Patrice Hulman : a voice with a future

 The biography  of an artist  is just like a  family tree that should be explored if  one  wants to understand something of  his  past . The  one of Patrice Hulman, from the island of Marie Galante a commun of  Guadeloupe in the French West Indies  does illustrate  this simple equation .

The general public first  discovered him in 2008 with the title "Chabine".He played a duet with rapper Misié GG alias Fuckly. Three years ago, Patrice Hulman  made his career and he proved  that he already acquired a  solid experience in his singing trade.

His  native town is  Saint Louis of  Marie-Galante. This very  place was his natural conservatory. That  is where  he nourished his passion for singing. While he was on the benches of the senior high  school, he became one of the co-founder of the group Kwebee. Their original formula proved to be efficient  as it prepared   a capella  artists on an island where a  singer’s voice has to blend with the rhythm and sounds of  drums in the traditional gwo ka. ( the traditional music of Guadeloupe  with drums and singers following a call and response pattern).

Within this training, Patrice  worked  hard on  vocal techniques to increase the range of his voice and adapt to the harmonies. So he started to be known by participating   in the early parts of concerts with Kwebee and very rapidly with prestigious artists such as Kassav, Malavoi, Jean Jacques Goldman, Jacques Higelin, or Trio Esperanza among others.

Today,  looking  back on   his itinerary, he said : "my musical influences are varied. The piano bars helped to make up somewhat  the artist I am today. That's when I expanded my repertoire into jazz, music improvisation, variety American and French "

In 1994 and 2003, Paskal Vallot, a talent scout, called on him to entrust him with leading roles in musicals. First in "Fate" Opera Zouk, and then in "The street Zabym" which was a big success  with  three consecutive seasons of record-breaking West Indies and Guiana entries. All his experiences also allowed him to win as professional singer in the studio and live. According to the band leader of  SOFT, Fred Deshayes, Patrice Hulman was considered a "reference" by the popular singer of the group KASSAV, Patrick St. Eloi, who died recently following a long illness.

Patrice Hulman did not stop working to reach his goal. break . Being humble, he did not  hesitate to open trade with other artists  from Guadeloupe. He contributed to the  production of an album of beguine "Proposal" Jean Max Mirval, and  but also of another one,  "Ti moun lafrik " conceived by  Christian Laviso,  an excellent guitarist  of  gwoka. "I remain,"he said, deeply rooted in Caribbean music: zouk (first!), the gwo ka, beguine and the compass ... All these experiences taught me to share the love of stage performance and generosity towards the public "

Then came the time to harvest . 2009 saw the  release of his highly expected  first album history. The single "Baby mwen pé pa" propelled  him to the forefront. On April 24, 2010  he won  a SACEM  award( French  version of Performing Rights Society for Music) for best male performer.

Earlier this year in Casino de Paris , singing in  concerts” Talents Guadeloupe” Patrice Hulman  offered a remarkable performance thus confirming  his ability to have a promising future in the Caribbean, Africa and Europe.

Alex J. Uri