Zouk
French Antillean music genre
title: "Zouk" type: doc version: 1 created: 2026-02-28 author: "Wikipedia contributors" status: active scope: public tags: ["zouk", "caribbean-music-genres", "music-of-martinique", "music-of-guadeloupe", "music-of-haiti", "music-of-dominica", "music-of-the-lesser-antilles"] description: "French Antillean music genre" topic_path: "arts" source: "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Zouk" license: "CC BY-SA 4.0" wikipedia_page_id: 0 wikipedia_revision_id: 0
::summary French Antillean music genre ::
::data[format=table title="Infobox music genre"]
| Field | Value |
|---|---|
| name | Zouk |
| stylistic_origins | |
| cultural_origins | Early 1980s, French Antilles (esp. Guadeloupe and Martinique) |
| instruments | |
| derivatives | Zouk-love, Kizomba |
| regional_scenes | |
| :: |
| name = Zouk | stylistic_origins = | cultural_origins = Early 1980s, French Antilles (esp. Guadeloupe and Martinique) | instruments = | derivatives = Zouk-love, Kizomba | fusiongenres = | regional_scenes =
Zouk is a musical movement and dance pioneered by the French Antillean band Kassav' in the early 1980s. It was originally characterized by a fast tempo (120–145 bpm), a percussion-driven rhythm, and a loud horn section. Musicians from Martinique and Guadeloupe eventually added MIDI instrumentation to their compas style, which developed into a genre called zouk-love. Zouk-love is effectively the French Lesser Antilles' compas, and it gradually became indistinguishable from compas.
Zouk béton
The original fast carnival style of zouk, best represented by the band Kassav', became known as "zouk béton", "zouk chiré", or "zouk hard". Zouk béton is considered a synthesis of various French Antillean dance music styles of the 20th century, including kadans, konpa, and biguine.
References
References
- (2013). "Encyclopedia of Latin American Popular Music". ABC-CLIO.
- (2019). "The Codification of Zouk". BoD – Books on Demand.
- (1999). "The Rough Guide to World Music". Rough Guides.
- Popular Musics of the Non Western World. Peter Manuel, New York Oxford University Press, 1988, p74
- (1993). "Zouk: World Music in the West Indies". University of Chicago Press.
- (2012). "Caribbean Currents: Caribbean Music from Rumba to Reggae". Temple University Press.
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