Oté Maloya: The Birth of Electric Maloya on Réunion Island 1975-1984

Now this is a compilation to be treasured. Maloya is the roots music of La Réunion, a diasporic African mix of voice and percussion that has won a degree of international recognition, largely via the superb efforts of Danyèl Waro. Here the Réunionnais DJ duo La Basse Tropicala have sought out recordings from an era when maloya was first allowed to freely express itself, having previously been censored by the island's French administrators for its subversive nature.
The influences on the maloya then being created were, as elsewhere in Africa, largely US soul and jazz, resulting in a deeper, heavier music. Maloya is a minimalist music and the songs here retain that stripped-down sound, even while demonstrating a love of electric piano. The opening tune by Caméléon could comfortably rub shoulders with what the likes of Sly Stone and Miles Davis were doing around that time. Some maloya fans won’t enjoy these fusions, but I’m keen to hear more by the best of them.