June 2008 :

Daniel Bernard Roumain :

: P hoto: John Walder :

Haitian-American artist Daniel Bernard Roumain, violinist, composer and front man of DBR & the Mission, is the epitome of cool. He is classically trained and completed his doctorate in music composition and theory at the University of Michigan. DBR has performed in places like Australia's Sydney Opera, Carnegie Hall in NYC and South Florida's Kravis Center. He has collaborated with a range of composers including Philip Glass, Ryuichi Sakamoto, and DJ Spooky. Crossing genre boundaries, combining Rock, Hip-Hop influences and Classical have given him his street appeal.
Read more on DBR
WMP first heard of DBR's work "Harlem Essay for Orchestra and Digital Audio Tape" in its Carnegie Hall debut in 1999, but never had an opportunity to see DBR : in Technicolor until he made a guest appearance at Emeline Michel's performance at the Harlem Stage last April. As of now we still can't explain which was more gripping, hearing him play an electronic violin with six strings and blending effortle ssly a classical feel to a Haitian back beat or his performance skills and observing the pulse of his long locks intertwining with the violin. At the end of DBR's last note we could feel and hear that the audience of Harlem Stage was waiting to exhale.

WMP had a chance to have a phone "tête-à-tête" with DBR and we found a sense of humility and scholarly chat blending with a hint of street lingo throughout the interview. His music is a reflection of who is his, multifaceted. Born in South Florida and presently residing in Harlem, NYC, yet we found him rooted into his Haitian heritage and culture. DBR confirm that he will be Haiti in August 2008, where he will be researching for Makandal, "a new contemporary opera conceived by multi-disciplinary artist Carl Hancock Rux (libretto), in collaboration with DBR (score) and Haitian-American visual artist Edouard Duval Carrie (decor). It's a richly layered story inspired by accounts of the first Haitian slave revolt." DBR spoke about the possibility of a guest appearance during Emeline Michel's performance in Haiti this summer.

When asked about a last word, DBR thanked the Haitian community for embracing him. He also said that he appreciated the education and the family value of his heritage, and he is grateful to call Haiti his home.

WMP would like to thank Daniel Bernard Roumain and also April Thibeault.

http://www.myspace.com/dbrmission :

http://www.youtube.com/user/dbrmusic :

Contact::
DBR Music Productions:
917.421.5552:
[email protected] :

.

Beat Magazine Review: Belo's "Reference" Album

Vive Les Caraibes!

By Brian Dring

The Beat Magazine August 2008 Issue- Volume 27, 3 2008

All too often talented Haitian roots artists find their
music undermined by inferior production or a promoter lacking the vision or contacts to get them the exposure necessary to compete on the global market. Fortunately this is not the case with the young artist known as BélO as he has proven on his recent release Reference (Soley Sounds). Coincidentally born in the same town as Wyclef Jean, this artist's early performances with a group named Sokute won several awards and attracted the attention of both producer Jean Marc Appolon and musicians Fabrice Rouzier and Kéké Belizaire of Haiti Troubadours who aided in the production of his first album "Lakou Trankil" in 2005.
In 2006 he captured the coveted French award RFI Découvertes which had not been captured by a Haitian artist since Beethova Obas in 1988. Taking it to a new level with this sophomore album featuring guest players from the international scene like Richard Bona and some international festival experience under his belt, BélO has already stepped up to the international stage with 2007 tours in Africa, France, Quebec, Tampa, and more recently in North America. In the middle of everything else is a powerful and commanding voice deeply rooted in traditional Haitian music while still transcending it in a way I haven't heard since Edy François on the first Boukman Eksperyans album, "Vodou Adjae." That voice is ably supported by the superb arrangements and instrumental work of Andy Barrow, who beside adding bass and guitars, shares keyboard tracks with Rouzier.
Several cuts from the first album are given sophisticated reworkings and a pair of talented sax players Ed Calle and Jowee Omicil add some beautiful jazz flavor without in any way obscuring the essentially organic griot feel. Most importantly, the songs have groove, refusing simply to bask in their own cleverness or beauty. BélO has evolved into a socially engaged songwriter as well, tackling such subjects as AIDS, deprived children, and violence against women. Particularly poignant is "Istwa Dwol," the often repeated story of the boat people who after a all these years continue to risk all for a better life in exile. The lyrics lament the mass exodus not only of boat people but folks from all walks of life and professions, including musicians. www.myspace.com/belo123]

Contact:
http://www.myspace.com/getthebeat
http://www.getthebeat.com :
Record Label: Unsigned