DÕGary, in his ownwords
From AfroPop WorldwidewebsiteÉÉ
This interview was made byBanning Eyre from AfroPop Worldwide, an Internet based music and radio
Ernest Randrianasolo,a.k.a. D'Gary
"I come from the southof Madagascar. My father was a gendarme. I was in the town of Tulear during myyouth. In Tulear, you can find guitars to fool around with in the neighborhood.Before, the popular music in Tulear was blues, pop music, mixed withtraditional music. For that, you would find groups that played dances with oneguitar, bass and drums, because before it was blues and pop music mostly. Therewere no proper guitars, no guitar strings. You tried to manage. It depended onyou. If you really love music, you find a way."
"After my father died in1978, I returned to my village, Betroka. This was the first time I found myentire family, among the Bara. It's our Bara custom that when there is a death,there are ceremonies in the family. We call all the distant family. We call thepeople who know the traditional music of the Bara. It was the first time that Ihad seen people playing the Malagasy violin, the valiha, the accordion. Acapella singing. Dancing. When someone dies, the Bara musicians who sing arelike people crying. Even among us, all the people, when they cry, it soundslike people singing. It's the same. The people who cry and the people who singthere--it's the same melody."
"In Tulear, I played themusical style of Tulear, the pecto--because before there wasn't yet tsapika--Iplayed tsapika and other things. But after I went to Betroka, suddenly Ichanged because I loved these melancholy melodies."
"The Bara kabosy is notlike the Tulear kabosy--the 'mandolin.' There just one person plays on fivestrings. In open (tuning). There you find the accordion, singing, percussion,flute. But I didn't know these traditional instrumentsÉ
After Betroka, I came here toAntananarivo to prepare the pension papers for my mother. It was here thatpeople found me playing with musicians, looking for money. I was a mercenary(ed note: freelancer). That's the story. A friend in Tamotave cared for me. Heloaned me a Takamini guitar. I never had a guitar before that."
"During 1980, right upto 1987, I was a mercenary (ed note: freelancer). I played dances. Above all, Iplayed electric guitar, all the styles of Madagascar. EverythingÉ People didn'tknow me. Because me, I hid everything away. Because each time we made a touraround different parts of Madagascar, I took advantage of the time alone in myroom, to work. I tried to do all these things that were sounding in my head.Even when I was walking around, I was hearing flute melodies, kabosy melodies,accordion, a capella. These made me find the open tunings. But nobody found me.If somebody came, I wouldn't play. Ébecause it wasn't yet ready. It wasn'treally good yet. My thing is not easy. It's very difficult."
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"I did a thing withDiscomad. It's Studio Mars now. During the time I was being a mercenary (ednote: freelancer), I made some recordings there, just two songs. In 1991, I wastouring with a group here in the north of Madagascar. That was when I receiveda message: 'Come back to Antananarivo. There are some Americans who are lookingfor you. You must come quickly.' It was David Lindley with Henry Kaiser."
"Before, I always usedstandard tuning. And I used a pick. I listened and I tried to interpret. Thatwas in my youth. After I began to discover the music of the Bara, among us, Ibegan to play with my fingers. It depends on your research. Since I was playingwith a pick, it didn't work, because there are melodies from, say, themarovany, or the accordion. With the pick, it was a bit bizarre. I needed to bepicking. With thumb and index. Sometimes I play with three fingersÉ Sometimesmy tunings are a bit bizarre. [LAUGHS]"
"The name of my style is'Gofo.' Since I began to do research with the guitar, everything has been inthe heart. That's where it begins. If I don't like something, that's as far asit goes. Because you see that the culture here is not like in foreign placeswhere it can just be shown like that. Here, the tradition is always at theside. People who live in the countryside always respect their culture, but inthe country as a whole, culture is always kept aside. So GOFO is 'Government'and Fo "in my heart." That is to say that I am independent. There isno need to find a minister of culture here. That's Gofo. Freedom. Every time Iplay the guitar, there are lots of open strings. That's freedom. That's Gofo.Sometimes I play very fast things. That's gofo. That's why, right away, I foundmy way to adapt the sound of the marovany on guitar. For me, it was no problem.Now it's the other way around. All the songs on my records--the marovanyplayers in Tulear are taking my things and playing them. It's good. It'sgood."
"My new album will becoming out soon. 'Akata Meso.' That means 'green grass.' There are fourinstrumentals and the rest have singing. I am trying to mix things up a bit.Our rhythms, above all, the Bara rhythms. Because in the south of Madagascar, thereare many ethnic groups, and each one has its own things. In the past, I'vealready done the rhythms of the south of Madagascar, but now, I'm doingsomething else. I keep the rhythms, but I mix in things from rock or evenAmerican music. But that's what we call the wrapping."
Contributed by: Banning Eyre