Justin Vali ranks among the greatest living players of traditional Malagasy music on the valiha, a bamboo tube zither considered the national instrument of Madagascar.[1] He also performs on the marovany box zither of central and southern Madagascar. Vali contributed to several compilations in the late 1980s before beginning to release his own albums in 1990. In 1994 he recorded Ny Marina (The Truth) at Real World Studios under Peter Gabriel's Real World Records. In 1999 he released The Sunshine Within, a collaboration with Paddy Bush.[2] In 2008 he collaborated with Erick Manana and other prominent Malagasy artists to record an album as the Malagasy All Stars. Vali resides in Paris and performs regularly on the international world music festival circuit,[3] including performances on several continents with the WOMAD festival.[4] In 2006 he was awarded the Grand Prize for Traditional Music by Société des Auteurs Compositeurs et Editeurs de Musique, the French songwriters' guild.[5]
Justin Vali | |
|---|---|
 Justin Vali in 2023 | |
| Background information | |
| Birth name | Justin Rakotondrasoa |
| Born | Madagascar |
| Genres | Vakondrazana |
| Occupation(s) | Singer, songwriter |
| Instrument(s) | Valiha, voice |
| Years active | 1990-present |
See also
editNotes
edit- ^ "Justin Vali Trio Madagascar". Real World Records. 2013. Retrieved 18 July 2013.
- ^ Anderson (2000), p. 532
- ^ Anderson (2000), p. 530
- ^ Tassell, Nige (2012). "Justin Vali from Madagascar - Deeply knowledgeable celebration of Malagasy music". WOMAD. Archived from the original on 5 July 2013. Retrieved 18 July 2013.
- ^ "Grand Prix de la musique traditionnelle: Justin Vali" (PDF) (in French). Société des Auteurs Compositeurs et Editeurs de Musique. 2006. Archived from the original (PDF) on 13 September 2013. Retrieved 18 July 2013.
References
edit- Anderson, Ian (2000). "Ocean Music from Southeast Africa". The Rough Guide to World Music, Vol. 1: Africa, Europe and the Middle East. Rough Guides. pp. 523–532. ISBN 9781843535515.