It was the 80’s, a quiet suburb of Port-au-Prince, where thr… Read Full Bio ↴ZENGLEN
It was the 80’s, a quiet suburb of Port-au-Prince, where three friends who were destined to make history in Haitian music met. Every afternoon, a young Brutus would sit on his front porch and play the guitar. Garry Didier Perez, and his friend Patrick Martineau, often noticed him and one day invited him to come over Patrick’s house. They would meet every afternoon to listen to all genres of music and interpret their favorites. During one of their rehearsals, some beer bottles fell off an amplifier that was vibrating and shattered into a million pieces. The guys laughed at the fact that Patrick would have a hard time cleaning up the many tiny pieces off the granulated floor. They all exclaimed ZENGLEN (which means tiny pieces of broken glass) and from that day on this was their band's name.
In 1989, the trio recorded "Koule Tan" (the color of time). Once completed, they took some tapes to several radio stations where hosts and listeners would become fans and fall in love.
Zenglen became one of the wonders of the early 1990’s as they released the hit song "Fidel" off of the album "An Nou Alèz." In the song the band said that “change” is never easy and always faces obstacles, and resistance, but that they pledge to remain faithful (Fidel) to their mission which is to improve and modernize the Konpa rhythm.
The Konpa world was introduced to their new found stars like the guitarist and singer Brutus Derissaint and the lead singer Gary Didier Perez among others. In the song "Fidel" the band said: "Sé konsa se konsa se konsa la vi ya ye lè ou vle met chanjman reziztans tèt chaje." Unfortunately after a U.S tour most of the band’s members abandoned ship and the band broke up into pieces like a real Zenglen.
In Miami Brutus never stop caressing the dream of keeping some of the pieces alive and had moved on with some attempts like the Zenglen Plus and a few solo albums in the 1990’s. Many musicians tried to help him to collect the pieces, but they often moved with their own projects like the creation of the band D-Zine. Nevertheless Brutus never lost faith and still remained fidèl (Faithful) to his mission by hiring more talented musicians each and every time. At the end of the century the acquisition of the drummer Richard Herard (Richie) and then singer Gracia Delva took Zenglen to the level of a very competitive Konpa band in the demanding market as they released the album "Easy Konpa" with nothing but major hits song that were going to move the band to the front burner of the industry. Ever since that time Zenglen hasn’t looked back despite the so many changes of personnel that occurred.
The album "Easy Konpa" was introduced to the public with the release of the video of the hit song "5 Dwèt" which boosted Zenglen to the top of the konpa scene. The song "B.S Productions" got the attention of the public as the song talk about unqualified show producers damaging the reputation of the bands. On that same album the band touched some subjects until then taboo as they talked about lesbians in the society in the song "Flannè Femèl" and drug used in the song "Ti Poud."
In the following years Zenglen continued to amaze the Konpa fans all over the world with the releases of the albums "Let It Groove," "Do It Right," "5 Etwal." The latest album, "5eme Vites," sung by current lead vocalist Kenny Desmangles, touches subjects on society, relationships with top notch konpa, and proved again why critics have praised them as the Konpa University.
Over the years the Konpa observers have seen broken pieces that continued to break in even more pieces, but the band remains solid and true to their mission: Zenglen doesn’t change…Zenglen improve. Like they often say in their songs “Sé pa changé nou changé, se pi bon’n vin’n pi bon.”
Fidel
Zenglen Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Lè ou vle met chanjman, rezistans tèt chaje
Gen 20 an, te g'on jenerasyon k'tap jwe
Yon mizik ki pat sanble ak sa k' te la
Manman mwen, papa mwen, tout fanatik Sicot, Nemours
T'ap rele ki kote sa prale?
