143: Valiha Madagascar, by Various Artists

Various Artists (Madagascar)
Valiha Madagascar (1965)
17 tracks, 48 minutes
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The culture of Madagascar is fascinating in its uniqueness. By virtue of being a large land mass separated from the nearest continent by quite a bit of sea, its culture has always been allowed to percolate among the many ethno-culturo-linguistic sub-groups to develop into something found nowhere else. That’s not to say the Malagasy are isolated – over their history they have had many productive relationships with the peoples of Africa, Europe, the Middle East, South Asia and South East Asia, all of which made their impression on the island’s culture.

In fact, Malagasy people have just as much if not more in common with those of South East Asia – especially Indonesia and Malaysia – than those of East Africa. The island was first inhabited by settlers from Borneo and the Malagasy language is even considered to be in the Austronesian language group. This unique clash of cultures is very evident even in Malagasy music.

The compilation Valiha Madagascar is one of the earliest from Ocora, one of the great record labels of field recordings, and it was possibly the first time that Malagasy music was commercially available in the West. The label rightly has a great reputation for amazing recordings and, despite being so early in their catalogue, this album is no exception. As its name suggests, its main focus is on the valiha (pronounced vah-lee), probably the most recognisable instrument of Madagascar. It is a zither, made out of a thick trunk of bamboo, whose skin is partially peeled off and hooked over bridges to make strings (although nowadays, nylon and steel strings are more common).

You can hear from the first track that this is something different. The tuning, for one, sounds strange to Western ears, and not even much like those of other East African cultures, either. Even the instrument itself has parallels across the Indian Ocean: compare it with the Indonesian sasando or the Malaysian pratukong. But the music that is played on it doesn’t sound quite like anything else, South East Asian or African. The melodies are unrelentingly sunny-sounding but their rhythms are staccato and jumpy; combined with their fast tempo, you can tell this music is made for dancing all night. It’s also interesting to hear how other instruments – such as the occasional fiddle or flute – can handle the valiha repertoire while also bringing in elements of country or Latin music; it gives a good insight into the development of Malagasy pop styles such as tsipiky and salegy.

With music like this, which is so unlike any other music from anywhere else, it is hard to find the correct vocabulary to describe it. I gave it a go, but this is really music that just needs to be heard to be appreciated. There are several styles of playing presented on this album, but they all sound like a great time in one way or another. If you’ve never heard music from Madagascar, give this album a play now and hear something completely new.