Vodou Fusion is the crown jewel of Beninese-born Gildas Houessou‘s musical career to date and represents the most culturally diverse side of the Finnish rhythm music scene. It was formed around the Gildas Houessou AfroFusion Band, which started in 2023, bringing even more diversity to its genre-defying mix through new musicians. Besides Finland, the members of the band originate from Senegal, Burkina Faso, Ivory Coast, and Cuba.
As its name suggests, Vodou Fusion’s music is based on West African voodoo rhythms but combined with traditional afrobeat, a pinch of funk, a touch of reggae, and a dash of Afro-pop, and it works exceptionally well. n his songs, Gildas Houessou deals with themes that are important to us all, such as respect, love, morality, and peace, in addition to different aspects of life. The lyrics are partly in French, partly in English, and partly in Mina, one of the local languages spoken in Benin. Diversity suits his band’s music well, as Beninese musical culture has been influenced by traditional folk music, Ghanaian highlife, Congolese rumba, French cabaret, and American rock, funk, and soul.
The band, which has already been booked to charm audiences at several festivals (including Funky Elephant, Elephantasy, Mitäs Mitäs Mitäs, Wibes…), has only managed to gain fame live so far. But according to rumors, if there is a Finnish band, which gets the audience dancing these days, it is surely Vodou Fusion. The debut album is scheduled to be released in 2026, but it is worth getting to know this exceptionally energizing and luminous orchestra even before then. The band members have also been involved with acts, such as Bomba Buena, Es-ow & The Ridial Band, Frankosun & The Family and Rattlesnake Shakers.
Vodou Fusion is also a story about how different musical influences travel and have always traveled thousands of kilometers from one place to another, not only via the internet but also through people and the coincidences they encounter in their lives. Gildas Houessou, who has lived in Salo for over a decade by now, was born in the small Beninese village of Hêve. After growing up, he first went to work as a tourist guide in Grand-Popo, which led him to collaborate with Villa Karo, the Finnish cultural institute of West Africa. But as it so often happens, love struck and life brought him to Finland permanently in 2008. However, music has always been there with him, and when he finally moved on to make his own material, his first recorded song reportedly became a hit on local radio in Benin in 2011.
Gildas Houessou has had plenty of different bands (including Vodou Land Band, Heviosso), but now it seems that everything is finally coming together, also in these latitudes, for his nuanced and ambitious music project. This time, he has a more diverse group of talented musicians than ever, each with their own influences, so it’s reasonable to expect that this story won’t end soon.
Gildas Houessou – Lead vocals (Benin)
Keita Iba – Drums (Senegal)
Papa Diakhate – Bass (Senegal)
Jacob Kabre – Keyboard (Burkina Faso)
Alex Kivikoski – Flute, keyboard (Finland)
Macoumba Ndiaye – Percussions (Senegal)
Noora Nurmi – Vocals (Finland)
Riche Bamba – Vocals (Ivory Coast)
Yoandy Jimeno – Vocals (Cuba / Finland)
Susanna Salama – Alto saxophone (Finland)
Samuel Leminen – Lead guitar (Finland)
Text: Joonas Kervinen
