Idantite by Zilwala

Idantite is the first studio-album produced and performed by the Mauritian band Zilwala. The 9-track album stems from inspirations, legacies, people and countless creative moments spent by the musicians.

Most of the songs are socially-committed ones; essentially narrating the Mauritian reality in terms of mindset, on Pran Kont Zenes, Destin and Fos Profet; and also in tribute to our ancestors, as on Cilaos, that suffered and endured for a future they envisioned, a future in which we are harvesting what they’ve sown. The musicians made their art while devoting their chords and rhythms to resound in such aspects of our past and present.

Idantite is dedicated in being and living as a native of our little island; upholding the fact that whatever may arise, we are one as a nation and we, each and every, are all ‘Zilwa’. Also, this has been brought about with love and a collective endeavour by Zilwala in hailing the typical seggae genre, as played and left to us by its late founder Joseph Reginald Topize (Kaya), with an instrumental evolution and the contribution to contemporary culture as a whole. Fevrier 99 and Seggae mo Lamizik are both tributes to the late seggae pioneer and founder, Kaya.

The Keystone behind this album is the collective synergy and shared creative-discipline among the band-members, promoting forward thinking and movement; creating music, as a group of synchronised zilwa working as one.

The album consists of a confident songwriting and vocal that has been the extensive work of Didier Armel, musically known as Zion. On the instrumental backbone, Jimmy Serret and Jean Noël Sardes cover the bass and drums respectively and firmly. Defining the rhythms are Nicolas Duval a.k.a Ninjah on the lead guiar and Lionel Chelliah a.k.a Ti Punk executing the percussions. The arrangements and instrumental path of the album were curated by the expertise of Nicolas. And, to resound, lyrics were enhanced and emphasised by the backing vocals of Coralyne Cerdor.

Idantite is the first album release on Zanana Records, a recently-established music label representing and promoting Mauritius’ local music scene in respect of heritage and cultures. The album was recorded and mastered by Neil Combstock at The Studio; which along the music label, flows in the same vein of the electrocaïne collective.