WORLD
BY DAVID HUTCHEON
Moonlight Benjamin
★★★★
Wayo
MA CASE. CD/DL/LP
Voodoo blues to the fore on the Haitian’s third.
It’s a fine line between the vodun of western Africa and the blues of the south-eastern states of the US, but it’s a line the Haitian-born Moonlight Benjamin has become increasingly at ease walking since her 2018 debut, Siltane. Raised by a Catholic priest on the island after her mother died giving birth in 1971, Benjamin has been exploring the syncretic belief system (Vodou in Haiti) since her teenage years and began playing with fellow Haitian musicians around the same time, her renown as a gospel singer opening doors. Her voice is a wonder, cavernous yet warm; her band sound as if they learnt their chops backing Beefheart and Janis then spent 50 years moonlighting (ahem) on all your favourite blues re-boots. Exhibit A: the way the title track puts an African spin on Marquee Moon (seriously). No-nonsense boogie from the source.