Karayib Focus: Lorenz
Ten weeks. I spent ten weeks with Lorenz's discography on heavy rotation... As summer 2020 comes to an end, it is time to recap my journey in the most utter respect and tell you why I’ll keep paying attention to this Guadeloupean artist.
Out of sight, always in my ears
It all starts in 2016. I start listening to zouk again after about ten years in the K-Pop world. At that time, Lorenz was promoting the single "Pwoblèm". I don't like the lyrics that much, but I like the musical structure enough to find myself humming along when the song is on the radio... And the song is on ALL THE TIME. This situation happens with every song he releases between 2016 and 2019, especially with his song “Mwen Vlé”, his duet with singer Dasha. That’s how I can identify his voice without knowing what he looks like since I don't care enough to youtube his clips. That is until the release of "L'Océan" in 2019 for DJ Jaïro's concept album "Retro vers le futur". I give the video clip a chance only because the original version has a special place in my heart. I see Lorenz for the first time... and I am all the more puzzled. With his attractive looks, pleasant voice and successful productions like "Luv Me", why didn't he make the crossover onto the national scene? And I'm talking beyond the simple fact that the French music industry blocks zouk artists. In this age of streaming and social media, the argument no longer carries the same weight unless you stay stuck in a 20th century vision. If there's one thing my years of K-Pop taught me, it's that any system can be hacked. #isaidwhatisaid
A few weeks later, while I'm catching up on the podcast version of French radio show Street Diamond, I listen to his interview recorded at the end of 2018. His analysis of the contemporary zouk situation seems realistic to me, but I am so used to hearing zouk being looked down upon or reduced to what was done in the 20th century that it’s the passion in his voice that appeals to me. Lorenz doesn't sing zouk by default. He does it because he loves and respects zouk.
Live singing magic
The personality I perceive and the praises singer Nesly sings about him make me consider the possibility of going to see him in a solo concert in November 2019. People who follow me since myinsaeng.com know that I only go to a concert after giving much thoughts about it... And for this time, I don’t go because I don't dare to return home at 11pm on my last day of vacation. Besides, I still consider him being just a party hit maker with a pretty voice. Then comes the Générations Zouk concert in February 2020. First time in my life that I hear "Touné" which I didn't know existed and I'm intrigued because this song doesn't sound like what I usually hear. I wonder how the studio version would sound like. So here I am on Spotify the next day to listen to the structure of the song again. I wrote about it in my #wednesdaywith review, but it's not so easy to create a coherent melody with different sequences. So I try to listen to his first songs released in 2004. Keyword "try". Although I don't like it, I appreciate the fact that the majority of his discography is available. I try again two or three times between the end of February and the beginning of March, but I’m just not into it. And THEN ... Lockdown! His little video of "Konfiné mwen évè'w" lands in my Twitter feed. The thumbnail showing the home studio setting pushes me to watch with the sound on. And I finally feel his vibe. The audience is so enthusiastic about the track that Lorenz releases the official version that I admit I listened to a lot in April... And that I still listen to it even now. While I'm working on the first special edition of my podcast, I'm seriously thinking about opening the music section of karukerament.com and I'm also thinking about writing the follow-up to my research on zouk as an international kreyol pop music. Lorenz is naturally the first name that comes to mind for a Karayib Focus. Why so?
As for now, he is the male zouk artist of my generation who embodies the best what I celebrate when I use the #streamcaribbean, that is to say, an artist with a potential to shine on the international scene. In my #wednesdaywithreviews, I explain step by step... or rather song by song what in his discography brought me to this conclusion. From his "Bling bling zoukeur" debut (2004 - 2008) to his "Versatile" phase (2017 - 2020) today through his "Playa Gonna Play" phase (2013 - 2016), we can hear the life story of a young Caribbean man at the beginning of the 21st century. Regardless of whether his lyrics are autobiographical or not, he delivers a contemporary male vision of love with the necessary dose of vulnerability. He has made constant efforts to progress artistically to the point of having developed a chameleon style that can adapt to any musical genre and any audience. It is probably for this reason that he’s been the game for more than 15 years. He sings in French as well as in kréyol. He sings about love as well as sex. He collaborates as well with singers as with rappers... The adjective versatile indeed is perfect for him. And that might be also his weakness.
