Tarika [extended]

• Fanafody [Xenophile, 1992] A-
• Balance [Green Linnet, 1994]
• 10: Beasts, Ghosts & Dancing With History [Triloka/Artemis, 2004] A-

See Also:

• Tarika Sammy

Consumer Guide Reviews:

Tarika Sammy: Fanafody [Xenophile, 1992]
In concert, these two women and two men from Madagascar left me nauseous with memories of Peter, Paul & Mary--made me suspect that their profusion of lively rhythms and lovely melodies could be nothing more than the market-ready "folk music" of the planet's largest one-world theme park. On record, however, the fine Afro-Asian tunes and sonorities overcome--with a crucial guest boost from two Mustaphas two on Afro-American bass and drums. A-

Tarika Sammy: Balance [Green Linnet, 1994]

10: Beasts, Ghosts & Dancing With History [Triloka/Artemis, 2004]
Like so many folkies, Hanitra Rasoanaivo and her sister Noro Raharimalala are too damn nice and too damn sophisticated. But because they're so damn talented, they're also idealists sitting on a gold mine--Madagascar's rich, isolated, heterogeneous Afro-Asian music culture, which they absorbed entertaining their 90-strong Merina family well before they made it into college. They have plenty of intellectual ambition--their Son Egal and Soul Makassar tackle Madagascar's defeat by French-led Senegalese troops and its strong Indonesian strain, respectively. But this decade-marking retrospective of tuneful hits and apt remixes is just easy to like, a gratifying achievement for a band that's often too ingratiating. A-