Somewhere on the Indian Ocean… Dreamy, dark-circled eyes, a smile on their lips, a tanned complexion and tons of encounters recorded on my microphones!
THE IOMMA
I have just returned from a week in La Réunion as part of the Iomma (Indian Ocean Music Market)the most important music market in the Indian Ocean, and the festival Sakifo which celebrates its eighteenth anniversary. Imagine me getting lost in these landscapes of lush nature and in the maze of streets of these cities where the real treasures are their inhabitants and their cultural and musical riches.
Monday, May 30, 7 am, eleven hours of flight, after watching some kitsch movies to pass the time, the landing, to my greatest relief, went well. I walked down the tarmac and thought, That’s it, I’m there ! The meeting ! Land of maloya, poetry and creoleness, endemic forests or sausage rougail“. A bus ride from Saint-Denis and here I am in Saint-Pierre, a charming port town in the south of the intense island.
Just arrived at Lindsey Hotel in the company of various professionals, I can’t hide my excitement at seeing the ocean roar and especially at what awaits me at Iomma. Conferences are on the program to discover Mauritius or on the visibility of women in the music industry. The day continues with the first showcases. The Indian Ocean area is worthily represented with its various actors and musicians. The opportunity to discover Kenyan singers Gargar associated with the Franco-Algerian producer Kasbah. The trance quickly takes place and amplifies with the mixed and inhabited maloya of the Reunionese group Saodaj. We end this first day on a mix of hip-hop, funk-rock and tsapiky cleverly orchestrated by the Malagasy band Olo Blaky.
Tuesday, May 31: What a pleasure to wake up far from home living the daily life of the place where you are. The call to prayer resounds and mingles with my musical memories of the concerts the day before. The smell of the dishes penetrates my room, I hear the sound of the waves in the distance, and I almost run out to join the workshops. The ideal way to find activists such asAurelie Zemire, dj, curator and former programmer of the Electropicales festival. She returns to the place of women in the music industry and the singularity of the sound productions of the new generations of Reunion. Naturally, the evening takes place again in the legendary Kerveguen room to discover the showcases with Jim Fortune, KoMBo! and his maloya open to Afro-Cuban jazz, the dancehall of the Seychelles with Elijah and Warrior Band or even the maloya-trap of Fayazer.
Wednesday, June 1, third day on the island, as soon as I wake up, here I am with the whole Iomma team in a bus, to the soundtrack of Soukous, heading east for Saint Benoît. We discover two mythical halls of the city, the bisik and the theater Bamboos. It is in the latter that the Mauritian singer performed Lisa Ducasse with his haunting song. Follows the jazz fusion group from Reunion Akoda and I take this opportunity to meet the man behind the Iomma, Eric Juret alias “Blanc Blanc”. He insists on the importance of this market: “CrBuild bridges between the different countries that cover the Indian Ocean area, bring together musicians, programmers, institutions, programmers in order to highlight the rich cultural pool of this part of the planet“.
After this above all human exchange, we return to Saint-Pierre for the last concerts of the week which resonate with the words used by “Blanc Blanc” a few hours earlier. Mozambique is worthily represented by the artist Rajha AliReunion and its interbreeding and its different influences spring from the sound productions of Mouvman Ale. A group that offers a sincere evolution of maloya by marrying it with electronic and rock sounds. And we end on a mystical touch with the enigmatic South African shepherd and singer Morena Leraba for a very spiritual live accompanied by percussion and a marimba.
On Thursday, June 2, we end this Indian Ocean music market with our ritual combo workshops-conferences-concerts. The opportunity to interview the talented South African musicians of UrbanVillage in a taxi and making a multitude of connections, and ending with a traditional improvised kabar on the beach.
THE SAKIFO
Who says meeting, says appointment! The next day, we meet for three days of festival Sakifo. This major event on the island is celebrating its eighteenth birthday and offers a cutting-edge program bringing together representatives of traditional Reunionese music, the island’s new generation, as well as international artists.
So for 72 hours I surveyed this site on the edge of the beach to record testimonies of the careers of the artists on display. The great voice of maloya Zanmari Bare (his interview HERE), opened up about his life and introduced me to his new album in a humble and touching way. Maya Kamaty told me about his electronic maloya. Tiken Jah Fakoly returned to the singularity of his reggae “Made In Africa” or even madiakanou introduced me to his mix of Mandinka and Maloya music. The strength of Sakifo is 5 scenes with unique programming. The fervor is present, the crowd is in a trance and dances continuously. We navigate between the scene salahin to see Biga Ranx Where BCUC. We discover artists from the Indian Ocean such as Eat My Butterfly Where Radio Sechaba on stage Ti Bird. We naturally let ourselves be surprised or lulled by the concerts of CrystalZanmari Baré on stage Casuarinas. We meet with a rum or a beer on the side of the stage powder keg before seeing a memorable live performance by the Malian diva Oumou Sangare or the South African rapper Stogy T.
And we end the night in the famous green room reminiscent of the famous dust balls where we dance until dawn to the sound of kabars and experimental music that resounds under this marquee. The public will retain the heat and the crazy atmosphere of the performances of Aleksand Saya or of Simangavol Open Live.
I am already returning after an intense week spent on the island of Reunion. I kiss my new friends, I eat a last cap on the beach, I return the keys and I contemplate the Indian Ocean one last time. Well, no need to take out the tissues, it’s only the beginning of a long story with Reunion.
Nartrouv’ Iomma and Sakifo!
