Credits:

Malavoi

Description:

Martinique is one of the French overseas departments in the Lesser Antilles Islands, which are distributed from the eastern to southeastern tip of the Caribbean Sea. The group that has been active for many years in the cultural background of this exquisite blend of French and Caribbean music is Maravois. Rice Records has previously released their highly acclaimed masterpiece "Jeu Uwe" (now out of print) and the gorgeous 4CD+DVD "The Ultimate Best" (FMR-50009), and now they have decided to distribute their latest release in 2020 in Japan. We have decided to distribute their latest work in Japan, which will be released in 2020. Formed in Luzhník in 1969, Malavova's sound is characterized by a modern reinterpretation of the music of the Martinique dance floor, such as bigin and mazurka, with influences from the Cuban "charanga" style of music. The trademark of the band is its glossy and elegant sound, which is also its trademark. The arrangements, featuring their trademark lush strings, attracted music fans from all over the world, especially in the 80's when world music was at its peak.After that, the group temporarily stagnated due to the departure of its signature singer Ralph Tamar and the death of its leader Polo Rosine in 1993, but it returned to its former glory with the 2007 live album "La Sigal 2007" (with Ralph as a guest) and the 2009 studio album "Pep La" (Alterpop). The band returned to its former glory in 2009 with the studio album "Pep-La" (Alterpop). After a 40th anniversary live album and "Oriwon" (Alterpop), which featured many guest singers, their first original album in a long time was "Masibor," released at the end of 2020. With a new band structure built after "Pep La" around the current leader, percussionist/vibraphonist Nicole Bernard, and with no guest singers other than Ralph, this album is truly a maravois album with 100% fruit juice. The title "Masibor" means "strong woman" in Creole, and its theme is a tribute to the great women involved in the development of Martinique and neighboring Guadalupe. In addition to new compositions from Nicole's pen, the album also features numbers composed by former leader Polo Rosine, Lulu Boilaville, who led the "Groupe Folklorique Martiniquais" (Biggin Orchestra), and Nicole's brother Jackie, who arranged half of the songs on this album, composed this number.The arrangement is by Jun Miyake, a Japanese musician based in Paris who is active internationally, and features strings and piano with vibraphone as the main instrument, creating a fantastical Creole instrumental that is a joy to listen to. This is definitely one of the greatest Franco-Caribbean masterpieces in recent years, a refreshing, danceable, yet progressive creole music that anyone can listen to! Don't miss out on this world music album that represents the year 2021!

Tracklisting:

1. LOUP GAROU
2. KADOLESCENT
3. L'ENFANT ROI
4. HARMANCIA
5. YONN' A L'OT
6. MASIBOL
7. REVERIE BO D'LO
8. VENT
9. BWAVE
10. PLI BONE