Madagaskar had conditioned us to its northern “mafana” (hot) rhythms, but truth is, the temperature only goes up as you head south of the country: in the city of Tulear, which is laced with the heat of the Mozambique channel, they play a local hot and sizzling style: Tsapiky.
Tsapiky? a scorching beat played on drum heads made out of zebu pelts, wrecked electric guitars, high pitched voices that’ll rip your heart out, a saturated sound played on local DIY gear. And musicians that jam on a groove that seems upside down with a frantic cadence. It feels good, it’s a local high, a collective euphoria.
In 30 years of career, Damily has become the most prolific and biting guitarist in the genre, a driving force in the Tsapiky world which he stamped with raging riffs. Along with his band, he has been setting the international scene on fire as fighters against musical globalization process.
