VIDEO ON HIV THREAT HAS CARIBBEAN BEAT

BY AUSTIN FENNER

Wednesday, October 15th 1997, 2:03AM

Adele Flateau knew the stiff and drab brochures on HIV prevention weren't going to reach a young, largely immigrant audience who believed themselves invulnerable to the disease.

So Flateau and her colleagues at the East New York Brownsville HIV CARE network, a consortium of HIV service providers, decided a Caribbean-style music video using famous artists would be the most effective way to reach them.

"We knew it could happen through music," said Flateau, project director for the video. "We had to reach people who are difficult to reach or wouldn't normally seek information on HIV."

Using a potpourri of Caribbean music, they produced "Knowledge Is Power," featuring salsa, konpa, reggae, soca and rap.

"This is a dream project," said Al Angelero, a New York World Beat radio personality and the impresario for the production."These musicians are the best I can find. They all walk in different genres."

Konpa artist Sweet Micky, the bad boy of the Haitian music scene, and Alan Cave from the konpa group Zin agreed to participate. So did Panamanian-American artist Mauricio Smith, who worked with the Machito Band. He arranged the music and wrote the horn section.

The music is a loud aggressive sound, made distinct with its Latin horn section and the percussions of Cuban congas and Haitian trap drums.

The lyrics are sung in Spanish, Creole and English using a male and female chorus in a call and response fashion:

Brothers, we're reaching

Our hearts out to you

We're suffering, we're dying

You know that it8s true

We try to pretend that

Your love's all we need

We're risking our lives

Cause we just want to please

The video was shot earlier this month in Brooklyn's Von King Park and recorded in Funky Slice Studio on Lawrence St., one of the premiere studios for West Indian artists.

"We can reach everyone with this video, regardless of their station in life," said Sweet Micky, known for his explicit lyrics and his macho musical persona.

"In these communities, many people still don't want to talk about AIDS, and those who are HIV positive live in fear. We need to talk about it, because we can't bury our heads any longer."

Flateau said using music allows HIV educators to reach people in natural environments, such as social clubs or watching television at home, and not be intrusive.

"The material being developed [in brochures] wasn't culturally sensitive, and in many cases the people weren't able to read," said Flateau. "Our immigrant communities were losing out."

The video probably couldn't have been made at a better time.

Last month, a study by the Philadelphia EMA HIV Commission found AIDS educators have failed to alert minority groups to treatments for the deadly virus, with almost one in three black and Hispanic victims saying they did not need to visit a doctor.

The video was made through a Brooklyn-based nonprofit called the Miracle Makers, who responded to a request for proposals issued by the city's Department of Health seeking agencies to develop HIV educational material geared for immigrant groups.

The city's Department of Health funded $81,000 for the video. The producers are seeking another $40,000 to pay off production costs.

They are aiming to get the video played on cable music video channels and local foreign language television stations.

It also will be distributed to community-based organizations.

The video will be released on Dec. 1, which is World AIDS Day.