Zydeco.

• Author: Holston, Mark
• Position: Review

Zydeco (Putumayo World Music PTU 160-2)

Rhythmic, raucous, and delightfully offbeat, the music of Louisiana's Creole population is fast becoming a global favorite. While the style shares some obvious similarities with Cajun, the Mississippi Delta region's other home-grown style--zydeco also features use of the accordion as lead instrument, for instance--it leans more toward Caribbean and Afro-American influences, whereas Cajun's Acadian--French-Canadian--origins are reflected in the French-language theme of its lyrics. Zydeco's steely pulse is derived from the signature instrument in its rhythm section, the corrugated metal scrapper known as a rubboard or scrubboardor, in Creole, froittoir. Its role in the music has been...