monmon

Ever since 1994, when he burst onto the world music scene with one of his landmark songs ‘Adékalom’, Danyèl Waro has been a glittering presence with his limpid and uncompromising maloya blues. Now his first album in seven years, monmon, takes his music onto another plane. Essentially stripped down to his uniquely sharp voice, a call-and-response chorus, congas and kayamb percussion, the Réunionnais singer toys with Indian Ocean melodies and rhythms from as far afield as India.
In his lyrics, the 62-year-old takes us on a riveting journey back to his childhood, complete with its island cuisine, insect life, flora and fauna, and his mother who bound the household together like a tree-trunk. ‘Maloya music brings me back to my irrational self, my religious and spiritual side,’ the white-haired guru is quoted as saying. In monmon maloya is channelled into a metaphysical engagement well beyond the necessary militancy that helped him and fellow-travellers Alain Peters and Ziskakan retrieve maloya from the gallows to which the French administration had condemned it. It's a masterclass in 11 lessons, honouring the diversity of his island community. France needs this right now.