Mayé

Indian Ocean, Quebec World Music

Biography :

Mayé provides an invitation to travel and escape to the fittingly blue seas around a group of Indian Ocean islands bearing the poetic name of the Mascarene archipelago.
In Réunion creole, Mayé means cross-bred or blended, a particularly suitable name for this Montreal-based group, consisting of seven members brought together by Numa, a football player, guitarist and singer already well installed on the Montreal musical landscape. All the members of Mayé joined from a desire to share their passion for séga and maloya, the traditional musical styles of Réunion. Maloya, a melody formerly reserved for Blacks and played in obscurity, enabled slaves to resist so as to exist. It spearheads the kabars (assemblies) on the December 20 holiday commemorating the abolition of slavery on the island in 1848.
Mayé carries this heritage proudly and is happy to enhance it with other sounds and other instruments. Their music is a well measured blend of traditional rhythms from Réunion, Mauritius and Madagascar, along with contemporary beats influenced by their presence in Quebec.
In the spring of 2009, the group made its first stage appearances, mostly in Montreal. Their fusion of séga and maloya with more western sounds is a gentle ointment for body and mind, to be used without moderation.