Mahaleo

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'Mahaleo' (free in Malagasy) is the name of a music band from Madagascar.

The band was founded in the early 1970s, during the demonstrations that led to the end of the neocolonial government. There are seven musicians: Dama, Dadah, Bekoto, Fafa, Nono, Charles and Raoul. They met eatch other since May of 1972, during the general strike, as they sang and played to encourage people. After that, each of them achieved their studies and became physician (doctor), surgeon, farmer or sociologist, however still rehearsing and playing together.

The music style of the group is a fusion between traditional musics from the Malagasy highlands, Africa, Polynesia and Malaysia, added to the influence of occidental pop music that were very common on radio broadcasts in the 1960s and the 1970s.

The band's lyrics are about everydays life problems in a committed way, together with love, friendship and death themes. This style is new at the time when the group started, and the population liked it as this was close to the aspiration for a Malagasy identity after the colonisation: the group became quickly popular in all the country.

As the years passed and the members of the band grew in personal experience, the group starts to write songs related with the difficult conditions of life in the country and the underdeveloppment country status: environment, poverty, education, violence... The group has tours everywhere in Madagascar, performing hundreds of concerts. The Malagasy diaspora invites sometimes Mahaleo to perform concerts in France for example.

The political commitment of the group members can be seen in their personal careers: Dama was elected two times as independent député at the National Assembly, Bekoto specialised himself as a defender of the farmer rights, Charles takes care of a NGO that promotes the development in rural and peri-urban areas. During the campaign for the presidential elections in 2002, one member of the band helped Marc Ravalomanana by performing concerts.

In 2005, the group took part in a film, Mahaleo, describing its history and provides a contemporean vision of Madagascar.