Madagascar, SA, Swiss project touring Southern Africa

The musical partnership between SA Roy and The Forest Jam was born out of a 2015 gathering of local and international musicians in Madagascar. SA Roy is made up of Soaraza Patrice Thomas, Ando Pra and Damy Sinaotsy, while The Forest Jam Band comprises Swiss musicians Fabio Meier and Matthias Abächerli as well as South Africa’s Lerato Lichaba. The project will be supported by South African band Urban Village Music, which Lichaba fronts, and KwaMashu-born artist Madala Kunene.

The Forest Jam Band musical director Abächerli said the collaboration brought shared experiences out of the musicians. “The experience of our 2015 Forest Jam gathering with local musicians in Madagascar was very special, as we, participating musicians, quickly found our common denominator,” he said.

Abächerli, who is also a bassists, producer and violinist, said that despite differences between the music of Madagascar and South Africa, the musicians managed to find common ground relatively quickly.

“Although the music of Madagascar and South Africa have its own idiosyncrasies – or perhaps because of it – we experienced a very special atmosphere of musical collaborators,” he said. “The magic that unfolded during our six weeks of work with SA Roy prompted us to record their debut album Pelakolo and to form an international group to tour Southern Africa in 2017.”

The group has already played at Alliance Francaise Pretoria, Maputo Centre Culturel Franco­-Mozambicain and Alliance Francaise Durban as part of their Francophonie Tour.

The remaining shows will be held at:

• Afrikan Freedom Station, Johannesburg – 31 March
• Mogodu NE Jazz, Johannesburg – 3 April
• His & Hers Johannesburg Hive – 6 April
• U­space, Pretoria – 8 April
• The Orbit, Johannesburg – 11 April
• House of Jazz – 15 April
• Michaelhouse Festival, Balgowan – 28 April
• Rainbow Restaurant, Pinetown – 30 April
• Harare International Festival of the Arts (HIFA) Harare Zimbabwe – 5 May
• UKZN Jazz Centre, Durban – 16 May.
• Azgo Festival, Maputo – 25 May
• Bushfire Festival, Swaziland – 26 May
• Zakifo Festival, Durban – 27 May

The Francophonie Tour is supported by Switzerland's Federal Department of Foreign Affairs and hosted by the Alliance Franccaise network. The tour is mainly funded by the Swiss Arts Council Pro Helvetia with additional support from its ANT Project financed through the Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation (SDC). The Goethe Centre CGM in Antananarivo (Cercle Germano­Malagasy) also assisted with financial and logistical support.