To call Michael Brun a trailblazer for modern Haitian culture is no understatement. After starting his career as a teenager making festival sized dance anthems, Brun has evolved, and focused his work on reimagining the sounds of Haiti he grew up to through a contemporary lens. In doing so he’s become a de facto cultural ambassador for his country, rebuking Trump, appearing at Haitian embassies around America and most recently, successfully fighting Netflix to remove a show that made inaccurate remarks about AIDs origins in Haiti. While doing so, he’s released music with artists from all across the Afro-Carribean diaspora, namely Ghaninan pop sensation Mr. Eazi, local Haitian acts J. Perry and Baky, and international superstar J. Balvin, who has become a close friend to Michael and frequent collaborator.
In 2016, drawing inspiration from Haitian block parties he frequented throughout his life, he launched his signature live event series BAYO, which sought to introduce the experience of Haitian soundsystem parties in America. Over the next four years, the show would go on to sell out venues all over the country, with stops in Miami, Orlando, Boston, New York, Montreal and many more, introducing over 30 Haitian artists to new audiences. But it all came to a halt in March, what should’ve been BAYO’s biggest year yet was completely wiped out.
Amidst Covid, artists en masse have found a significant portion of their livelihoods slashed with the loss of touring revenue. In response Michael teamed up with Bacardi and AWAL to host an industry-first digital live edition of the BAYO tour. Uniquely it was geo-fenced to within 100 miles of select cities, with bespoke productions and merch selections for each city, offering a new model for touring in our socially distant world.
We caught up with Michael about the success of the BAYO digital tour, his recent collaboration with Nigerian singer songwriter Kah Lo - Melanin - and much more.
What was it like playing to a different city each night, albeit from a sound stage, during your recent tour? Did you feel like it offered up a ray of hope? Did it come close to replicating the touring experience?
It honestly felt like being on a real tour again. I forgot how much I missed it. There’s something really special about crafting a performance and seeing it come to life, and it was really awesome to get to do it with friends too.
Can you tell us a little bit about BAYO? What’s the origin of the word? What was the Bayo physical experience and did you feel you were able to translate it to an online experience as you’d hoped?
BAYO means “give it to them” in Kreyol, and the concept was to show the world that Haiti, the Caribbean and the diasporas have so much to offer. Our culture is rich, and we have so many excellent musicians, singers, and artist, that I just wanted to find a way to bring us all together under one collective vision. When you see BAYO, the goal is that you are transported to that world.
Aside from the actual stage setup and visuals of the show, being able to have some really special guests join my performance was essential to making this feel like a real BAYO show.
You’ve become a sort of ambassador for the youth of Haiti, and the country’s contemporary music scene, but also a spokesperson for challenging preconceptions about Haiti. Can music be effective in dispelling misconceptions about the country? What is the truth you are trying to share with the world?
Absolutely. I think it’s so important for the youth of Haiti to have their voices uplifted and music is a way to transcend borders, despite the lack of a common language or location. People need to hear our stories so that the misconceptions can change and our reality can rise to the surface. The more I’ve learned about different cultures in Africa and Latin America, the more I’ve realized how closely linked we all actually are.
You’ve been collaborating with a lot of artists from across the Afro-Caribbean diaspora including Nigerian singer Kah Lo on your new single ‘Melanin’, but also Mr Eazi, Shirazee and others. How do you seek out and find other producers and artists to work with?
Vibe is definitely #1. I’ve become close friends with all those artists, and love what they represent as artists and people. I feel like if we can’t get along outside of the studio, it’s probably gonna be a lot harder to make something good in the studio.
Do you feel that there is a new generation of artists, redefining what world music can mean? And what, if anything, has changed that’s made audiences so much more receptive to global sounds?
100% and I feel like now is the best time in history for an artist outside of the American Pop Music landscape to find an audience. The internet has created a whole new shared landscape for the world. We all laugh at the same memes, watch the same shows and movies, and feel the same things, even if we never meet one another. I think that commonality is a really beautiful thing, and has opened people’s minds.
This is your second collaboration with Kah Lo, how did you guys come to meet and produce together? What should we know about her?
We met a few years ago in a studio session with Mr Eazi and instantly became friends. I really think Kah-Lo is a superstar and has an outlook on the world that’s never been heard or seen before. It’s always so much fun hanging and working on music together. There is definitely a lot more to come.
As your profile grows, you’ve garnered some impressive collaborations - namely your relationship with J. Balvin. What’s he like to work with? What did it mean to be invited into his crew?
J Balvin is one of the kindest people I’ve ever worked with and I’m so grateful to call him a friend. He’s always thinking about how to bridge cultures and create groundbreaking art, and that mindset pushes everyone around him to think big. I feel like I’ve become a better artist since meeting him.
You were in NYC when everything was really kicking off with coronavirus. How hard was that experience? How did that impact the music you have been making this year?
NYC in early coronavirus days was a really scary place. I actually got sick in early March and was out for almost 2 weeks with covid symptoms. I was never able to get tested and am now back to 100%, but that whole experience definitely made me appreciate my health a lot more. I feel like the last few months have been such a dark period for the world overall, and I just want to continue bringing light and positivity with my art.
