About Me
NEWS: GREGORY RABESS BRAND NEW RELEASE 'DA BIRTHDAY SONG' AVAILABLE IN DOMINICA AND ON-LINE @ NUMUSICZONE. LISTEN TO SONG CLIP ON THIS PAGE.Gregory Rabess, also known by his artistic name ‘Woch-la’, is a creolist, poet, singer and musician of the Caribbean island of Waitukubuli (Dominica). He is currently based in London where he plays with Nostalgia Steelband, freelances as a music tutor and cultural consultant and performs as a solo artiste.
A versatile musician, he plays several instruments - guitars, steelpans, various drums and percussion - and is an innovative lyricist, author and composer. His recordings include ‘Wochla’ (1991) and ‘Metdjel Lyrics Master’ (2000) and 'DA Birthday Song' (2008). In 1990, he produced ‘Mizik Sewinal’, a recording of traditional Christmas Music of Dominica. His mega hit ‘Woch-la’ remains very popular in his native land and it is without doubt, his signature song and artistic ‘nom de geurre’. His performing genres include zouk, calypso, Caribbean (Latin Jazz) fusion, Dominican and French creole folk music - bele, jing ping and folk ballads.
Gregory’s song and poetic themes reflect his cultural and political commitment particularly with respect to the struggle to define a creole identity, a Caribbean identity and the promotion of the creole language and culture. For over twenty years, he has been involved at the heart of the Antillean creole movement. Indeed Gregory Rabess is highly regarded as a leading thinker and commentator on Dominican and Caribbean music and culture. Among his published works on creole music is a Chapter in the book Zouk: World Music in the West Indies by Jocelyne Guilbault (University of Chicago Press, 1993).
A master lyricist and composer, his works have been performed and recorded by other Dominican leading artistes, singers and calypsonians. He wrote and composed the calypso Tiweyo (Remove Them) recorded and sung by calypsonian King Hurricane. This calypso won the Road March and People’s Choice Awards during Dominica’s carnival in 1994. In 1995 he followed this up with Kwa-La (The Cross), another carnival road march. Two compositions Ba Yon Chanson and Caribbean music appeared on the 10th Anniversary Special album by Dominica’s top female singer Ophelia. Another jazz funk instrumental piece Gregory’s Groove appears on the debut album by the Dominican creole jazz group Impact. In 2000, he co-authored and produced the single Your Flame Keeps Burning On with Gordon Henderson of Exile One fame, as a tribute to the late Dominican Prime Minister and internationalist Rosie Douglas.Gregory’s music and cultural talents can be traced back to his family and his native village Waraka (Atkinson) in Dominica. His brother Sinky (Click Masta Sync) is a front singer and guitarist with the Canada-based Reggae Cowboys. During the heyday of Dominican cadence-lypso music of the 70s, he and brother Sinky teamed up with other notables like Julie Martin and Anison Rabess to form the creole jazz group Mantra which released an album of the same name. Gregory by then had become one of Dominica’s leading percussionists. After Mantra, Gregory did a stint with the Martiniquan group Playboys led by Fred Desir. In the 80s, he concentrated his efforts on creole performance poetry and quickly rose to become the top creole poet on island, winning several awards. This led to his debut album Wochla (The Stone) - a riposte to celebrations marking the quincentenary of the arrival of Columbus in the Caribbean. From then on Gregory performed as a solo artiste at gigs and major events including the World Creole Music Festival. In 1996, he produced Gregory Rabess and Friends Live in Concert which included King Hurricane and Ophelia, Impact and Michele Henderson, who has since risen to become one of Dominica’s leading female singers. Michele Henderson appears on the album Metdjel Lyrics Master on lead and background vocals. Ophelia appears on the album Wochla. In September 2006 he was a headline act at the Variations Caraibes Festival which included other notables such a Bwa Kore and Kolo Barst of Martinique and Dominique Coco and Karibbean Koumbeat of Guadeloupe.Gregory Rabess has contributed to the work of key cultural institutions in Dominica including the Konmite Pou Etid Kweyol (Committee for Creole Studies), Movement for Cultural Awareness, National Cultural Council and the World Creole Music Festival. He has received several awards for his contribution to creole culture including the WCMF Award of Excellence 1999.During the last four years, he has resided in London. There he is involved in the steel band movement, playing with the group Nostalgia. Nostalgia is the oldest steel band group in London, formed by Antillean immigrants to London forty years ago. Nostalgia performs at the Notting Hill Carnival in the traditional ‘pan round de neck’ manner, that is to say, the players march and play steel pans strapped around the neck.Apart from his music pursuits, Gregory has been involved in communications and community media - video and television production, community radio, popular theatre ….but that is another story. . Gregory Rabess holds a Master Degree with Distinction in Applied Communications. An abridged version of his MA dissertation ‘Popular Media and Policy in the Eastern Caribbean’ was published in the International Journal of Cultural Policy Volume 4, Issue 2, 1998. For further reading on Gregory Rabess, see interviews with Gregory Rabess in the WACC Journal archives and Afrik.com.
