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Born in Antananarivo in 1961, D’Gary is the son of a Bara policeman, of the ethnic group of zebu breeders from the desert-like high plateaux of southern Madagascar. In 1969 he followed his father who was transferred to Tulear, then to Betroka, capital of the Bara region, where he retired in 1978. D’Gary was seventeen at the time. His encounter with the culture of the South, his own roots, was a shock. He discovered the sufferings of his people: the land was going bad; zebu theft – the region’s favourite sport – was by then a large scale operation run by businessmen who armed the bands of thieves and corrupted the Justice system to protect what had become a profitable traffic of beasts and meat. D’Gary decided to stand up for his people and put their suffering to music.
In Tulear, he learnt to play the guitar on a crafted instrument and started a small group. In Betroka he tried to adapt his playing to the traditional southern styles, whether Bara, Antandroy, Vezo or Masikoro. This research helped him become one of the most astonishing international guitarists, a musician sought after by guitar enthusiasts the world over for his unheard-of playing style and his wild open-tunings.
Photograph : Philippe Dupuich.
As early as 1979 D’Gary was invited to cut an LP in Antananarivo with l’Echo de Betroka. Very quickly he got the reputation of being a musician capable of adapting his style to all tonalities and of reproducing the sounds of all traditional instruments: marovany, kabossy, valiha… This was the beginning of a career that would lead him to play many different Malagasy styles: northern styles with Feon’Ala, Betsileo music with Rija, etc…. In 1985 he was contacted by Dida, the owner of a small studio in Tamatave, who took him under his wing and allowed him to devote all his time to musical research for two whole years. Following this period he formed his first group, Iraky Ny Vavarano (the Messenger of the South), a guitar-voice-percussion trio (already with Lala, the singer, from Tulear).
The international tours then got underway: France with Feon’Ala (91), the Louisiana festival and the Moeurs festival in Germany (93). In 1992 he recorded Malagasy Guitar and World out of time I for the American Henry Kaiser, then another guitar album at the Louisiana festival and World out of time II (93). In 1994 he formed Jihé, his new band, still with the singer Lala, the bassist Mario (brother of Régis Gizavo the accordionist from Tulear), the drummer Amina Akbar, and Irma, a backing-girl and dancer. It was with this group that he recorded Horombé for Label Bleu, which allowed him to express, with the greatest possible freedom, his musical inspiration.
Jihé (pronounced Zihé) means “to sing whilst running” and evokes a habit of the zebu herders when they brought the herds in in the evening, jogging and chanting. Jihé is also done when a bullock is given to a grieving family or when someone is buried: it is a positive reaction to despondency, a way of summoning courage and hope when times are bad.
Contacts
Agent
Country: France
Name: LMD Productions/Maïté
Tel: 01 48 57 51 48
Fax: 01 48 57 07 63
E-mail: maite@maitemusic.com
Website: www.maitemusic.com
Adress: 23, rue Parmentier
93100 Montreuil
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