Book Launch and Listening Session of the record Pasé Bél Tan: Francophonies and Creolities in Louisiana
Doors 7:00pm
Tickets £15/12/5 + booking fee
The songs of Louisiana’s Francophone and Creole heritage have long flowed through its wetlands and bayous like living rivers of memory—carrying echoes of African rhythms, Native American chants, French ballads, and Caribbean cadences. This deeply syncretic soundscape is neither fixed in time nor confined to one identity. Rather, it is in constant transformation—bearing witness to the migrations, resistances, and reinventions that have shaped life in this complex region for centuries. Pasé Bél Tan: Francophonies and Creolities in Louisiana is the latest chapter in this unfolding story. Conceived as a double offering—a vinyl record and a bilingual book—it honors Louisiana’s plural musical heritage by pairing archival field recordings with contemporary compositions and reflections. Artists and scholars, both local and international, are invited to respond to these sounds and their histories, creating a resonant dialogue across generations and geographies. The project serves not only as an act of preservation but also as an invitation: to listen, to reflect, and to reckon with the cultural entanglements that have shaped the region’s unique sonic identity. This ambitious release marks the seventh entry in the FLEE series (FLEE007)—a platform known for weaving together visual art, critical research, and musical exploration in ways that challenge conventional boundaries. With Pasé Bél Tan, FLEE extends its cartography to Louisiana, situating its swamps and song traditions within a broader conversation on creolization, colonial legacies, and the aesthetics of resilience. The compilation features contributions from a wide range of voices—traditional musicians whose songs were once captured on dusty acetate, experimental artists who reimagine Cajun and Creole motifs through ambient or electronic textures, and thinkers who delve into the political, linguistic, and emotional landscapes of Louisiana’s past and present. Each track and essay becomes a portal, revealing not only the region’s plural inheritances but also the urgent relevance of these sounds today. Pasé Bél Tan is a gesture of care—a means of listening to what has been forgotten, silenced, or distorted. It bridges a vibrant present with a painful, often contested past, crafting a space where identity and memory can unfold, resist, and transform. As the next chapter in the FLEE editions journey, FLEE007 promises to be one of its most poignant and revelatory yet.