Lindigo is a love story for this dear pebble named Reunion Island, for its land where rhythm flows, its sky which offers dreams and its ocean which leads to the discovery of other worlds. This is a love story for music, this maloya which brings together ancestors and their grandchildren, who give men and women the strength of pure feelings, adventure and sharing. Lindigo is a generous communion, a celebration of present, past and future life. In 20 years this love has never ceased to strengthen, to enrich itself with meetings and new paths.
It all started in Paniandy, a poor neighbourhood of Bras-Panon, a small town in the east of the island. Olivier Araste, an early musician, grew up working on sandstone in the sugar cane fields where encouraging songs and the "Servis Kabaré" resound, these ceremonies in honor of the ancestors galvanized by the rhythm of maloya. At school, he was passionate about music lessons, at home he was stimulated by the example of his father, drummer and his brother musicians.
Reunion Island is a crossroads of cultures and the descendants of slaves, Venus from Africa, India or nearby islands, have preserved and then creolized their rituals, their languages and their music with European contributions. Olivier’s great grandfather came from Madagascar and the Malagasy culture will always have a special place in his music. He pays as much attention to caring for his roots as to cultivating his buds. He listens to the master musicians of the island as well as great artists of the world. His imagination is fueled by examples from Granmoun Lélé, Alain Peters or Rwa Kaf such as those of Fugees, Fela Kuti or Marley. On guitar, percussion, singing or accordion Olivier is involved in many local groups and joins a troupe of heritage dances and music. In 1999, he met his soul mate there, Lauriane Marceline, with whom he created Lindigo.
Around the couple, brothers and accomplices meet. Olivier continues to beat the drum in the « Servis Malabar » (Hindu) and the roulèr it in the « Servis Kabaré » or to play in less traditional formations, but Lindigo’s identity is refined. The name is that of a plant with refreshing properties like those of their maloya. First models (2003), first CD and first clip Misaotra Mama (2004), Lindigo seduces the public and the musicians they admire, local and international show operators are interested in them.
In 2006, their second album Zanatany was released. The impact is immediate, the song Kazanou goes on loop on local radio, they play in local festivals, tour in Madagascar, France and soon all around the world map.
In 2007, in Antananarivo, Lindigo saw a first musical creation. Their exchanges with the « Gasy Drums », made up of percussionists from different regions of the Big Island, immerse the group in the culture of Olivier's ancestors.
Their third album Lafrikindmada, which draws on this experience, was released in 2008 by Cobalt, a French label that notably supports the career of Danyel Waro.
In 2009, Lindigo crossed rhythms and songs with Gnawa musicians in Morocco and a project with the South African dancers of Via Katlehong was born. The same year, at the Sakifo festival, Olivier Araste meets Fixi, accordionist, member of the band nademed Java and great musical curious. Their universes resonate, their instinctive connivance will transform into lasting friendship.
In 2012, Fixi produced Maloya Power and boosted the group's sound and cohesion. The drums roulèr, pikèr and kayamb lead the dance with precision and the songs rise to the level of the sun. African, Brazilian instruments, winks to Afrobeat or dub perfume their music like new spices would offer their flavors to a new decay. Young people from Reunion enjoy it, Lindigo cooks the maloya of their generation.
With its motto "When you know where you come from, you know where you are going" Lindigo pursues travel, human sharing and musical exchanges. In Brazil, they mingle with samba musicians, in Europe, they go up on stage with the co-creator of the Afrobeat Tony Allen, the reggae crooner and accomplice of Fixi, Winston Mc Anuff or the electrifying saxophonist Guillaume Perret.
At their home in Painanda, they welcome many musicians, around ritual meals that naturally extend into music. Friendships are sealed; Joey Starr is not going to forget his passage to the hut; collaborations flourish, the Dutch musicians of Skip & Die, the french of Zoufris Marakas or the Argentinian cumbia singer La Yegros create new songs with Lindigo.
In 2015, Mi lé Sek Mi lé is an urgent and organic album recorded by Fixi in a courtyard in Sainte-Suzanne, in the presence of their families and friends.
The following year, Fixi, Olivier Araste and Cyril Attef, brilliant drummer of M, Bumcello or CongoPunk, offered a recreation with the Pachibaba project, which brings the energy of their joyful fusion to audiences.
In 2017, the group fly to Cuba where other sacred drums await them, the batas of the rumba group Los Muñequitos de Matanzas. The rhythms intersect, the Afro-Cuban ancestors and those of the Indian Ocean rejoice. Behind their cameras, Laurent Benhamou and Valentin Langlois testify to this happy collision for the film Ahi Na'ma, the first part of a series of documentaries, called Les Routes de Lindigo. Jori Collignon and Gino Bombrini from Skip & Die are also on the trip. They produce the album Komsa Gayar, in which the Cubans play on three songs, Fixi arranges a reggae there and Yarol Poupaud (FFF, Johnny Hallyday) puts his guitar on a blues where also sing one of the sons of Olivier and Lauriane and the great Danyel Waro.
In 2019, the year of their 20 years, Lindigo shines on all walks of life. Space Galvachers is the common playground for Clément Janinet, Clément Petit and Benjamin Flament. The three virtuosos, experienced with great stylistic differences, are respectively violinist, cellist and percussionist. They use modified instruments using mechanical, electroacoustic or electronic devices. Their creation Douce Transe could not dream of a better host than Olivier Araste, his smiling voice and his science of magic rhythms.
Another dazzling project is being set up: LiNDiGo CoNNeXioN. During the summer, Fixi, Yarol Poupaud, Jori Collignon and Gino Bombrini, but also the legendary Reunion accordionist René Lacaille or the explosive Angolan kuduro singer Pongo join the group for a handful of fiery concerts.
Lindigo's experiences over the years have been incredibly rich. Across the continents, the biggest festivals have welcomed them (Fuji Rock (Japan), New Orleans jazz fest (US), Womad (GB), Paléö (Switzerland)…). They learned a lot from the contacts of enlightened artists from a myriad of different musical practices. But at no time did Lindigo lose the essence of his music or break up spiritual contact with the ancestors or their island. Their songs La Kazanou, Buffalo, Domoun, Ahinama or Bondieuanou have become maloya standards that the crowds sing along. Lindigo knows how to receive but also knows how to give. They are the link between the generations. They give numerous speeches in schools and never hesitate to share their unique sound and their solar presence with other artists from Reunion Island.
Attentive for years to push unknown talents towards the light, Olivier formalizes this approach in 2017 through the project La Kazanou, he fights to have hidden treasures recognized, such as the living memory of the song of kabaré Eliard Ranggeh and helps young people musicians like Jairo, Karma or Flambola to strengthen themselves. He puts them in contact with professionals: turners, managers, journalists, invites them to sing during their concerts or produces their albums, like those of Heritaz Maloya or Etincel Maloya. In spring 2020, he will present the flagship of the La Kazanou collective at the Pan Piper in Paris.
Kosa Néna, the album that marks their 20th anniversary, has a power that owes nothing to them alone. Olivier Araste produced it, Lindigo musicians play all the roles. They sing their country Reunion, Madagascar and Africa, the earth and the sky, they bear witness to the pain of the poor and ecological threats, but also and above all to the strength of friendship and love. Their maloya is always that of the heart.