This is about the type of music; see Zouk (club) for the nightclubs in Singapore and Kuala Lumpur.

Zouk is a style of rhythmic music originating from the Caribbean islands of Guadeloupe and Martinique.It has its roots in Cadence music from Dominica popularise by Grammacks and Exile One Zouk means 'party' in the local creole of French with English and African influences, all three of which contribute the sound.

Origins

Zouk was invented in the early to mid-1980s when many different styles were fused, such as balakadri , the Dominica based Cadence and bal granmoun dances, mazurka and biguine, French and American pop, and kadans , gwo ka and other indigenous styles.

Kassav

The leading band to emerge from this period was Kassav, who gave the style a pan-Caribbean sound by taking elements from reggae and salsa, and became one of the most famous bands in the world. Kassav was formed in 1979 by Pierre-Edouard Décimus , a long-time professional musician who worked with Freddy Marshall . Together, the two of them decided to take carnival music and make it a more modern and polished style. Their first album, Love and Ka Dance (1980), established the sound of zouk. They continued to grow more popular, both as a group and with several members' solo careers, finally peaking in 1985 with Yélélé , which featured the international hit "Zouk la sé sèl médickaman nou ni".

With this hit, zouk rapidly became the most widespread dance craze to hit Latin American in some time, and was wildly popular even as far afield as Europe and Asia. Zouk became known for wildly theatrical concerts featuring special effects spectacles, colorful costumes and outrageous antics.

Zouklove

A special style within the zouk is called zouklove, where the music is slower, and more dramatic. Zouklove has its origins in a slow tempo form of Cadence sang by Ophelia Marie of Dominica. The music Zouklove resembles the Kizomba music from Angola. Zouklove is also a dance style, closely related to lambada. Although the movements of the foot are slightly different (zouklove-dancers step on 1 and lambada dancers step on 2), it is based around the same 3/4 beat and both dances share the same movements.

Zouklove is danced in 3 paces within four measurements: long-short-short. The dance is very sensual with many cambres and dramatic moves. Female dancers keep throwing their usual long hair into the air to add to the drama. Zouklove is especially popular in Brazil, The Netherlands and Spain.

External links

• Zouk Archive
• Zouk Lover.com
• Zouk Performer