For Immediate Release
May 22, 2025
Media Contact
Scott Tilton, Rudy Bazenet, bonjour@nous-foundation.org, +1 (504) 470-5619
New Orleans, LA – The New Orleans Foundation for Francophone Cultures, a New Orleans-based cultural institution promoting Louisiana’s heritage cultures, with a focus on Cajun, Creole, and Indigenous communities, is proud to release Musique(s)!, an original album of Louisiana music sung in French in Creole.
Made possible through the support of the American Folklife Center at the Library of Congress, in August 2024, Nous invited two Grammy-winning musicians & four musical ensembles from Louisiana — for a total of 28 artists — to record an original album to document their musical practices and show how they perpetuate a centuries-long tradition of music sung in French and Creole.
Produced by Rudy Bazenet and Scott Tilton for Nous, the New Orleans Foundation for Francophone Cultures’ independent recording label, the entire album was produced in Louisiana: from the artists who live in state; to the recording sessions at Esplanade Studios; the album mixing done by local musician, Sam Craft; the original cover art done by artist Katya Vaz; and the pressing of the album at New Orleans Record Press.
The result is a twelve-track album featuring Louis Michot, Leyla McCalla, the Baby Dolls, Les Cenelles, Sweet Crude, and Sunpie & the Louisiana Sunspots. Featuring the diverse and innovative sounds of Louisiana French and Creole music today, the album combines musical genres from pop music to Cajun fiddle and reprisal of African diasporic music from Congo Square. To celebrate the pressing of the first albums, Nous traveled with Leyla McCalla and Louis Michot for a sold-out concert on March 26 at the Library of Congress where McCalla and Michot played a selection of songs from the album and their own music.
Speaking to the importance of the album, Scott Tilton, Executive Director of Nous and co-producer on the album stated, “Louisiana is home to some of the most dynamic music in the world, from jazz and the blues, to bounce and rock ‘n’ roll. Much of the music here is rooted in a centuries-long tradition of music sung in French and Creole. We are proud to have worked with such creative musicians on this album, which will be stored in the permanent archives of the Library of Congress, because it’s testament to the innovation behind Louisiana’s music today.”
Accompanying the album is a companion publication, Musique(s), Le Livre, which includes the transcriptions of each artist’s interviews, along with the lyrics of their songs, merging music and language into one – as well as an original exhibition and documentary.
The album is available starting May 21st for streaming on Spotify and Bandcamp, and will be available on Apple Music and twenty other streaming platforms. The LP, original vinyl album, is available for order at www.nous-foundation.org/album. The proceeds from the album will go towards supporting the mission of the New Orleans Foundation for Francophone Cultures and music outreach programs for the artists on the album to speak at schools across Louisiana.
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About: Founded in June 2020, the New Orleans Foundation for Francophone Cultures (www.nous-foundation.org) is an institute dedicated to preserving and promoting French and Creole in Louisiana and the United States. The foundation’s actions center around three priorities: organizing cultural events, creating original content, and launching innovative programs (based on an incubator model to promote language transmission). Through an initiative launched and spearheaded by the Nous Foundation’s co-founders, Rudy Bazenet and Scott Tilton, Louisiana became the first state to join the International Organization of the Francophonie (OIF) in 2018. The OIF brings together 93 countries and regions, 16% of the global economy, and over 1 billion people.