Koloni
Orniel SIWO aka Prince Koloni has two assets: his legend and his voice. His legend is colorful - He is a descendant of runaway slaves (the "Maroons", who were transported to Guyana 400 years ago and who rebelled on arrival); after fleeing from Suriname during the civil war at the age of 18, he became a supervisor on a boat that transported gold diggers on the Maroni river, and he became a well-known star in the style of local music: "Aleke" (vocals and percussion), before taking refuge in another country under the pressure of mystical forces. Then, a few years later, he returned to French Guiana as a hero and performed amazingly during the TransAmazoniennes festival. He was named "world artist of the year" by "Liberation" in 2005.
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Prince Koloni is above all a singer of great caliber, with a naive voice, with extreme precision, full of charm because of his almost childlike sincerity, with original compositions in French, English, Portuguese, Dutch, Sranan Tongo and Bushi Tongo , the languages ​​of the Maroons.
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He still sings "Aleke" frequently, but his preference today is Reggae Roots and Acoustic, because these styles are more universal and appropriate to convey his message. Prince Koloni is an amazing and talented artist, who has the ability to explore all kinds of music, and always mixes with his African and Amazonian roots.
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After 10 albums of Aleke music and 4 of reggae, he recorded a roots album in Jamaica, "Jah Is The Way", with the amazing collaboration of Tarrus Riley, Dean Fraser, Leebert "Gibby" Morrison, Cegrica "Soltje" Hamilton, Duane Stephenson...