Album review

Danyel Waro

The King of Maloya

Paris 

17/05/2002 - 

Simply superb! There's no other way of describing Danyel Waro's new album, Bwarouz. The album, recently released on the Cobalt label, confirms the Réunionese musician as the undisputed king of maloya. What's more, Waro's take on the traditional compound rhythm - over which generations of slaves sang their joys and woes - looks set to cause a few surprises.

Renowned for his defence of batarsité (cultural and racial diversity in Réunion), Danyel Waro has taken maloya towards a new musical maturity, gaining respect and admiration from his peers. Boulouze, the opening track on his new album, is a brilliantly evocative example of the maloya king's style. Trembling in the air like a howl of Reunionese blues, the song recounts the story of Waro's fellow man, expressing the pain, the sorrow and the hope, so often disappointed but ready to rise once again from the ashes. Waro waxes satirical on other songs such as Bat la min, venting the anger of an independence fighter who has seen his former comrades accept the domination of their island. Waro is also wonderful when it comes to evoking tender emotions, singing of his love for children (Bino) and his wife (Sanm Ou). But politics soon regains the upper hand on Zeneral (an anti-militarist song) and Beber (a song on which he longs for the return of migration).

In short, this superb, and emotionally intense album, powered along with heartfelt lyrics sung in Creole, is a fitting tribute to Bwarouz, Waro's native neighbourhood perched high up in the midst of sugarcane fields in Saint-Paul (Réunion). RFI/Musique caught up with the maloya king and asked him a few questions about his latest album:

It must have been a great feeling being able to record your new album on your own territory this time round…
Yes, it was. It was pretty much a case of recording it at home, in fact, because we ended up working about 5 kilometres up the road from my house. What I really wanted to do this time round was work in a calm, laidback way with a bunch of musician friends. What happened was the sound engineers, Isaac and Danyo, turned up with their mobile studio and we made our own little makeshift studio in a house someone had lent us. We all slept there together during the recording sessions and ate next door. The fact of spending so much time hanging out together meant there was a really good friendly atmosphere and we worked in a real atmosphere of trust. I'm not someone who likes working to rigid schedules or anything, so it suited me down to the ground. It really felt like we were hanging out as a family or a bunch of friends and the fact that we were all living together right through the recording made it a very intense way of working. It was a really positive experience for me all round, in fact. It's better for me when I work at home in Réunion. It makes things a lot simpler. And it means I'm closer to my family – and that's something that's very important for me. I'm someone who likes to remain in my own little world. Even if it's possible to go off and work somewhere else I prefer to stay in my own neck of the woods. I guess it's a question of temperament !

Do you think this way of working had a direct influence on your music?
I don't know really. Bwarouz was an album where what counted most for me was putting as much emotion as possible into it. The starting point of my work is always on a very human level, you know. What triggers me off is always people and personal encounters. But when I actually get down to work and start singing place doesn't come into it really. I throw myself into the world of the song I'm singing at the time, whether I'm in Réunion or anywhere else, whether I'm locked away inside a studio or singing outdoors. So I don't really think a sense of place comes into my music… Every album has its own story. It just so happens that my voice sounds a particular way at a particular moment or that's the form my music takes right then. All those factors come together and give a certain result. What counts for me most these days is singing in front of people, you know singing my head off in front of an audience or standing outside in a field! It's different when you've got someone listening to you - there's a different kind of exchange going on altogether.

In the past you've tended to shy away from structured career plans and recording commitments and you've appeared to be a bit wary of the whole showbizz world in general. Have you changed your attitude a bit these days?
I'm still a bit wary of getting involved with the idea of churning out albums no matter what. Let's just say it's a matter of principle. I started out singing for my own personal pleasure and that's something I want to go on doing – that's the vibe I want to get from my work! After that, I sing because I feel I've got something to say. I've always been an activist on the cultural and the political front and that's something that's continued to evolve over the years. One of the reasons I got involved with an artistic career in the first place was because I saw it was one way of creating real emotion. Ii wasn't just a straightforward political exchange – you know, it's not just a question of singing slogans for out-of-work planters or people living in poverty in Réunion. It's a question of getting an emotional response across. I think I'll always be a bit wary of adopting a rigidly structured, over-professional approach to my career. Having said that, however, I'm beginning to discover the artistic milieu a bit more these days and I'm getting used to the idea of working with other people and getting into more of a group dynamic. You have to adopt a different state of mind and go about things a different way, but I'm beginning to play the game a bit more now and get a better understanding of how things work. The thing that's important for me though is that things continue to work on a friendly basis. I don't want my exchanges with other people to become strictly business or anything!

