Let the Good Times Roll

 Let the good times roll - or Laissez les bon temps roule......seems to be the instant opener for much thinking about Cajun and Zydeco music globally. 

And who can deny it. This is music that has funk at its heart and a spirit both irrepressible and deeply engrained. I come from the blues end of the business after many years working as an international music journalist with diverse titles, both online and print, across three continents from New York, UK, much of Europe and Australia. But, and it's a big but, I've always enjoyed and loved that bouncy beat and demanding froth provided by and central to Cajun and Zydeco music.

Looking around, it seems there is no magazine or title that concentrates and covers this wonderful traditional music. And it's clearly time that was addressed. Sam Cooke, a pioneering soul-bluesman said it long ago, referring to a pressing social theme. His words remain pertinent and relevant to this, the here and now: 'Change is gonna come.'

The aim of this blogsite, 'Cajun Comfort' is to explore, examine and reveal the depth and vitality of this music. Hopefully, we'll introduce you to some new music, some great established acts and the musicians who create and play the music too.

If anyone has a particular interest, or wants to share a pointer, a direction to a source of the music, please do leave a comment and let us know.

Next time, we'll be speaking with one of the music's true firebrand performers, Dwayne Dopsie. Dopsie has a new album about to drop and we're keen to chat with him about that and about his own personal musical faith and journey. So, as they say, 'stay tuned!'

Iain Patience

Editor

Also: editor@bluesmatters.com

I edit a UK print title, Blues Matters Magazine; contribute to music books - 50 Women in Blues, & Americana; Senior writer with Elmore Magazine, New York; Rhythms Magazine, Australia; Jefferson Blues Magazine, Sweden; Bluestown, Netherlands; BluesMagazineNL, Netherlands; Autrement Blues& Co, France; Il Blues, Italy.

And let's just close with this taster: