• Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar
  • Skip to footer

Spellbinding Music

Genre-bending & spine-tingling

  • Home
  • About
  • Books
  • Contact

Leyla McCalla: A Day for the Hunter, A Day for the Prey

September 5, 2016 By guillaume

Born in New-York, raised in New-Jersey and relocating to New Orleans in 2010, Leyla McCalla is a young Haitian American singer songwriter accompanying herself on the cello, banjo and guitar. Following a remarkable first album (Vari-Colored Songs – 2014) which revisited the words of African American poet Langston Hughes with new original music, the musician returns with a new collection released on Jazz Village in May 2016 last. As illustrated by the cover photographs, A Day for the Hunter, A Day for the Prey is firmly rooted in the bayous of Louisiana. All the songs on the album reveal a constant quest for the musician’s own identity and further explore the cultural links between the Southern State and the French Caribbean traditions. Singing in English, French and Creole, the album features covers, new compositions and traditional Haitian songs.

Leyla McCalla - A Day for the Hunter, A Day for the Prey (2016)
Leyla McCalla – A Day for the Hunter, A Day for the Prey (2016)

In addition to her guitar and banjo playing, Leyla McCalla’s unconventional use of the cello transpires even further on the album where she alternates between traditional bowing techniques, plucking the strings like a guitar or using the cello as a purely rhythmic instrument on the title track.

Elsewhere on the album, the musician and her backing band (banjo, triangle, fiddle and viola, bass) navigate effortlessly between the various idioms making up the rich Louisiana musical tapestry with uncluttered arrangements of Cajun songs, Zydeco music, traditional Creole songs of Haitian origins and contemporary folk-style compositions. The use of the sousaphone throughout (the brass instrument commonly played by marching bands) or of the cornet on “Fey-O” and “Minis Azaka” further anchor Leyla McCalla’s music in a New Orleans soundscape. Prestigious guests such as Rihannon Giddens or Marc Ribot among others also lend vocals or electric guitar on “Manman” and “Peze Café” respectively.

But more importantly, the choice of covers on the album places a strong emphasis on the significant influence of several Black, Louisiana Creole or French Caribbean musicians on the regional repertoires and styles of the American Deep South and by extension on her own music.

There is a magnificent reprise of American singer songwriter Ella Jenkins’s “Little Sparrow”, a song that originally appeared on Rhythms of Childhood (1963) or a cover of “Vietnam”, a song from folk blues singer songwriter Abner Jay (1921 – 1993). The album also features compositions from two Creole fiddle players – Canray Fontenot (1922 – 1995) and Joseph “Bébé” Carrière (1908 – 2011) – both stalwarts of the rural Zydeco styles. Then harking back to her own roots, Leyla McCalla revisits several traditional Haitian songs such as the superb “Peze Café” or an original composition from Haitian singer songwriter and political activist Manno Charlemagne (“Manman”).

As for the title track of the album, A Day for the Hunter, A Day for the Prey borrows its title from both a Haitian proverb and a book by American ethnomusicologist Gage Averill published in 1997. In A Day for the Hunter, A day for the Prey – Popular Music and Power in Haiti, the author explores the complex interplay between popular music, power and politics in Haiti throughout the 20th century.

I wrote the song thinking about Haitian boat people, refugees who travel by boat from Haiti to the United States, and the vulnerability and desperation of that position. Even though that’s a specific source of inspiration, we’re seeing the same struggle with the Syrians heading to Greece and we’ve been seeing it all over the world for a long time. I felt that this proverb really captures the essence of the Haitian spirit, which to me is very linked to the struggle for human rights and political sovereignty. Leyla McCalla – NPR interview

More than a selection of folk songs, Leyla McCalla’s A Day for the Hunter, A Day for the Prey subtly tracks the legacy of Haiti’s post-colonial independence struggles and its cultural echoes in the United States and further afield.

Leyla McCalla

You May Also Like:

  • Leyla McCalla: Vari-Colored Songs
    Leyla McCalla: Vari-Colored Songs
  • Leyla McCalla: The Capitalist Blues
    Leyla McCalla: The Capitalist Blues
  • Rhiannon Giddens: Freedom Highway
    Rhiannon Giddens: Freedom Highway
  • Markéta Irglová: Muna
    Markéta Irglová: Muna
  • Marika Hackman: We Slept At Last
    Marika Hackman: We Slept At Last
  • Rhiannon Giddens with Francesco Turrisi: There is no Other
    Rhiannon Giddens with Francesco Turrisi: There is no Other

Filed Under: Contemporary, Folk Tagged With: banjo, cello, Leyla McCalla, songwriting

Subscribe to Spellbinding Music

Never miss a post and subscribe to Spellbinding Music via email. Receive weekly and enchanting musical updates straight into your inbox - and it's free!

Reader Interactions

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Primary Sidebar

About

Spellbinding Music is a blog which curates contemporary, modern classical, roots, electronic, jazz and folk music…and everything in between. ... [Continue Reading]

  • Facebook
  • Pinterest
  • RSS
  • Twitter

Most Read this week

Follow via Email

Search

Recent Posts

William Susman – A Quiet Madness (2021)

William Susman: Collision Point/A Quiet Madness

Matthew Halsall - Salute to the Sun (2020)

Matthew Halsall: Salute to the Sun

A.G: Lonea (2020)

A.G: Lonea

Saffronkeira with Paolo Fresu: In Origine: The Field of Repentance (2020)

Saffronkeira with Paolo Fresu: In Origine: The Field of Repentance

Paolo Fresu & Daniele Di Bonaventura - Altissima Luce (2019)

Paolo Fresu & Daniele Di Bonaventura: Altissima Luce

Eoghan Ó Ceannabháin & Ultan O’Brien - Solas an Lae (2020)

Eoghan Ó Ceannabháin & Ultan O’Brien: Solas an Lae

From the Archives

Vanessa Wagner: Inland

Nadah El Shazly - Ahwar (2017)

Nadah El Shazly: Ahwar

Brigid Mae Power - Head Above the Water (2020)

Brigid Mae Power: Head Above The Water

Jherek Bischoff - Cistern (2016)

Jherek Bischoff: Cistern

Sly & Robbie meet Nils Petter Molvær - Nordub (2018)

Sly & Robbie meet Nils Petter Molvær: Nordub

Anna Mieke - Idle-Mind (2019)

Anna Mieke: Idle Mind

Slow Moving Clouds - Starfall (2018)

Slow Moving Clouds: Starfall

Footer

  • Home
  • About
  • Books
  • Contact
  • Privacy Policy

Copyright © 2021 Spellbinding Music | Website by Pagecrafted

This website uses cookies to improve your experience. By continuing to browse the site you are agreeing to our use of cookies.Accept Reject Read More
Privacy & Cookies Policy

Privacy Overview

This website uses cookies to improve your experience while you navigate through the website. Out of these, the cookies that are categorized as necessary are stored on your browser as they are essential for the working of basic functionalities of the website. We also use third-party cookies that help us analyze and understand how you use this website. These cookies will be stored in your browser only with your consent. You also have the option to opt-out of these cookies. But opting out of some of these cookies may affect your browsing experience.
Necessary
Always Enabled

Necessary cookies are absolutely essential for the website to function properly. This category only includes cookies that ensures basic functionalities and security features of the website. These cookies do not store any personal information.

Non-necessary

Any cookies that may not be particularly necessary for the website to function and is used specifically to collect user personal data via analytics, ads, other embedded contents are termed as non-necessary cookies. It is mandatory to procure user consent prior to running these cookies on your website.

SAVE & ACCEPT