Between Tradition and Modernity, Wesli Releases "Makaya," His 7th Album
Pierre-Phaill Goudou ·
Montreal singer and guitarist born in Haiti, Wesli (Wesley Louissaint) released this album on November 18, 2025.
Montreal-born Haitian singer and guitarist Wesli (Wesley Louissaint) released this album on November 18, 2025. The choice of this date, which evokes the last battle that led to Haiti's independence in 1804 at Vertières, is not coincidental, the artist was keen to explain.
This 24-track opus is an ode to traditions, rituals, traditional rhythms and rich Haitian culture with nods to the alma mater, Africa. The album is named after a mountain range in southern Haiti that served as a refuge for maroons fleeing the atrocities of slavery.
This opus aims to revalue an entire cultural and historical heritage rooted in Haitian collective memory and all the traditions bequeathed by the Igbos, Congos, Aladas, Nagos, Yorubas and Dahomey.
Through this album, Wesli says he "wants to remind the Haitian people and its diaspora that our roots are a light that illuminates the path to the future. Our culture is not a burden, but a compass that guides us."
In the Kikongo language, Makaya (https://wesliband.com/en/) translates as "leaf," a symbol rooted in ancestral voodoo, associated with healing through herbal teas, baths and other purification and renewal rituals.
The songs venerate the strength, beauty and dignity of the Haitian people. They are produced with electronic vibrations like Nago Électro and Maloya Yanvalou or festive sounds of Blackman Samba, Lanmou and Konbit Lakay.
Wesli's seventh album invites music lovers to journey into the heart of Haitian traditions through tracks like Makaya, Papa Loco and Mèsi Bondye where African roots and voodoo drums resonate intensely.
Wesli also offers Afrobeat songs like Rebel Union and conscious tracks such as Rèv Mwen and Rezistans that prove to be true calls for solidarity and resilience. On this album, the artist revisits the troubadour in tracks like Chacha, Makonay and Lanmou by blending poetry, humanity and musical elegance, thus offering a bridge between past and present, between tradition and modernity.
This album is a return to African sources through the voodoo sounds of Lakou and the Banda, Petro, Ganga, Nago, Congo and Yanvalou rhythms. The Creole lyrics are carried by authentic instruments, notably the bamboo, the Manouba, the Manman Tanbou, the Bandjo, the accordion and the Peul flute of Burkinabé Lasso Sanou, always recognizable. The harmonization of these instruments creates a marriage and an immersive experience deeply rooted in Haitian spirituality.
Artists from diverse backgrounds have contributed to Wesli's seventh album. From Haiti, we find BIC Tizon Dife (Jean Roosevelt Saillant) in Rev Mwen and Tamara Suffren in Chacha. Afrotronix in Nago Elektro, Meryem Seci and Ilam on the Soul Train track or Banda with Sika Valme.
From different origins and cultures, these collaborations give great diversity to the album through a blend of sounds and a dialogue between tradition and modernity.
Makaya has everything to satisfy discerning music lovers seeking pleasure and fans of traditional music as well as lovers of modern sounds that carry lyrics capable of awakening Haitian collective consciousness.
Carried by the voice of Emeline Michel and telling the story of Haitian braceros in the sugarcane fields in the Dominican Republic, by covering the song Viejo (Kouzen), Wesli wants to emphasize, in this album, resilience, resistance, immigration and the strength of Haitian men and women while showcasing his talents through electric and acoustic guitar.
Since the release of his first album in 2009, Wesli has established himself as a prolific singer-songwriter, guitarist and producer. His nomination as Radio-Canada's 2009-2010 Discovery has continued to win prestigious awards including the Babel Med Music Prize and SOCAN's Hagood Hardy Award for composition in 2016.
Renowned artists have already collaborated with him on his albums such as Tiken Jah, Afrotronix, Fakoly, Paul Cargnello and Radios. His band Wesliband has already toured in North America, Haiti, Colombia, Brazil and Europe. He has also had notable participations in major events such as WOMEX, Mundial Montréal and Expo Musique Atlantique in Cape Verde.
After releasing two albums in 2015, in 2018 he offered the public Rapadou Kreyol and Tradisyon in 2022 in collaboration with the American label Cumbancha. His latest 24-track album "Makaya" was just released on November 18, 2025.