Rossy (musician)

Early years

Paul Bert Rahasimanana was born in 1960 to a working-class family. At the age of seven, he was given an accordion as a gift and began teaching himself to play. In the early 1970s, Rahasimanana and a group of friends formed an a capella group called Hazo Midoroboka and began singing traditional consolatory songs (mamonjy jaobany) for those grieving at wakes held in their neighborhood of Ampamarinana in the Mahamasina district of Antananarivo. Mourners paid the members of the group in the form of free cups of coffee and fritters. Like many other urban youth from working class and poor neighborhoods, Rossy also performed soava and vakisova, contemporary and typically a capella urban genres that expressed incisive social critique through slang-laden, rapped lyrics with complex hand-clapping accompaniment. While a high school student in 1981 he formed his first band, using African percussion rather than a Western drum kit to set the rhythm. In 1983, Rossy gave his first public performance of a song he had composed in the lively vakisôva genre. The performance occurred in the courtyard of the historic Ecole Sainte Famille located in Mahamasina and was attended by local television host Tsilavina Ralaindimby, who recognized the young man's talent. Ralaindimby brought him to the attention of the director of the Centre Germano-Malgache, who was sufficiently impressed to collaborate with WDR (the predecessor of Radio France Internationale) to organize a four-month series of performances for Rossy in Germany.

Rahasimanana's youth was colored by the socio-political currents prevailing across the island under President Didier Ratsiraka's socialist Second Republic. The young musician was molded by his impoverished background, instilling in him a concern for the struggles of the Malagasy lower classes and motivating him to rise above his family's humble origins. Favorably impressed by policies of the president's AREMA party that provided scholarships and other benefits to underprivileged youth members, Rahasimanana became an early and enduring supporter of the party and its president.

King of tapolaka

Following his first overseas concerts in Germany in 1983, Rossy's popularity continued to grow both nationally and overseas. He performed abroad in such countries as the United States, France, Japan, Russia, England and Canada. These performances allowed Rossy to become the first Malagasy artist to introduce European audiences in Berlin and Paris to the genre of salegy, although Jaojoby would go on to promote the genre much more widely and successfully. Rossy's open and enthusiastic support for Ratsiraka throughout his presidency assured Rossy's band regular performances in association with presidential functions, and his band came to define the Ratsiraka era for many.

He recorded his 1991 album Island of Ghosts at Peter Gabriel's Real World Studios in England. The following year he toured Europe with Rakoto Frah, an elderly master of the traditional sodina flute. His 1994 release, Bal kabosy, was a massive success in Madagascar and led Radio France International to award him a trophy, declaring him "The best ambassador of Malagasy music".

In 2001 he was named by Ratsiraka to the cabinet position of Cultural Adviser.

Exile to France

During the course of the 2001 campaign a conflict arose between Rossy and the opposition candidate, then-mayor of Antananarivo Marc Ravalomanana, which manifested in such indirect ways as the ostracism of Rossy's bodyguards by influential Ravalomanana supporters. Rossy chose to spend time in France to allow the political standoff to run its course. When Ravalomanana was ultimately declared the winner of the election, Rossy anticipated a further deterioration in his relations with the new political, social and economic leaders of the capital, and made the decision to remain with his family in France until the situation improved. He was to remain six years in France without returning home to Madagascar. Minister of Culture Patrick Ramiaramanana (2007–08) attempted to prohibit Rossy from holding concerts in Madagascar. Despite the friction between Rossy and Ravalomanana, Ramiaramanana's efforts were condemned by the president, who relieved the minister of his post.

During Rossy's self-exile in France, he continued to focus on projects that broadened his artistic abilities. He contributed to the album Vie Sauvage by French artist Antoine, and performed a concert in 2003 with Blankass, a French rock group.

Return to Madagascar

In 2008 Rossy returned to Madagascar, giving a series of concerts at Mahamasina Stadium in Antananarivo. These concerts were wildly successful; the first sold over 35,000 tickets, a number that in 2013 remained unsurpassed by any other Malagasy artist. He currently lives in Antananarivo with his family and gives regular performances. In addition, he serves as cultural adviser to the administration of Andry Rajoelina, current interim head of state for the High Transitional Authority following the 2009 Malagasy political crisis that removed Ravalomanana from power.

Style and influences

Rossy's style draws its influences from musical genres across the island of Madagascar, including salegy, kwassa-kwassa, hira gasy, and vakisôva, as well as foreign genres ranging from reggae and soukous to pop and rock. The instrumentation of a typical Rossy song combines electric bass guitar and drum kit with a variety of Malagasy musical elements, most commonly including the brass section of a hira gasy troupe, an amplified kabosy guitar, accordion, folk instruments like the valiha or marovany, and traditional hand-clapping rhythms prominent in such local genres as salegy and vakisôva. Rossy and 1970s Malagasy folk rock supergroup Mahaleo were the first mainstream artists to integrate the kabosy into contemporary Malagasy pop music.

The accordion is Rossy's preferred instrument and the one he most often plays himself during live performances. He is also skilled in the sodina flute, guitar and valiha.

Like many other urban youth growing up in the working-class neighborhoods of Antananarivo, Rossy casually improvised with his friends to create songs in the vakisôva genre. This contemporary Malagasy musical genre is characterized by politically and socially incisive lyrics delivered a capella in a rhythmic, rap-like style over complex hand-clapping beats. Long after vakisôva performance launched his career, Rossy continued to draw upon its rhythms and sensibilities as a vehicle for expressing bold political and social critique while capitalizing on the genre's dance-inducing entertainment value. As a consequence, by the time he had achieved national popularity under his stage name Rossy in the early 1990s, he had developed a reputation for speaking truth to power and being unafraid to address sensitive issues through his music. Many of Rossy's songs raise awareness of such issues as environmental degradation and poor governance.

Other activities

The Studio Pro recording studio was established by Rossy in Antananarivo to improve the quality of locally produced musical recordings, as well as to provide local artists with greater access to low-cost recording facilities. The studio's low-cost, high quality recording capability has enabled artists with limited capital, such as the hira gasy troupe Ramilison Fenoarivo, to record and distribute their work to commercial success.

Rossy has also worked to promote Malagasy music by organizing numerous concerts, music festivals and dance events showcasing the diverse musical traditions of the island.

In November 2012, Rossy opened Le Toit de la culture, a center for the promotion of traditional Malagasy cultural arts. Located in a building in the Mahamasina Stadium complex, the center hosts regular arts events and houses a school for Malagasy accordion performance.