Fabrice Rouzier, the force behind Mizik Mizk and "Haiti Troubadour".

Heritagekonpa Magazine 12/8/05

Fabrice Rouzier, pianist, producer, and entrepreneur has enjoyed a successful music career that has spanned over two decades. His journey within the Haitian music industry is filled with rich artistic milestones. Over the course of his career, Fabrice has recorded and collaborated on over 300 albums.

In the mid 80's and early 90’s, he greatly influenced the development of “Nouvelle Generation Konpa” and helped launch the career of a number of Haitians' music brighter stars including Emeline Michel, Michel Martelly, Beethova Obas, Boukman Eksperyans, Masterdji, and many others.

Today Frabrice Rouzier continues to make significant contributions to Haitian music as the leading man and staff musician--the pianist--of the group Mizik Mizik. He is the master producer of the "Haiti Troubadour" CD series and now is one of the forces behind the young record label “Soleil Sound” that has recorded "Haiti Troubadours", Belo, and Nickenson Prud'Homme's upcoming album.

The influences on Fabrice are as varied as his current talents. He played piano as a youth with his aunt Marguerite Borno. By 1984, he was playing and recording with legendary musicians and producers including Hans Peters, Bobby Denis, Patrick Dejean. In 1986, he collaborated with Keke Belizaire, Mano Obas, Choupite Jacquette and other musicians to launch the group Mizik Mizik.

Frabrice's versatility is evident in the albums recorded in recent years--three albums he recorded with the group Mizik Mizik and four years ago, he helped revitalize the almost extinct art, “Troubadour Creole”, made famous by Altheirie Dorival, Ti Paris, and Coupe Cloue; with the release of Haiti Troubadour.

The intrerview below was conducted by Moses St. Louis, a freelance writer for OpaMizik.com

Opa Mizik:: Somewhere I've read that you started playing music at a very young age, what do you remember about those days, was it a demanding time?

Fabrice:: I started taking piano lessons at 4 with my aunt Marguerite Borno. She was an amazing woman and a fantastic musician that was a concert pianist in France for a very long time. I was doing pretty good until my older brother convinced me that soccer was a better choice for men and that piano was for girls. You have to understand that we are in 1971-1972 and that our national team was about to clinch its only participation in a soccer world cup.

Moses:: When did you decide to try for a career in music business

Fabrice:: I was approached by Hans Peters from Pirog to do some stuff. Hansy and I are family and he knew that I sometimes played the organ. I was a DJ at the time. He had me listen to some of the stuff he was doing and I played a couple licks for him. He liked what he heard and he brought me to Audiotek sometime in 1984. Seeing Bobby Denis and Patrick Déjean work was an eye opener for me.

Moses:: Can you give me a quick tour of your early artistic life?

Fabrice:: I started with Hansy as I mentioned to you. From there, Maxence Denis ( Raoul Denis junior's brother ) and I decided to create a band. We contacted Keke Belizaire and Christophe Lafontant. Mizik-Mizik was born and we succesfully took part in the 1986 Konkou Mizik American Airlines. Soon afterwards, I left for the US to pursue my college studies. I worked on close to 300 records with several people and helped launch quite a few careers : Michel Martelly, Emeline Michel, Ti Nes Salvant, Jacques Sauveur Jean, Skandal, Scorpio, Boukman Eksperyans, Masterdji, Beethova Obas among many others In 1990, I was asked to replace Ernst Marcelin in Tabou Combo. I spent close to 3 years with them and when I got my college diploma I went back home and decided to recreate Mizik-Mizik with my partner Kéké and with a bunch of new guys. 1992 was during the embargo years and unlike the gloomy situation down there, Mizik- Mizik took off ! Throughout the years we have been through ups and downs. Mizik-Mizik spun off into Haiti Twoubadou for a while ( which was a resounding success for Haitian music in general ). I am still backing up new artists. We recently created a music label Soley Sounds and we recently released the solo effort of newcomer Bélo. The label will soon release the first solo effort of my friend Nickenson Prudhomme and of reggae sensation Jahnesta. Mizik-Mizik has released a single Chaviré and we plan to have a cd ready by the summer of 2006

Moses:: What else do you do beside music?

Fabrice:: I am the marketing manager for Sun Auto. Sun Auto is the exclusive distributor in Haïti of General Motors, Honda and Hyundai automobiles. We also sell world class products such as Dupont paints and General and Yokohama tires. We are most definitely one of the best dealerships in Haiti. I am also married to a wonderful wife and we have two daughters that are very demanding.

Moses:: What philosophical and universal message do you hope that your music embodies?

Fabrice:: I hope that my music conveys a general feeling of escape to people. Most of it should not be taken too seriously though!

Moses:: How can your style be so eclectic, ranging from Troubadour, Konpa direk, and carnival jazz? You name it you'll turn it into a hit?

Fabrice:: That is very flattering of you. I doubt that it works that way though ! I actually listen to everything and I like most of it. I'll go from Pat Metheny to Althierry Dorival to house in a
NY minute !

Moses:: In a balance between arrangement, lyrics and melody, which is the most
important and the most difficult to do?

