I compiled five music videos from Réunion Island. They combine the main topics that I explore in my own music, which is mainly influenced by electro maloya. These maloya music videos are at the hinterland of spiritualism, where tradition and modernism meet. They are the expression of the islanders’ worlds; the physical and the spiritual.

Music: Dance Company Soul City / Didier Boutiana
Track: «Héva» (2018)

Didier Boutiana is a choreographer and talented dancer from Réunion Island. In this short clip you can hear the Muezzin, the Muslim call to prayer, overlayed with the whisper of a poem by Francky Lauret «Mazigador». Mazigador talks about spells and spirits and our attachment to the land. This is the spirit of Réunion Island, a place where many religions (Christian, Hindu, Muslim) peacefully co-exist.

Music: Jérémy Labelle (feat. Boogie & Hlasko)
Video: Pixeldealer
Track: «Lait Sacré» (2014)

«Lait Sacré» is yet another facet of the spiritual Réunion proposed here by Jeremy Labelle. Beyond religions, there is the cosmic dimension of Réunion Island, a land circled by the ocean waves and volcanic lava flow. A new generation of musicians, poets, and artists feel and perceive these forces and try by their own means and sensibilities to express them. It reveals a syncretism, a reinvention, and an awareness of an ever-evolving mythology.

Music: Kaloune
Video: Pixeldealer
Track: «Funkyman Dombolo» (2018)

Kaloune is a musician, singer, poet, storyteller, and author with an undeniable scenic presence. She represents the pride and the power of Black women, while expressing a kind of dreamy fairy mythical goddess aura. In this clip, she honors the vivid spirit of the young women of Réunion Island and their unquenchable thirst for invention and reinvention.

Music: Loya
Video: Clément Vincent
Track: «Malbar Dance» (2016)

People of Indian origin, and the Hindu religion in general, play a significant role in the culture of Réunion Island. The land is dotted with Indian temples, from the modest temples in private homes to the outstanding architectural and artistic community temples. This song is dedicated to the musician’s Tamil ancestors. The clip depicts Tamil priests celebrating a ceremony in honor of the Goddess Kali, the Hindu Goddess who eats demons, re-enacting the circle of life from birth to destruction to rebirth.

Music: Jako Maron
Video: Kid Kreol & Boogie
Track : «Sitarane larivé» (2011)

Sitarane was an infamous leader of a band of assassins, who, in the 1900s blew a magical powder through the doors of houses to drug people. The unsuspecting victims were assassinated in their sleep, their belongings stolen. Sitarane was eventually caught, brought to trial, condemned, and executed in 1911. He has been worshiped since then, interceding, it is said, the devil on people’s behalf, throwing spells of black magic on rivals or enemies. People leave smoking cigarettes, rum, and money on his tombstone; these offerings are a dark occult ritual invoking the spirit world. The ever-popular singer Michel Admet sings an even more famous song about Sitarane in Séga, a folkloric festive musical tradition, which is now propelled into the 21^st century in this Sitarane larivé electro remix by Jako Maron.