#streamcaribbean with DJ Josh (Discothèque Tropicale)

Yé Moun La! In 2024, I came across the Discothèque Tropical Instagram page. I ended up following DJ Josh because of clips from events he would DJ at. The crowd he plays for is usually a bunch of White people enjoying old school Zouk. Now I’m not surprised that non-French people enjoy Zouk. I believe Zouk is a global genre and I think it’s awesome to see people from other cultures give it so much love. No, no,  I was surprised by how young the crowd was because, in France, Zouk is seen as a music of the past. Young artists from Guadeloupe and Martinique claim they love Zouk, but they do not care enough to keep creating in this genre. They will drop a single here and there, but they invest their time and energy into other genres such as rap, dancehall or Bouyon. So I reached out to DJ Josh to get a better understanding of how Zouk attracts people who aren’t familiar with the groove and who don’t speak French or Kreyol. In this discussion, we talk about his Zouk journey, the Discothèque Tropicale project that highlights Zouk gems from the 20th century, and how contemporary Zouk struggles to break through the mainstream scene. I hope you will enjoy this discussion. 

0:00 - 0:35: opening credits

0:36 - 2:04: episode presentation

DJ Josh’s Zouk journey

2:05 - 3:34: his first memory of a Zouk song - “Do Bay Lanmen” by Patrick Saint-Eloi

3:35 - 6:59: how he discovered Zouk music in 2019 + the kind of Zouk he wants to promote

7:00 - 9:19: his take on feeling a song without understanding the lyrics 

9:20 - 11:14: brief case of study on Francky Vincent and the lack of connection between the generation of artists from the 80’s/90’s and the generation of artists active now

11:15 - 16:54: his take on how Zouk changed between the 80’s and today + my take on the connection happening right now

Actions and strategies to promote Zouk 

16:55 - 19:10: the goals behind the Discothèque Tropicale music label

19:11 - 23:11: the story behind Manix’s reissued record + the royalties distribution for a reissued album

23:12 - 30:15: his take on the kind of Zouk from Guadeloupe/Martinique that can work today + his observations during Kassav’s concert in London

30:16 - 31:49: the diversity of the Zouk music audience

Zouk as a niche genre vs. a pop music genre

31:50 - 35:14: which strategies to use to turn Zouk into a mainstream genre?

35:15 - 37:29: the flaws in the “The One” theory to make Caribbean music genres go mainstream. Examples: Bob Marley, Rihanna, Kassav’

37:30 - 42:58: the English lyrics strategy that has yet to be tried. Example: Candy Zouk by Thierry Cham + how DJs and festivals, live shows can bring more visibility to Zouk

42:59 - 44:24: the importance of sharing the history of Zouk and appreciating not appropriating

44:25 - 45:24: DJ Josh promo to follow Discothèque Tropicale on  Instagram | Youtube | Soundcloud

45:25 - 46:28: outro + blooper