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Sample Track 1:
"Malagasy" from Malagasy
Sample Track 2:
"Sitraka Zanahary" from Malagasy
Sample Track 3:
"Come on" from Malagasy
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Malagasy
Layer 2
Global Hit (Real Audio)

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The island nation of Madagascar has a musical tradition that goes back centuries. One Malagasy dance rhythm, called the salegy, is said to have its roots in 15th century rhythms that came to Madagascar from Indonesia. Today one of the island's top salegy bands is called Jaojoby. Their music is catchy and wickedly fast-paced.

Salegy, as we hear it today, was born in the 1960s when Malagasy musicians started using electric instruments to interpret the island's traditional music. The electric guitar, for instance, is present in all salegy songs.

Band leader and singer Eusebe Jaojoby, is a pioneer of salegy. He began singing in church as a child, and by the 1970's he was playing with a local band. They played at dances, performing everything from cha-cha-cha to Motown. Then they turned to salegy, which was a lot more challenging to dance to.

The French, former colonizers of Madagascar, didn't know what to do with it. They called it the "cow" dance. Eusebe Jaojoby prefers to call it "electrified folklore music."

On their new album, called Malagasy, the band Jaojoby plays a mix of old and new tunes. But all of them fast dance material.  09/08/04 >> go there
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