But given your recent success things must have got a bit more demanding on a professional level surely?
Yes, it's true, things have taken off for me at lightning speed really. But that doesn't mean I'm ready to accept any old offer in terms of touring! I've got the choice these days. I know I'm in a privileged position to be able to sit here and come out with things like that. And I'm aware it's a great luxury in life to be able to do things pretty much for my own personal pleasure and earn a living from them at the same time. That's a great freedom in life – and it's one I'm making the most of while it lasts! I'm lucky in a way. Singers who are always chasing after contracts could never have the same freedom to speak their mind as I do, even if they wanted to defend their beliefs. Singing is an integral part of my life. And I know I'm lucky not to be caught in that hellish trap where you have to keep on churning out albums and fulfilling tour commitments no matter what! As things stand right now I'm lucky enough to be able to take things at my own speed !
You've developed a reputation as something of a rebel over the years. Is there any truth to this image?
I don't think things are as straightforward as that! I don't feel like I'm trapped in an image of my own making... I still see myself as a musical activist. I'm still all for people standing up and defending their rights and I still feel involved in certain battles. Having said that, however, I'm wary of the form those battles take sometimes. I prefer to take an artistic approach to things and, along with defending the freedom to say things, I like to get some pleasure out of what I'm doing - which is something I have to admit wasn't in my ideology to start with. My music isn't just a message to liberate people or urge them to rebel, because otherwise we'd all just be living on the edge of our nerves all the time! I believe you have to take time to live as well. If you don't, then I think you lose the human dimension to things. In fact, you not only lose the feeling and the vibe, but you lose the possibility of direct communication with people… I'm all in favour of people keeping their freedoms and defending their right to progress at their own speed. But sometimes I try and stay out of things. It's important to know your place and retain some kind of humility about what you do. I no longer stake any claim to the idea that people have in their 20s when they feel like they're some sort of revolutionary urging everyone to rise up and follow in their wake! What I say to people these days is that I'm enjoying my music and getting pleasure out of my songs – and if that strikes a chord with what's going on in people's lives, whether they live in Réunion or not, then all the better!…

Does that fit in with your concept of maloya as a sound that's now reaching a much wider audience and enjoying increasing commercial success on the 'world music' scene?
It's fantastic. These days maloya has really gone universal. What's more, maloya has given us the right to stand up and be counted on the French music scene or even the international scene come to that. We don't have to feel like slaves any more. Maloya has entered a new dimension – and that's down to the generations of musicians who existed before I came along. It's not thanks to me; I'm part of the third or fourth generation.

Let's turn to your lyrics for a moment. You seem to have moved on from your early maloya days a bit…
The essential thing for me is trying to emphasise the importance of language and writing. I could put things in a much simpler way, but as far as I'm concerned that would just be churning out the same tired old formulas. What I'm interested in is trying to get people to understand my message, trying to bring my words to life. Things have to sound good and bear some relation to what's going on in reality for me to get pleasure out of what I do. My aim isn't to come up with some chart-topping summer hit, bring in the cash and then the whole thing's over! That would be death for me! It would just be buying into the whole consumer system. What I'm looking for is a real exchange with my public. I'd like people to stop and really listen to the words of a song and think 'Yes, he's got something there! That sounds good – and there's a real emotion there too!' That's what I'm aiming for in my work, you know, the pleasure of putting certain words side by side and creating a kind of magic that will work as well tomorrow as it does today. I'm not interested in writing ephemeral chart hits! I'm not looking for a huge overnight success – I prefer to sell a little all the time rather than sell a huge amount of one single and then it's all over! And that's good because that's more or less the way my career's going right now.

What are your plans now that Bwarouz is finished ?
Well, one thing's for sure. I'm going to make an effort to get out there and promote it. Although, having said that, I don't want to promote my album any old how. You know, I don't want to go round begging to appear on TV because I've just put out an album and I want to drum up a few sales! I'd like to keep a bit of soul in what I do. And I know there are a lot of journalists out there who I can trust to do something genuine because they like my work. But I think the greatest pleasure I'll get out of all this is coming face to face with my fans again!

Danyel Waro Bwarouz (Cobalt) 2002