Muzik'Apat!!!

Ho yeah! Et c’est lors d’une petite fin de semaine d’octobre, le lendemain d’un party à la Fac des Sciences des plus habituels, accompagné d’un mal de tête prononcé, d’un croissant et d’un thé glacé à la menthe qu’à commencer un des plus beaux moments de mon expérience réunionnaise… le festival de Muzik’Apat!!

Voici un petit texte en anglais racontant ce moment inoubliable. Enjoy!!

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Friday morning... It’s a sunny day and I am in a sunny state of mind... two quite normal things for this small island lost in the Indian Ocean between Africa and nowhere.

I woke up about 15 minutes ago. I’m drinking my tea, peacefully smiling... wondering about home... about friends, family, and all the things that I left behind to come here and live... I don’t know why I’m thinking about all those far away “things” now; I am happy here, I have more than I ever asked for...

There’s a woman’s voice coming out of my laptop, singing “There's where I come from and where I'm going…and I am lost in between...”. Well, I guess there’s some kind of universal truth in those simple words...

Anyway!

Today is the time to leave!!
Time to live and wonder around!!

We’re all in a great mood, our hearts and minds are wide open to this island and to all the magics of the Creole universe… but each human being have a quite personal way to physically live his openness. Our group is, a this very moment, a curious example of that random observation. Two persons are sleeping; another is driving... And I, I am sinking myself into the luxurious greens, wild cascades and intimidating mountains surrounding our sleepy little car!

“How can they be sleeping??” I’m asking myself.

I simply can’t! I can’t even feel my brain at the moment from all the lack of sleep, direct consequence of the frantic and energetic rhythm of the life here, in the middle of the ocean ... but it doesn’t matter, that weighty organ is not in control of my body and soul anymore... My eyes have overthrown it and they don’t want to hear anything about shutting down... they want to see the unknown... see new landscapes, see new roads, see new people!!

I didn’t sleep during those 3 hours of incredibly slow teleportation... I stayed awake the whole trip.
I didn’t talk either... My eyes were too wide open for my mouth to do the same...

We’re all getting out of the car now. Some faster than others… A half asleep man has a really distinct way of getting out of a car, trust me...

After a passive morning, this afternoon is the time to move!
Time to walk now!
Time for the Musik’Apat Festival!

Now!


As we are walking in this untamed heaven, my curious mind wonders about the festival.
The Musik Apat is a totally free in every sense of the word Reggae festival in the middle of Mafate, the only caldera on Reunion (out of three) accessible only by foot. It’s one of the most gorgeous places ever!

Though I don’t know a lot of things about what’s waiting for me there, my whole body and soul are filling their selves with energetic curiosity. The more I walk, the more I feel this powerful feeling.

And suddenly, after all that walking meditation, the festival offers itself to us!

My eyes are filled with wonders and graces. My eyelids are still in a constant crusade against gravity... they just don’t want to close themselves!

And the festival reveals itself as a real working utopia… Just Imagine: an absolutely free gig organized by volunteers who really love music with all their heart, there is no publicity or anything close to it… the stage is built with bamboo sticks, there is a small stand selling really cheap and delicious homemade food… I don’t know... that feast for the soul seems to be a blessing from above. Some kind of sacred gift offered to the people of the island for all the pain they have been through.

We - a French teacher at University, a German student, a Canadian biologist and I - had, like everybody else - even the musicians - to walk 4 hours to get to Aurère, a small village of 15 families on the top of a small mountain. This isolated community is gladly welcoming the 2000 music-lovers who came here to plant their tents and enjoy some really good Reggae music! Well, it’s not really Reggae, it is more a mix of Maloya - a Reunion genre of music based on a 3 time musical structure and inspired by the music played by the slaves not so long ago - and some good old roots reggae… Whatever, it sounds great! It is exquisite and happy and moving and peaceful... all at the same time!

The night here is such an appealing experience! The groups are coming on stage, grooving and leaving… one after the other. With only three minutes between each of them. Where else on earth can you see that kind of efficiency!?!

But there is much more than the music tonight… Everybody’s walking through an air filled with a kind and peaceful vibe... All the “locals” are making big fires on the side of each trails… We can see all the yellow and red spots of light. They’ll be spending all night sitting around them, signing, playing music, drinking coffee, smoking zamal and cooking delicious food… The local culture here is all about that... cooking food, really slowly, on a nice fire while playing music, signing and sharing joints…

- Next Day -

It’s about 1 o’clock and I’m sitting on a rock in the middle of a majestic cascade!! I swam in the cold and clear water for about an hour. My muscles are all tense and my skin is warm from the sun rays... What a feeling!! There’s a friendly wind slowly drying my body already overwhelmed by all those flavours. Yesterday left some great memories to all the sensitive parts of my body.

My friends and I walked here this morning, after climbing a tree to get some blackberries for our breakfast, to enjoy a little bit of freshness… We’re hanging with some people here, in the middle of 2 gigantic cliffs, talking about the music scene of the island. And what a music scene it is!! Original and genuine music, good beats and an attitude that say “life’s a bitch, but what do you want, I’m still in love with it”!!

The “Reggae and Maloya” musical movement is really something, here… And it’s quite one of the kind too… That underground flow is inspired by, of course, the Rastafarian philosophies of Jamaica and by some local ponderings too... like all the philosophies and believes surrounding the “Highlands” here…

The “Highlands” were the place where all the colons (French or else…) and the slaves came to be “out of reach” of the Metropolis power… It was the place where people of different colours, religions, origins, learned to live in a self-sustaining way and in harmony. That historical fact had been idealized and is now an eminent inspiration for all the alternative culture.

This movement is quite stimulating… A lot of kids and young adults, even a bunch of oldies, are into it with all their heart and soul… It’s giving some kind of a way, some kind of a voice to a lot of people who felt like nobody cared about them… it’s helping many young kids through their hard years… And the kids that succeed in the “business”, are founding a couple of music studios in the poorest neighbourhoods of the island to give some kind of support to the new generation… The spirit of that culture is all about peace, music, helping others, having fun in the forest and around a fire and don’t giving any kind of shit about the Big man…

I just can wait for tonight!



I’m leaving everybody in order to do a small nap.
Tonight I will be a part of Reunion. I will sing, dance and live the Musik’Apat spirit!!
Once again…