Chris Ardoin
Encyclopedia
Chris Ardoin is a zydeco
accordionist and singer. He is one of the young artists that helped form nouveau zydeco, a new style of music that fused traditional zydeco with various styles including hip-hop, reggae and R&B.
He was a child prodigy
belonging to a musical dynasty
(his father was Lawrence Ardoin and his grandfather, Bois Sec Ardoin). He started with the accordion at the age of two and grew up listening to zydeco only for the most part until he was in his teens. When he was just ten, with a help from his father Lawrence, he formed the Double Clutchin' zydeco band with his elder brother Sean Ardoin on drums.
In 1994, the band released their debut album That's Da Lick from Maison de Soul label. Though it was Sean who handled all the vocals and songwriting, the album was credited to Chris as they considered putting younger Chris in front would draw more attention to the band. Chris came more into the center of the spotlight in the follow-up effort Lick It Up! released a year later, sharing vocals and songwriting duties with Sean. Sean left the band after releasing the album Turn the Page in 1997 to concentrate in his solo career.
In 2005, Chris changed the band name from Double Clutchin' to NuStep, and released Sweat, the first album under the new name. M.V.P. followed in 2006, V.I.P in 2008, Alter Ego in 2009, and Headliner in 2010.
Zydeco
Zydeco is a form of uniquely American roots or folk music. It evolved in southwest Louisiana in the early 19th century from forms of "la la" Creole music...
accordionist and singer. He is one of the young artists that helped form nouveau zydeco, a new style of music that fused traditional zydeco with various styles including hip-hop, reggae and R&B.
He was a child prodigy
Child prodigy
A child prodigy is someone who, at an early age, masters one or more skills far beyond his or her level of maturity. One criterion for classifying prodigies is: a prodigy is a child, typically younger than 18 years old, who is performing at the level of a highly trained adult in a very demanding...
belonging to a musical dynasty
Dynasty
A dynasty is a sequence of rulers considered members of the same family. Historians traditionally consider many sovereign states' history within a framework of successive dynasties, e.g., China, Ancient Egypt and the Persian Empire...
(his father was Lawrence Ardoin and his grandfather, Bois Sec Ardoin). He started with the accordion at the age of two and grew up listening to zydeco only for the most part until he was in his teens. When he was just ten, with a help from his father Lawrence, he formed the Double Clutchin' zydeco band with his elder brother Sean Ardoin on drums.
In 1994, the band released their debut album That's Da Lick from Maison de Soul label. Though it was Sean who handled all the vocals and songwriting, the album was credited to Chris as they considered putting younger Chris in front would draw more attention to the band. Chris came more into the center of the spotlight in the follow-up effort Lick It Up! released a year later, sharing vocals and songwriting duties with Sean. Sean left the band after releasing the album Turn the Page in 1997 to concentrate in his solo career.
In 2005, Chris changed the band name from Double Clutchin' to NuStep, and released Sweat, the first album under the new name. M.V.P. followed in 2006, V.I.P in 2008, Alter Ego in 2009, and Headliner in 2010.
Discography
- 1994 That's Da Lick (Maison de Soul)
- 1995 Lick It Up! (Maison de Soul)
- 1997 Gon' Be Jus' Fine (Rounder)
- 1998 Turn the Page (Rounder)
- 2000 Best Kept Secret (Rounder)
- 2003 Life (J&S)
- 2004 Save the Last Dance (J&S)
- 2005 Sweat (NuStep4Lyfe Entertainment)
- 2006 M.V.P. (NuStep4Lyfe Entertainment)
- 2008 Candyman's V.I.P. (NuStep4Lyfe Entertainment)
- 2009 Alter Ego (NuStep4Lyfe Entertainment)
- 2010 Headliner (NuStep4Lyfe Entertainment)
External links
- Official website
- [ allmusic profile]