Samoëla
| Samoëla | |
|---|---|
| Birth name | Samoëla Rasolofoniaina |
| Born | 2 April 1976 Madagascar |
| Genres | Folk fusion, roots music |
| Occupation(s) | Singer, songwriter |
| Instruments | Voice, guitar |
| Years active | 1998–present |
Samoëla Rasolofoniaina, better known as Samoëla, is a Malagasy vocalist and composer of contemporary folk fusion and roots music that draws upon musical traditions throughout the island of Madagascar. He typically sings and plays acoustic guitar, accompanied by an ensemble including bass guitar, Western and traditional percussion, and backup singers. He is distinguished by his use of hainteny traditional poetry and its metaphorical language, as well as youth slang and culturally subversive direct language to critique and address sensitive social and political topics.
Samoëla Rasolofoniaina was born in Madagascar on 2 April 1976. In school he began writing poetry and particularly the traditional Malagasy poetry form called hainteny, which incorporates proverbs and figurative language to address culturally sensitive topics. At the same time, he studied theater performance for four years under Christiane Ramanantsoa, a leading Malagasy actress, author and promoter of the arts. In his late teens and early twenties he studied marketing and tourism at ISCAM, with the intent to open a musical production company for the promotion of Malagasy artists.
In 1995, a 19-year-old Samoëla attended a Vahombey concert at the Cercle Germano-Malgache that inspired him to become more directly involved in songwriting. The concert impressed upon him the opportunity to express himself musically by challenging Malagasy cultural and musical norms. In particular, he decided to disregard taboos that prevented artists from addressing controversial or delicate topics in song, instead writing slang-infused lyrics that spoke directly to youth concerns. Many of his lyrics were also imbued with such elements of hainteny as its figurative and poetic descriptions and plays on words.
Samoëla began writing compositions in 1996 and gave his first performance that year at the Alliance Francaise in Antananarivo, followed by concerts at numerous other cultural centers across the island. These performances attracted the attention of a French music magazine publisher, who invited him to contribute to an upcoming compilation album and participate in its promotional tour in France. During this same period, a journalist recorded and broadcast one of Samoëla's concerts. A producer from Studio Mars, Madagascar's most venerable recording studio, heard the performance and invited the artist to record his debut album,Mampirevy, released in 1997. His first single off the album, "Havako Mamomamo", criticized Malagasy men who are unable to express their emotions without being inebriated. Samoëla wrote the music and lyrics to the single but hired two female vocalists, Vero and Poune, to sing. His first concert promoted the new album and was performed at CC Esca in Antananarivo on 14 November 1997.
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