Showcase: Moonlight Benjamin (FR/HT)

As a longtime favorite of Martin Gore (Depeche Mode) and Iggy Pop, Haitian Vodou priestess Moonlight Benjamin explores the roots of blues and rock in this new opus. Carried by a deeper and darker sound, and by the unique voice of Moonlight—influenced by Alabama Shakes, Oumou Sangaré, and Dr. John—the album Wayo is a primal scream, a mystifying and mystical musical mixture, almost shamanic, an incantation of liberation in the midst of raging guitars and propulsive drumming.

Nicknamed “The Caribbean Patti Smith” by The Guardian (UK), Moonlight Benjamin plays a powerful and original music blending Caribbean Vodou melodies and a ’70s blues rock inspired by Dr. John, Alabama Shakes, The Black Keys, and Oumou Sangaré.

The encounter between Moonlight’s powerful and rebellious voice and the tension of saturated guitars turns the Vodou trance into a new and explosive style.

Between 2018 and 2021, she was named Martin Gore’s (Depeche Mode) 2020 favorite, received airplay from Iggy Pop himself on the BBC, was featured on the covers of both Songlines and fRoots magazines (UK), and was reviewed by major media such as The Guardian (UK), The Financial Times (UK), and The New York Times (US). She also performed 65 gigs in 15 countries at major festivals and venues across Europe and North America.