Maron, Jako: The Electro Maloya Experiments Of Jako Maron (red) LP

When first released on limited edition tape in 2018, "Les Experience Electro Maloya" was the first ever compilation of Jako Maron's plugged-in updates of the traditional, politicized form of folk music from Réunion. Like séga, Réunion's other main musical style, Maloya's origins can be traced back to African slaves and indentured Indian workers. But unlike séga, Maloya's stripped down drum 'n' bow rhythms and call-and-response vocals, which were originally used as ritual mediations as far back as the 17th century., have become a form of protest music favoured by the island's creole population in the 1900s, leading it to be banned during the 1970s because of its associations with the Communist party. Jako Maron's electro Maloya instrumentals are perhaps less explicitly politicised, yet they still carry the charge of eons of encrypted ritual thru their geometric designs and inexorable dancefloor traction. In 11 parts, Maron uses modular synthesis and drum machines to mutate and relay Maloya's meaning for the island modern indigenous population as well as users far beyond the island. This new vinyl edition includes four previously unreleased tracks from the same period.