Se konsa, se konsa, se konsa lavi a ye
Lè ou vle met chanjman, rezistans tèt chaje
Jodia Zenglen nou pran yon lòt chimen
Pou nou fè jenerasyon nou an danse
Ban n lajwa toulèjou ki pe mennen nou ale lwen
E poutan nou pap janm bliye konpa
Zenglen an nou alèz
Oh banou lanmou menm si n'ale lòt bò fwontyè
Depi nou la, oh la la, nou ka simen lajwa nan kè tout moun
Fidèl, nou vle rete fidèl oh, Zenglen pe fè chimen an
Pou nou ale oh la la, epi lanmou epi tandrès
Oh al'on lavi, eske ou la pou banm plis tan
Pou nou mate oh la la, epi lanmou epi tandrès
Modèst, nou vle rete modèst oh, menm si n monte sou montay la
Pout tèt an nou janmè vire, epi lanmou oh la la
Pou nou ale, ale chèche yon lòt chimen
Una nueva generación, una nueva dirección
Oh al'on lavi, eske ou la pou banm plis tan
Pou nou mate oh la la, epi lanmou epi tandrès
Wo oh oh
Sa k' pou pranm pou m bliye music peyi mwen
Sa k'a pran m pou m bliye rasin an mwen
Sa k' pou pran m pou m bliye music peyi mwen
Sa k'a pran m pou m bliye culture pa mwen
Ayisyen nou ye,
Se Kongo nou ye
Men se Kongo nou ye
Se konpa nou jwe
Nati Kongo nou ye, nou ye
Se konpa nou jwe
Se nèg Nago nou ye, nou ye, nou ye
Se konpa nou jwe
Wo oh
Ra... woh oh oh
In the song "Fidel" by Zenglen, the lyrics reflect the struggles of a generation in Haiti who are seeking change and resisting the status quo. The song starts by acknowledging the difficulties of life and how change requires resistance from those who want it. The lyrics then reference a previous generation of musicians, including Sicot and Nemours, and asks where their legacy will lead. Zenglen, as an embodiment of the new generation, offers a new path that involves dancing and spreading joy while remaining loyal to the traditional Haitian music style of konpa.
The chorus repeats the desire to stay loyal to the roots and to spread love and peace through the music. The lyrics also acknowledge the need to stay humble and not let success and fame get in the way of staying true to oneself. The song ends with a reminder that Haitians are descendants of the Congo, and konpa is a way of celebrating that heritage and cultural identity.
Line by Line Meaning
Se konsa, se konsa, se konsa lavi a ye
This is how life is.
Lè ou vle met chanjman, rezistans tèt chaje
When you want to make a change, it takes a lot of resistance.
Gen 20 an, te g'on jenerasyon k'tap jwe
Twenty years ago, there was a generation that was playing.
Yon mizik ki pat sanble ak sa k' te la
A music that didn't sound like what existed before.
Manman mwen, papa mwen, tout fanatik Sicot, Nemours T'ap rele ki kote sa prale?
My mother, my father, all the Sicot and Nemours fans, where are they going?
Jodia Zenglen nou pran yon lòt chimen
Today Zenglen is taking a different path.
Pou nou fè jenerasyon nou an danse
To make our generation dance.
Ban n lajwa toulèjou ki pe mennen nou ale lwen
Give us joy that will lead us far away.
E poutan nou pap janm bliye konpa
And yet we will never forget Konpa.
Zenglen an nou alèz
Let's go with Zenglen.
Oh banou lanmou menm si n'ale lòt bò fwontyè Depi nou la, oh la la, nou ka simen lajwa nan kè tout moun
Give us love even when we cross the border. Since we are here, we sow joy in everyone's heart.
Fidèl, nou vle rete fidèl oh, Zenglen pe fè chimen an Pou nou ale oh la la, epi lanmou epi tandrès
Faithful, we want to remain faithful. Zenglen is paving the way for us to go with love and tenderness.
Oh al'on lavi, eske ou la pou banm plis tan Pou nou mate oh la la, epi lanmou epi tandrès
Oh, in this life, are you here to give me more time? So that we can enjoy love and tenderness.
Modèst, nou vle rete modèst oh, menm si n monte sou montay la Pout tèt an nou janmè vire, epi lanmou oh la la
Modest, we want to stay humble even if we climb the mountain. So that our heads never turn, and love prevails.
Pou nou ale, ale chèche yon lòt chimen Una nueva generación, una nueva dirección
To go, go look for a different path. A new generation, a new direction.
Ayisyen nou ye, Se Kongo nou ye Men se Kongo nou ye Se konpa nou jwe Nati Kongo nou ye, nou ye Se konpa nou jwe Se nèg Nago nou ye, nou ye, nou ye Se konpa nou jwe Wo oh Ra... woh oh oh
We are Haitians, we are Congo people. We play Konpa. We are Nago, we play Konpa.
Contributed by Aria W. Suggest a correction in the comments below.