Modeste - Living our Destiny

Off the south-east coast of Africa lies Madagascar and if you journey a little further in you will find Modeste Hugues Randramahitasoa, and his album Fomba (Living our Destiny), offering a musical canvas filled with the sounds of the Betroka region.

A musician since the age of 15, the musical style is called Malagasy and it combines the natural sounds of the African bush with the warm undertones found in the traditional South African gospel tradition.

The music itself is beautifully played and structured, and manages to convey a feeling of serenity and solitude – it’s just Modeste and his guitar on stage. It’s also interesting to compare his music with that of Afel Bocoum from Mali - both musicians with the guitar - to note the differences the environment can play on the music (Afel Bocoum on the River Niger, and Modeste on the Onilahy River).

His music also manages to evoke an air of melancholy and reflection, something I find more common in South American performers such as Caetano Veloso, Gilberto Gil or going back a bit, Astrud Gilberto. You can judge for yourself....

Modeste - Fomba
Modeste’s set at the Europe in Union Concert, September 2003