Fabrice:: I think music is a whole. Some situations call for the lyrics to be prominent and some call for the background to be more present. It's not that difficult but I find that arranging requires patience and tolerance for the opinions of others.

Moses:: How much time do you spend refining the sound of your songs? How much
time do you actually spend in the studio?

Fabrice:: Not enough time J. Kidding ! Some songs are done as soon as they are started. Others take forever to be done.

Moses:: Do you enjoy playing with studio equipment?

Fabrice:: Yes, but I find that the songs that are successful are the ones that require the least amount of tweaking.

Moses:: Can you pick a song or 2 and give me an example of the process they went
through before they were finished?

Fabrice:: For example a tune like "Blakawout" was done in a couple sessions. EDH blessed us with a Blakawout as we were starting a jamming session. No inverters, no generators. I told the guys that we were going to go "unplugged." I wrote a couple lines, Eric Charles completed some and I came up with the "Banm blakawout" hook. Keke then added his guitar riffs and we recorded basic tracks. Eric then wrote the accordion solo and the horns and I performed what he wrote note for note. Choupitte Jacquet added the fills and the percussions. We brought the song to Hansy Peters to have a couple lines corrected. Hansy added 2 words and the song was done. We mixed it right then and there. We brought it to prominent radio hosts who would NOT play it. The rest is history.

Moses:: What kind of music do you listen to in your spare time?

Fabrice:: I love me some Jazz but I really listen to everything. Reggae, Blues, some classical, lots of alternative , old school rock and roll. And of course old school Konpa. My ipod is really a melting pot of styles.

Moses:: I was telling my daughter I was going to interview you, and she told me to ask you if you had any hobbies?

Fabrice:: I have plenty of hobbies. I love drawing, reading, surfing the net, playing video games. I wish I had more time to play soccer so that I can lower my HDL levels J.

Moses:: You've been in the business for so many years what keep you going?

Fabrice:: The genuine LOVE of it. If it were for the money I would have gone to other things a long time ago.

Moses:: Do you still remember the first time you ever perform on stage? What was the experience like?

Fabrice:: Yeah. It was frightening. I almost peed in my pants. Afterwards, I could not sleep. The adrenaline was still pumping.

Moses:: LOL

Moses:: You had a lot of success composing hit songs explain that process and
have there been any songs that seemed like a hit but didn't work when you released it?

Fabrice:: There is no process. Sometimes you feel it, sometimes you don't. We've composed stuff that was just ok and they turned out to be hits. We also, many times, took our time to work on a solid release and it flopped miserably.

Moses: What do you think of the current music scene? How does it differ from when you guys were very active in the 90's?

Fabrice:: It is completely different. I think the 90's were much more inclined on the musical side. Today, it's looks, bling and promotions related to bling and looks. Music just happens to be a bed for all that stuff I just talked about.

Moses:: What advise would you give to a young musician looking to get into the business?

Fabrice:: You need to treat this as a passion. Learn your instrument constantly. Do not underestimate younger and ³un²schooled musicians. They can actually teach you a whole lot. Try and identify true friends and don't pay too much attention to "fame". It comes and goes before you know it. Last but not least, be honest, punctual and trustworthy and respect and learn from your elders.

Moses:: Do you have a dream purchase for when you get a lot of money (become a millionaire)?

Fabrice:: If I become a millionaire, I don't think my lifestyle will change much. I would probably invest the money to insure some financial stability for my family. I am not into big houses , cars or bling. Just like the next Joe, I'd enjoy rolling in a Ferrari or have a condo on the French riviera but guess what? Once you have these things and by the time you are done paying taxes on those, you¹re no longer a millionaire ! It's a sick circle of life.

Moses:: Many musicians compose songs to convey a message, to give voice to the
voiceless enlighten others or change focus on something. Why do you compose music?

Fabrice:: Usually for fun even when the subject is serious.

Moses:: In retrospect, looking back at your entire career, what do you consider your most important work?

Fabrice:: I think I have managed to pay respect to some of my childhood heroes but
my most important work is always ahead of me.

Moses:: What is so different about Mizik Mizik¹s Konpa compare to Djakout Mizik's konpa since you played for both band?

Fabrice:: Mizik-Mizik and the ORIGINAL Djakout were similar bands. We were looking
to stand out by bringing something new to the table. I think Djakout has found its niche but I hate to say that they have gained their fame by strongly borrowing from System Band.

Moses:: Your collaboration with Keke dates way back what makes him such a special partner?

Fabrice:: Keke is a brother to me and to my actual brothers and sister. He is a wonderful person. We argue all the time but it never gets ugly. I don't have many FRIENDS and Keke is one of my true friends. He is super smart and we sort of complete each other on the musical side.

Moses::How is the Haiti scene (musically)? What do you like and don't like about it?

Fabrice:: The Haiti live music scene is dead. You have some rare events here and
there but there is nothing REAL happening here. Studios are another story. People are recording music like there is no tomorrow. Weird but true !

Moses:: Why do you think so much the general public appreciates you?

Fabrice:: I guess the public would best answer that question.

Moses:: Last words?

Fabrice::Thanks a bunch Moses. God bless all of you for reading this and God bless Haiti.