Richard Augustin's Kafe:
An exciting blend of local and exotic flavors

Rating:	Our Shells Rating Sytem® This is a must have! Overall, a good buy! Hard core fans only! Only if you have to! Fuggedahboudit!
Next Event: To Be Posted Soon For More Information visit Richard Augustin's Website at www.richardaugustin.com

Audio samples from the CD Kafe
	Kafe
	Caroline

On a haitian music scene dominated by Konpa, Rasin (roots music) and Reggae influence, it is always delightful to find artists that choose to proverbially break from the mold and succeed in producing work with much appeal and seducing originality. With Kafe, his second album after Breeding, Richard Augustin summons up a most exciting blend of flavorful world rhythms like Samba, Jazz, Konpa and Mambo in a nevertheless local dish named Jamba Rhythm.

Richard Augustin, born and raised in haiti, was involved with music, since the age of 11. A classic formation, years of self teaching and an education in music technology prepared him for a career as a session musician and arranger. He was part of many succesful album projects before he made his first solo CD. Richard Augustin is a multi instrumentalist, but his main weapon is the acoustic guitar played in the manner of troubadour*. On Kafe, the first song of the album, Richard presents a dialogue between samba and easy listening with a backdrop of troubadour rhythm and percusssion. On Sand, it is the same precise, accute guitar, that plays both lead and accompaniement, this time with a Bossa Nova accent. Caroline is the closest to Konpa, and problably the most danceable. It is a decidedly troubadour cut with something of a rondo. It also features a number of beautiful variations of guitar styles while keeping the same rhythm. It is bound to become the most popular song of this album, if not the most beautiful piece.

Para ti Cuba has, not surprisingly, a heavy latin, mambo, influence with the requisite conga drums, and the maracas. Sarah again goes back to the Bossa Nova with more synths and a richer melody line this time. Jele Kongo is a pure gem. It uses a backdrop of african rhythms like Soukous, and leave the melodic line to the synths and the voice of Tania Guerin Boura. Using just the two words in the title (Jele Kongo is not suppose to mean anything, said Richard Augustin), Tania manages to produce multiples shades of meaning, and different degrees of tension in plaintive llitany.

The last piece on the CD, Thank You, is an electric guitar solo in melancholic voice that reminds one of a haitian peasant woman combined with the guitar of a Larry Carlton. On that cut, Richard displays a mastery of the guitar that denotes a solid foundation as a musician. Indeed, the success of this album is due in no small part to the talent and broad musical knolwedge of the artist. Listening to the CD Breeding convinced us even more of the talent of the artist. For it is a work that is quite versatile, yet quite different from Kafe. Considering all the different rhythms that Richard chose to combine in this album, the Kafe project could have easily turned into a mumbo jumbo of disjointed pieces. Yet, each track is more similar than distinct from the rest, and the whole is as aromatic, as colorful, as rich as a cup of the finest coffee around.

We had a chance to talk with Richard Augustin and his manager Rosey Marchiori. We discussed his albums, his musical inspiration, but also his opinion about haitian music, where it is going, problems, and music in general. Richard's eloquence, candor and insightful opinion made this such a worthwhile interview that we chose to present in its entirety. [Read what was said]

Audio samples from Breeding
	Bee Suite
	Breeding

*Troubadour: type of folk singing with acoustic instruments like guitar and percussion.

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