Un nòt kankan

Synopsis

The music video is based on “Un Nòt Kankan”, a satirical Creole song from early 20th-century New Orleans, featured in the collection Mò Kouzin, Mò Kouzinn, released by singer-songwriter and producer Benoît LeBlanc.

Popularised by Jelly Roll Morton and later recorded by Kid Ory, the song humorously targets Madam Pédeaux, a character known for gossiping and causing drama. The lyrics, sung in Kouri-Vini (Louisiana Creole), mock her constant chatter and troublemaking, embodying the playful spirit of Creole musical traditions. The rhythmic flow and witty lyrics highlight the song’s cultural significance in early Creole music.

About the music:

The album Mò Kouzin, Mò Kouzinn is the result of several years of research in the very neglected corpus of the musical heritage of the slaves and free people of color of the 19th and early 20th centuries. The album is the result of over 25 years of research into the musical heritage of Louisiana’s slaves and free people of color. It revives 27 pre-jazz songs that blend Afro-Caribbean rhythms, field hollers, and Creole laments, tracing their influence on the development of jazz and American music. These historical songs reflect a connection to the broader musical traditions of Haiti, Martinique, and Guadeloupe, while also highlighting the survival of the Creole language, Kouri-Vini, in Louisiana.

Jazz historians almost always mention the mythical Congo Square when they talk about the genesis of jazz. You will hear on this album some songs that were sung in Congo Square during the first half of the 19th century in New Orleans...Not only is the existence of such a musical heritage largely unknown, most people don’t even know that Kouri-Vini is still spoken in Louisiana. This album is proof that Louisiana Creole is alive and well. And beautiful.

Director's Biography

Douglas Capron Director

I started my visual arts career documenting live music, particularly the Blues and Jazz scene, and made my first experimental film in 1997 which won an Honorable Mention at the US Super 8mm Film Festival, Rutgers University, New Jersey. This progressed to taking portraits of musicians and designing album covers which inspired me to explore photography as an art form. I continued to develop my creativity collaborating with musicians and started producing and directing music videos. Recently I have started to write screenplays.