Tsiliva, born Christophe Tsiliva Diddiot, is a Malagasy musician who performs '' kilalaka'', a traditional genre of music from the southwestern interior of

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 ...

. The son of a pastor, he was born on 25 July 1982 and raised in the western coastal town of Ambovombe Androy, near

Morondava Morondava (, from mg, morona lava "long coast") is a city located in Menabe Region, of which it is the capital, in Madagascar. It is located in the delta of the Morandava River at . Its population as of the 2018 census, was 53,510. Population T ...

. As a child he enjoyed playing music and composing songs. Upon reaching secondary school, he formed or joined many local groups, including Cabalero Music, Tsirangoty, Diddiot Pro, Calypso, Mentalis Music and Fouad music, with whom he both performed and composed music. After graduating high school and earning his ''baccalaureat'' in management and communications, he played bass for the group Dadah de Fort Dauphin, later joining the groups Terana and Terakaly as a percussionist. With Terakaly, he performed for the first time at a major music festival, the Donia music festival at

Nosy Be Nosy Be (formerly Nossi-bé and Nosse Be) is an island off the northwest coast of Madagascar. Nosy Be is Madagascar's largest and busiest tourist resort. It has an area of , and its population was 109,465 according to the provisional results of t ...

. He launched his solo career in 2004, and the popularity of his first single, "Oh! le Tsiliva", released in December that year, catapulted him to success. His first concert was held on 27 March 2005. He has released two albums and three VCDs, as well as a single with

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entitled "Chilalaky", which have been highly successful across the island. He tours continually throughout Madagascar and the Indian Ocean islands with an average of two shows per week, and often performs for the Malagasy diaspora in France. He typically performs with a large ensemble comprising six musicians, five backup singers and four dancers. He has expressed the goal of rendering Malagasy music universally accessible, following

Bob Marley Robert Nesta Marley (6 February 1945 – 11 May 1981; baptised in 1980 as Berhane Selassie) was a Jamaican singer, musician, and songwriter. Considered one of the pioneers of reggae, his musical career was marked by fusing elements o ...

's example in popularizing reggae. Tsiliva sings, dances, and plays percussion and guitar. Although he mainly performs ''kilalaka'', he occasionally also performs other genres, including pop and ragga. In addition to his musical performances, he is a sound engineer for other bands and has expressed an interest in owning his own business in the future. He is also a father.

Notes

{{DEFAULTSORT:Tsiliva 21st-century Malagasy male singers People from Androy Living people 1982 births

See also

Notes