African Guitar Gods: DGary, taking the music of Madagascar to the world You know that expression, deceptively simple? Thats not a bad way to look at some of the music played by the latest guitarist in our African Guitar Gods series, Madagascars DGary. Have a listen and see if you dont hear what I mean. Taking the musical richness of Madagascar to the world Ernest Randrianasolo, known to guitar aficionados as DGary, is one of the foremost interpreters of Malagasy traditional music on the guitar. Hes descended from the Bara tribe, nomads who herded oxen in southern Madagascar. (That explains why some of his songs are called things like Song of the Cowherd.) But DGarys real connection to Malagasy traditional music happened when he was a teenager at, of all places, his fathers funeral. As he listened to the mourners singing by his fathers graveside, he heard the connection between what they sang to traditional tribal songs, and that compelled him to explore his own musical roots. But he probably never dreamed one day hed be one of the musicians responsible for helping the rest of the world learn about the musical richness of Madagascar. Other guitarist greats cant believe what he does Upon hearing what DGary played on his first international release, Malagasy Guitar, The Music From Madagascar, Henry Kaiser said (according to RFI), I couldnt believe my eyes or ears when those tracks were played in front of me. If you get a guitar and sit at home trying to work out whats going on while he plays, all I can say is Good luck! David Lindley, who worked with Kaiser on the great Malagasy compilation, A World Out of Time, simply called DGary a monster guitarist! The music in this video is, it should be pointed out, not deceptively simple, nor for that matter deceptively complex. It just is complex. And beautiful. As good as (or better?) than Ali Farka Touré According to The Rough Guide to World Music: Africa and the Middle East, many consider that he surpasses other African acoustic guitar greats such as Ali Farka Touré. No one really wants to play the better than game, but the truth is DGary is an extraordinary guitarist. Why his fame isnt at the level of someone like Touré is probably some combination of not being at the right place and the right time and, with due respect to Messrs. Kaiser and Lindley, not having a Ry Cooder in his life. A river you never want to step out of DGarys music is based not just on traditional Malagasy songs, but also shows influence of Western folk guitar styles. Still, when in full flight, the intricacy of his finger-picking style and the sheer flow of the music he creates doesnt quite sound like anything else. Thats probably because he adapts melodic lines usually reserved for traditional instruments, like the valiha, a kind of harp, or the marovany, a kind of zither for the guitar. If you can get your hands on an album by Dama and DGary called A Long Way Home, listen to it to discover that DGarys music is like a river you never want to step out of. Article posted by Li Robbins in World
Posted on: Thu, 20 Nov 2014 19:57:57 +0000
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