Search - Tarika Sammy :: Fanafody

An excellent example of modern Malagasy music

woburnmusicfan | Woburn, MA United States | 04/12/2002

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Tarika Sammy was one of the finest bands to be highlighted on the Kaiser-Lindley "World Out of Time" compilations of music from Madagascar. After that, leader Sammy and his cousin Tiana teamed with a pair of singing sisters in a lineup that toured internationally. The two pairs had differing musical temperaments and soon split up, with the sisters forming their own band as "Tarika". (Tarika is the Malagasy word for band or group.) While both groups have continued to record great music, this album is better than anything either has done since. Sammy and Tiana bring a melodic sense that Tarika lacks, while Hanitra and Noro favor propulsive rhythms lacking on other Tarika Sammy recordings. The singing is joyous, and the songs are memorable. The music has a more acoustic, lighter feel than most music coming from Africa. Many of the instruments used are native to Madagascar--valiha and marovany (zithers with a harp-like sound), kabosy (a small guitar with frets that don't extend across the entire neckboard), jejy voatovo (a large, hollowed gourd with a fretboard attached)--and all of these are highlighted on one song or another. The guest stars are surprising: bass and drums are supplied by members of 3 Mustaphas, Ian Anderson of Jethro Tull supplies slide guitar on one song, and John Kirkpatrick (a Richard Thompson cohort) concertina on two others. Highlights include "Fanafody", "Zanahary", and "Sarek' Ela"."