Zembrocal Musical

Groove Lélé are a Creole group from the island La Réunion, located in the Indian Ocean to the east of Madagascar. Like its close neighbour Mauritius, the island’s culture and ethnicity is a mixture of African and Indian. The group is the best-known exponent of the musical style known as maloya, a drum-and-vocals genre with strong links to slavery which was prohibited from public performance for many years. Zembrocal Musical is a recording of a live performance in France during 2009, in which the group’s hand-drums and percussion are augmented by the improvised cello of Ernst Reijseger.

Like many drum and vocal styles originally performed by slaves, there is a prevalent suggestion of torment and misery, liberally sprinkled with moments of joyous, almost delirious, celebration. In this case the slaves were of East African and Malagasy origin and the sorrow in the music is counterbalanced by the faultless and uplifting nature of the vocal performances. Particularly impressive is the principle female vocalist Marie¬Claude Lambert whose singing has the air of Miriam Makeba. The cello adds a charming sophistication, seemingly out of place with its conservatoire and jazz improvisation elements, but ultimately perfectly complementary to the ensemble. Zembrocal Musical is an enchanting performance, well recorded and very neatly packaged.