Jenny Lewis and producer/songwriter Jonathan Wilson have teamed with Sanba Zao, Paul Beaubrun and Jackson Browne for a new song, “Lapé Lanmou (Peace and Love).” The track will appear on the upcoming benefit album, Let the Rhythm Lead: Haiti Song Summit, Vol. 1, out January 31st, 2020 from Artists for Peace and Justice via Arts Music.
The bustling song, whose title means “Peace and Love” in Creole, arrived with an equally lively video in which the musicians perform the song in Haiti alongside a crowd of revelers, dancers and singers. The clip captures the mood of the song, which Beaubrun described as “a spiritual awakening.”
“Haitians along with many others across the globe have been saying [‘Lapé Lanmou’] for a long time,” Beaubrun added. “It’s about peace, love and unity amongst us all and how we will never collectively move forward as one without it.”
Wilson said “Lapé Lanmou” began as a piano melody that had been kicking around his head and was later fleshed out with the other musicians during the Song Summit project in Haiti. “The guitars are a wonderful mixture of West African and Flamenco, the vocals are traditional Vodou call and response by the Haitian legend Sanba Zao, and Jenny Lewis adds her amazing voice in the ‘White Ribbon’ chorus,” Wilson said. “This was one of the most special projects I’ve ever done.”
Browne added of the track: “This song is the last song we recorded in Haiti, and it contains all the mystery and excitement that we felt being there. The conversation between the African guitar and the Flamenco tres gives way to a full Vodou call and response, which surprised me then – and it surprises me now. It’s magic.”
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“Lape Lanmou” follows Browne’s previously released Let the Rhythm Lead track, “Love Is Love.” Let the Rhythm Lead will also feature contributions from Habib Koité, Jonathan Russell, Raúl Rodriguez and members of the Haitian roots band Lakou Mizik.