“Maloya is not only music, it's a movement where words meet rhythm. The north and south (of the Reunion Island) don’t have the same way of playing it,” says Gilbert Pounia, founder of the band Ziskakan who are currently in Mumbai for their Great India Tour. In the past, the rugged-looking bunch has won Best Group and Artist Award in Africa (1994), Best African Group and Artist (1997) at Kora Awards and Best Group at the Cesars de la Musique in 2007.
Political origins
There is a rich political history behind the name. Ziskakan began as an underground cultural and political movement to promote Creole and Maloya. The name came from the first president of the band, and means 'Until when?' in Creole. It started as an association of poets, writers, musicians to liberate the 200-year-old language and preserve traditional Maloya music, which was played by slaves and forbidden by the French government (when the island was a French colony). Slaves were banned from gathering and playing Maloya.
They've come far in the fight. The original members of Ziskakan started out playing in sugarcane fields in the late 70s, and today they are in-demand globetrotters. The line-up currently comprises bassist Wazis Loy, drummer Frédéric Riesser, tabla player Shakti Ramchurn, guitarist Clency Sumac and pianist Damien Hervio. The group has a collective love for India, having played numerous times in cities like Delhi, Haridwar, Puducherry, Goa and Chennai before. In fact, they count their set at the Global ISAI Festival in Chennai as their best till date.
Love for India
The heavily accented Gilbert himself is a fourth generation Indian. He told FPJ, “A lot of people living in Reunion are of Indian origin, and some of us even look Indian! Everything from our culture, way of eating, playing music to rituals has Indian influences. The Thappu (a wooden drum used during rituals in Tamil Nadu and Kerala) was the first Indian instrument that people used in our concert on the Reunion Island.”
Ziskakan plays a genre called Maloya, which is traditional Creole music. Gilbert goes on to explain that the base of the Maloya genre is a combination of different percussion intruments – such as a bass drum called rouler, a raft rattle called kayamb, a bamboo cylinder called piker and others – with a singer on lead vocals, followed by a chorus by the percussionists. The sound is organic and vibrant, and is best experienced live with friends for company.
Great India Tour
Ziskakan has already completed the Chennai, Kolkata, Shillong and Guwahati leg of the tour. In Mumbai, they will be in concert on April 29 at the Courtyard in Phoenix Palladium and on the morning of April 30 (Sunday) at Gallery XXL in Colaba before heading to Goa for more Maloya music. Says Gilbert, “We will play some of the most iconic songs of the band and share our Reunionese culture with the people of India.”