Lorenz, the paradox
His lack of visibility could be due to timing and his artistic proposals. I’mma say it again, but I am surprised to see that Lorenz meets most of the criteria to be categorized as "a beautiful man" and yet he does not overplay it. It’s like he has done everything to avoid the image of the ideal son-in-law, which could have effectively blocked him as a zouk singer. In any case, his bling bling zouk style was too impersonal. Between 2004 and 2008, singer M. Pokora got all the attention of the French industry, so Lorenz would hardly have stood out. During his "Playa Gonna Play" phase, his interpretation of the nice bad boy becomes more subtle. However, instead of going for a sensual slow-tempo zouk that has already proven itself like singers Thierry Cham or Slaï did before him, Lorenz redefines his musical universe to go back to the basics: party zouk. Except that there are already a few French-speaking Black male artists standing out in the pop music landscape of 2013-2016: Stromae, Maître Gim's and Black M. Given that the industry still only sees party zouk with the nostalgia of the 20th century (Kassav, Zouk Machine, Francky Vincent, La Compagnie créole), Lorenz may offer hits, but his marketing strategy doesn’t highlight the singularity of its approach while the French audience goes crazy over "Papaoutai" (2013) or "Sapés comme jamais" (2015). And yes, I know that money is the big part of a marketing strategy, I'm just making an observation of what was working at the time. The "Versatile" phase leads Lorenz into a dead end for the current French scene. He’s comfortable in every style both visually and musically now, so he is no longer malleable to be branded in one specific category. But at this stage of his career, is it still worth it for him to limit himself to France?
A legend in the making ?
A few weeks ago, I debated with one of my Twitter followers who cited Aya Nakamura as an example of successful zouk, because it's the current trend. Zouk may be an exotic trend for the rest of the world, but for us, it's everyday life. The problem isn’t that Aya Nakamura makes a zouk hit in 2020. The problem is that our artists like Lorenz doing a zouk song adapted to the current era don’t capitalize on the efforts of our previous generations.
As I said in the ultimate #wednesdaywith, some of his latest titles are really targeted toward an international audience. Especially "Luv Me", a summer anthem that should become a classic. As with all our artistic productions, it's no longer so much about making quality. It's about being able to showcase this quality by ourselves but for the whole world to see. #isaidwhatisaid x2 I don't know what Lorenz's goals were at the beginning of his career, I don't know what they are today. Here’s the last question I ask myself: after fifteen years of career, what legacy is he building? Thanks to his versatility, Lorenz has always remained in the right trends. “Chakè”is duet with Haitian singer Paska released in summer 2020 is yet another example... Is he capable of setting a trend? The potential is there.
2004 me surely had the opportunity to listen to Lorenz without finding him interesting and probably wouldn't have bothered to peer-to-peer download his songs the old fashioned way. If 2013 me had heard "Touné", I'm sure that this song would have found its place in the K-Pop playlists in my iPod... if I had owned an iPod. My 2020 me has streamed his songs so much that he’ll surely be in my annual top 3 most listened artists on Spotify (sorry Gage). I consider his discography to be already a nice musical legacy (and the financial gain should probably be more). He's been delivering a string of hits for the last 5 years, yes. But lyrics about the problems of being single or the fulfillment of being in love can't last forever. As good as his discography can be, as interesting as his collaborations can be, what makes Lorenz feel?
[t/n: I wrote a zouk song touching upon racism and the life one leads when being a Black man. It’s a sensitive topic but I needed to make a stand with what I have”)
Exploring a zouk outside the theme of love. Telling the story of what brings us together as a people. Immortalizing our stories of suffering and joy through music. Expressing one’s authenticity by singing about one’s reality... This is sometimes what makes the difference between being a "good artist", a "great artist" and a "legendary artist".