A hurricane of turbo-charged, body-buzzing tracks collide on Road Fever, a compilation of razor-produced, road-tested instrumental riddims from St. Lucia, Dominica & Guadeloupe that showcases the producers forging the future of Caribbean music in 2025.
Road Fever draws together instrumental Dennery Segment and Bouyon riddims originally made for vocalists, presented for the first time as stand alone pieces of music. Distilling carnival riddims down to the bare bones, producers push minimal 150+ bpms, FL-percussion packs, DJ/vox samples & synth riffs, bridging trap, drill, dancehall, sped-up Haitian konpa, Angolan kuduro and Portuguese batida.
The compilation features new and established names including Krome Productions, Bad Sound, Ransum Records, Viral Riddims, Veaygel Productions, Slaughter Arts Media, LMT Mafia, Shazdown Mmw, DJ Demafidem, ScarnX, and late trailblazer G6 Productions (RIP).
Ricocheting at the intersection of TikTok culture, best heard blasted through walls of speakers travelled by stage-sized carnival trucks or via bluetooth car speakers, St.Lucia’s ‘Dennery Segment’ sound, (as iconic producer, G6 described in an interview), “sparks your inside; a sound you can’t hear and not move”. Dominica’s increasingly influential Bouyon sound thrives through ScarnX and Guadeloupe-based Shazdown Mmw & DJ Demafidem. The batida influence is most evident on Bad Sound’s DJ Marfox-sampling anthem “Both Twanche Riddim”, a nod to the origins of the style.
Amsterdam-based, Curaçao-raised compiler Rozaly echoes G6: “Once you hear it, you can’t unhear or unfeel it.”
Road Fever drops via London’s Soundway Records on May 9 (worldwide, excl. North America) / June 13 (North America). The vinyl edition has been mastered and cut by The Carvery, pressed by Garcia & Co, and features artwork by Wolfe Hall Studio with photography by Selwyn De Wind.
The digital album (available only via Bandcamp and the Soundway Store) includes 12 exclusive bonus tracks, expanding the compilation into an extended exploration of carnival-inspired rhythms.
A limited-edition cassette mixtape—curated and mixed by DJ Intl. Prostyle—reimagines the album as a continuous, high-energy club set. The project also includes a short film by Selwyn De Wind & Rozaly, with a launch event in London on May 23.
