Erol Josue was born into the Vodou tradition and initiated at 17 years of age as a Houngan (Vodou priest). His natural talents and abilities as a singer and dancer were first realized within the religion hence the Vodou repertory that he draws a lot of his inspiration. Erol is also a prolific song writer among other things.

He lived in Paris for thirteen years where he established Compagnie Shango, which had thirteen singers and dancers. He choreographed and also performed for Compagnie Shango until he moved to the United States in 2002.

The word Vodou has always had a particular mystique outside of Haiti. This fact has allowed Erol to be a visiting artist doing workshops and lectures on Vodou and its music at Harvard University, Michigan State, University of Michigan, N.Y.U. and the University of Florida.

Erol is a Vodou Child. He leads Vodou ceremonies within his Brooklyn community; where he performs Vodou on stage, bringing all his Vodou into his infectious pop music. It has everyone up and dancing or sitting really listening to his magnificent voice!



Regléman is Erol’s first CD release, a four year project. It not only refers to the protocol of Vodou as Erol understands it today but adds a modern face to Vodou. This album illustrates an artist who is involved in the world and one that has assimilated other cultures. These influences are filtered through Erol who becomes a channel; the bridge between the rich musical, vocal and dance traditions as they are expressed in Vodou; bringing them into a pop/funk context.

www.ErolJosue.net



Erol Josue's music lives at the crossroads of African, Caribbean, European and American cultures. It is rooted in the traditions of Haitian Vodou, a religion that was forged in the midst of slavery and revolution by bridging and uniting African traditions in exile.It has also been shaped by Josue's own travels from Haiti to France and the U.S., and carries the lessons of his work as a dancer, choreographer, activist, priest and healer. Regleman speaks of Haiti, of its struggles, triumphs, and perhaps its future as well. Laurent Dubois Regleman is a minocan, a composite of 13 songs to the 13 most important loas (spirits) within the vodoun pantheon. Regleman not only respects the vodoun rituals by welcoming listeners to a song for Legba, the spirit of the crossroads, but it also follows the chronological salutation to each spirit in accordance to rank and rites. Regleman is Erol's own compact of ritual rites within the musical realm that is intended to open the astral forces with each of the 13 songs that are explicitly and symbolically interrelated. Patrick Sylvain Override the negative forces; your Regleman lies within. Overcome the day to day struggle; the barriers to your central power source, the excess luggage, then , you may start your Regleman. Lahiny Pierre Liturgy of the unseen, the Vodou spirits penetrate our lives through our bodies: our organs, our blood, and our bones. Theirs is a liturgy of presence in which all the stunning choreographies of movement, sound and visual signs cut invisible paths into our flesh. But our multiple bodies cannot be mapped by one anatomical chart. They are coded by scars and open wounds differentially inscribed by slavery, colonialism and ever globalizing capital upon oppressed and oppressor flesh. Erol Josue knows that. He knows that the lwa heal within not beyond these somatic codes, matching them with creative energies of reparation and resistance. He knows that their liturgy must be continuously renewed as zones of mortalcombat expand - Baghdad from Iraq to Haiti - and new thresholds of suffering must be crossed with spiritual hope. Anna Wexler Some artists that have influenced me are Toto Bissainthe, Bjork, Deep Forest, Angelique Kidjo, Yousour'Ndour, Boukman Experience, Eric Benett

Vodou:Spirit of The Ancestors

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Music, art, minorities struggle, voodoo, and religion

Regléman is Erol’s first CD release, a four year project. It not only refers to the protocol of Vodou as Erol understands it today but adds a modern face to Vodou. This album illustrates an artist who is involved in the world and one that has assimilated other cultures. These influences are filtered through Erol who becomes a channel; the bridge between the rich musical, vocal and dance traditions as they are expressed in Vodou; bringing them into a pop/funk context.

Some artists that have influenced me are Toto Bissainthe, Bjork, Deep Forest, Angelique Kidjo, Yousour'Ndour, Boukman Experience, Eric Benett

Vodou:Spirit of The Ancestors

Add to My Profile | More Videos