There are millions of islands on Planet Earth, each with its distinct dimensions and inhabitants. Islands figure big in the human imagination: we dream of them, we’re drawn to them, we’re fascinated by the different cultures that develop there. The tropical sounds of the Caribbean and the electronic beats of the Balearic Mediterranean have never been more popular than they are now. Popular music has gone to the islands, and it shows no signs of coming back.
The three members of Triple Island carry the sound of the tropics with them. They each represent different islands, but when they’re making music together, they’re single-minded in their dedication and their boldly international vision. Vocalists Neysa, Cuppa, and Yola come from disparate backgrounds, but they’ve got strikingly complementary talents. On “Fête,” their streamlined, hard-hitting debut single, they take turns dazzling the listener with performances as searing as the Caribbean sun. Over an insistent, tugging synthesizer riff and a head-bobbing beat, the members of Triple Island introduce themselves with authority – Yola’s rapid-fire verses, Cuppa’s reggae-inflected chanting, and Neysa’s sweet, French-tropical singing. Theirs is a dialogue as well as a performance; a cross-cultural conversation as enlightening as it is party-enlivening.
A “Fête,” if you need the translation, is a party. Not a small thing, either, but the sort of festival that rocks a neighborhood. Triple Island, who are based in Brooklyn, show us the sights. The video begins with the bright lights and boardwalk excitement of Coney Island, and then, the colorful, polyglot blocks of Flatbush. These are places of great cultural richness – areas where a fête is always likely to happen. In other words, they’re places where these vocalists feel right at home.
Shot at the Haitian Day Parade in Brooklyn – an event of great significance for the members of Triple Island – the clip allows the three artists to showcase their easygoing swagger, their on-screen charisma, and their undeniable chemistry. Different as they are, these three urbanites love each other’s company, and that affection is apparent in every frame of the “Fête” clip. You could call it a metaphor for cooperation and cultural acceptance, or you could call it a party – one that’s going to sweep you up the moment you press play.