Maloya
If you're looking for the most Reunionese musical genre possible, look no further. Classified as a World Heritage Site since October 2009, maloya is both a music and a dance, emblematic of the island. A true song of hope, resistance and pain, this lament enabled slaves to express their melancholy, their suffering, but also, at times, their joie de vivre. A story comparable to that of the blues in the United States, although the two genres differ enormously aesthetically. Based on a ternary rhythm, maloya uses the classic instruments of Réunionese music: rouleur (a large drum struck with two hands), kayamb (Réunion's iconic idiophone), bobre (bow with struck string), and comes in a variety of styles, including maloya piké, popular with Creole songs, or maloya kabaré, played during religious rites and nourished by Malagasy songs and onomatopoeia. These festivals gave rise to the kabar, a term that, by extension, came to designate festivals where maloya is played and danced.
Today, maloya is an icon of the island, but it was once a target for the colonialists, with the French administration banning it from the late 1950s until 1982. At the time, the authorities feared that, following the island's departmentalization (in 1946), maloya would become a fertile breeding ground for pro-independence ideas. In 1976, maloya finally emerged from theunderground and returned to the forefront with the release of Firmin Viry's first vinyl (the first maloya album ever published), the "Reunionese Compay Segundo". From this point on, the genre gradually came out of hiding, and a series of stars emerged, including Gramoun Lélé, one of the greatest ambassadors of maloya, Danyel Waro, the leader of musical protest and the great defender of traditional maloya, Ziskakan, the enfant terrible of Reunionese maloya, who mixed it with sounds from all over the world, as well as Davy Sicard, another great name in the genre, and Alain Peters, the great Reunionese poet who, towards the end of the 1970s, created a funk-rock maloya inspired by the Beatles and Jimi Hendrix. Finally, let's not forget artists such as Nathalie Natiembé and Christine Salem (Salem Tradition), thanks to whom maloya is not about to die out.
Today, maloya is more alive than ever, invigorated by the fusion of contemporary sounds such as electro. An excellent compilation, Digital Kabar, released in 2019 by InFiné, presents this new electro-maloya scene very well and highlights its most interesting nationals, such as Labelle and Jako Maron.
In addition to the famous kabars, those Reunionese parties par excellence that can be improvised just about anywhere, maloya is played in bars or at the Hôtel Le Zinzin in Grand-Bois. The latter is owned by Gilbert Pounia, leader of the famous group Ziskakan, and hosts a number of maloya concerts (and local groups in general). Of course, maloya is also regularly featured in more traditional concert halls such as theEspace Leconte de Lisle in Saint-Paul, which boasts a mouth-watering program, or Le Kerveguen with its copious 800-seat capacity. Another excellent opportunity to hear maloya in concert is during the Kaf festival, celebrated every December 20 to commemorate the abolition of slavery.
Sega
Of course, like its neighbors in the Indian Ocean archipelago, Réunion is also a land of sega. A cousin of the West Indian biguine, its origins lie in traditional European dances such as the quadrille, polka and waltz. Once invariably punctuated by generous swaying rhythms, it has become more polished over time, reappropriated by the tourist industry, which has distorted it to the hilt. That said, time and tradition have not damaged its lasciviousness or sensuality.
While maloya survives by transforming itself according to new influences, sega has tended to run out of steam since the beginning of the 21st century, suffering from an outdated, even "folk" image. That said, the genre is still an integral part of the island's treasures, and the great names of maloya have all played it at one time or another in their careers, such as Ousanousava, renowned for his committed lyrics, or Baster, the essential group of maloya, sega and reggae. Among the great names of sega to know (and listen to) are the group Apolonia, Michel Admette, "the prince of sega", and Maxime Laope, a great segatier and Knight of the Legion of Honor.
Reggae
Is there anywhere in the world that hasn't been touched by reggae? Reunion Island is a major breeding ground for the genre, even marrying it with sega and maloya to create maloggae and seggae. Unsurprisingly, rastas are very present on the island, accompanied by their traditional red-green-yellow flag, and big names such as Thierry Gauliris - member of the famous group Baster - have tried their hand at reggae. In 2002, the latter released his album Kaf Gong Reggae, recorded in Bob Marley's studios in Jamaica. Reunion's reggae scene is constantly renewing itself, with the young guard now embodied by groups such as Mighty Lion, Positive Vibes Sound and Maylan Manaza.
While reggae can be heard just about anywhere on the island, the Ravine Saint-Leu (at the entrance to Saint-Leu) is your assurance of hearing some good stuff. In this open-air concert hall (a natural amphitheatre), the acoustics are fantastic and the atmosphere warm and friendly.
Contemporary music
A dance island determined to live (and create) in the present, Réunion is home to a young electro guard, the result of five decades of experimentation. Like the aforementioned Labelle and Jako Maron, electro-maloya here is shaped by particularly enterprising and adventurous hands, as evidenced by the albums of Ti'Fock, a veteran of the scene who was already active in the 1980s, Maya Kamaty, a pioneer of the maloya revival, and Boogzbrown, signed to the major American label Mad Decent. For a broader panorama of Reunion's young music scene, the World & Pluriel compilations published by the Pôle régional des musiques actuelles de La Réunion (Reunion's regional music cluster) offer the best of the island's musical output in recent years.
In addition to its artists, Réunion's great strength is the quality of its events. From the Sakifo Musik Festival, which has become THE must-see festival of the Indian Ocean with a program worthy of the great international events, to the trendy Électropicales festival in Saint-Denis, the island is now a popular destination for today's top artists. Year-round, the same quality of live music can be found at venues such as Mahé La Bourdonnais in Saint-Denis, one of the most dynamic in town, or Le Honey, also a staple of Dionysian evenings, with an excellent program. In Saint-Leu, Le Zinc often features interesting pop, rock and electro live acts.
