Toto Mwandjani is a
Malagasy guitarist and singer who performs the
traditional musical genres of ''
tsapiky'' and ''
salegy
Salegy is a popular music genre from Madagascar. Originating as a Sub-Saharan African folk music style in the northwestern coastal areas of Madagascar, modern salegy is the genre of Malagasy music that has gained the widest recognition and comm ...
'' infused with ''
Ndombolo
Ndombolo is a dance from the Democratic Republic of the Congo, that is also popular in other African countries such as Kenya, Tanzania and Madagascar, who consider it as a music genre.
This style of fast music, currently dominating dancefloors in ...
'' music of the
Democratic Republic of Congo
The Democratic Republic of the Congo (french: République démocratique du Congo (RDC), colloquially "La RDC" ), informally Congo-Kinshasa, DR Congo, the DRC, the DROC, or the Congo, and formerly and also colloquially Zaire, is a country in ...
. Mwandjani, who was born in
Antsohihy
Antsohihy is a city (commune urbaine) in northern Madagascar. It is the administrative capital of the Sofia Region.
Geography
Antsohihy is the capital of Sofia Region and of Antsohihy District. It is situated at the junction of Route nationale 6 ...
in north-west
Madagascar
Madagascar (; mg, Madagasikara, ), officially the Republic of Madagascar ( mg, Repoblikan'i Madagasikara, links=no, ; french: République de Madagascar), is an island country in the Indian Ocean, approximately off the coast of East Africa ...
, began playing guitar at age eight and formed a band called Les Jeunes Cobras. In 1994 he joined legendary group Feon'ala before becoming a high-demand musician at
Studio Mars, the premier professional recording studio on the island. He formed the group Soley, gaining further acclaim for his unique adaptations of traditional musical styles. In the late 1990s after the dissolution of the band, Mwandjani was regularly invited to record and perform with the superstars of salegy, including
Jaojoby,
Mily Clément
Mily Clement is one of the originators of the contemporary form of ''salegy'', a Music of Madagascar, traditional musical style of the northern coastal areas of Madagascar. He grew up surrounded by the music of the ''tromba (trance), tromba'' spir ...
and
Ninie Doniah
Ninie Doniah is a Malagasy singer and composer of ''salegy'' music that originates from the northern coastal area of Madagascar, including her birthplace of Nosy Be. She descends from a musical family: her grandmother was a celebrated singer of ...
. His single ''Malemilemy'' elevated him to national stardom. He has recorded two albums and toured extensively in Madagascar and Europe. Mwandjani has twice given concerts to represent Malagasy culture at the annual Days of Madagascar event held at
UNESCO
The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization is a specialized agency of the United Nations (UN) aimed at promoting world peace and security through international cooperation in education, arts, sciences and culture. It ...
in
Paris
Paris () is the capital and most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), making it the 30th most densely populated city in the world in 2020. S ...
.
See also
*
Music of Madagascar
The highly diverse and distinctive music of Madagascar has been shaped by the musical traditions of Southeast Asia, Africa, Oceania, Arabia, England, France and the United States over time as indigenous people, immigrants, and colonists have ma ...
Notes
References
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Mwandjani, Toto
21st-century Malagasy male singers
Year of birth missing (living people)
Living people
Malagasy guitarists