Erick Charlier

Erick Charlier was born in Port Au Prince Haiti in 1955. His love for music started very young. On sunday’s Erick often abandon his route home after church to go watch Tabou Combo play at the paramount theater. He loved different genres of music but Konpa music was what his career was based on. In 1971 teenage Erick headed for the United States. He became a resident of New York City at 17 years old. He started to learn how to play several instruments but percussions were his strength, particularly the congas. After recording his first record in 1977 Erick adapted the stage name of Manhattan. He recorded with some of the most elite Haitian bands, Astros, Mini All Stars, Magnum Band and Fré Dejean to name a few. In his 40 years career, Erick Charlier has recorded over 300 songs and has travelled all over the Caribbean and Europe. Erick Charlier is undeniably one of the best Haitian conga players of all time.