She is beautiful, harmonious; abound in images, full of stories and wounds, painful and loving cries. The "she" refers to the Creole language. For nearly thirty years, he has embraced it and lied on music to enliven it here and far from the borders of Réunion Island. He is Gilbert Pounia, the charismatic leader of the band Ziskakan. A zoom on a real atypical career path.

Everything starts from an act of resistance in the 70s and 80s, when the maloya was still shelved, muzzled and the Creole had a poor reputation. The Ziskakan association was born to struggle for the artistic world with formidable weapons: words, music, poetry and drama...In a way, it was a squat of artists before time. This struggle welcomes all types of goodwill: think and especially talk and sing in Creole. It's then that the Ziskakan association gave birth to the music band Ziskakan.

Gilbert Pounia, the soul of Ziskakan

It's been almost thirty years since Ziskakan has existed. The musicians come and leave, but the singer, Gilbert Pounia remains the soul of the band. He is the driving force and energy. The humanist poet is one of the best ambassadors to transmit the values of our island. He went round the world coupled with success in Africa, United States, Canada and Europe. Over ten or so albums in Creole follow after the other -- always with a captivating and mind blowing voice, accompanied with traditional instruments. The contemporary maloya of Gilbert Pounia is a struggle, like its origin but it is tinged with sweetness and poetry.

A mosaic album

The last album of the band, Banjara is a solar one originally from a trip to India where our singer is native of. He blends the songs from over there with oriental sounds, rhythms and instruments from the Northern Africa. The band is always looking for novelties, new sounds and new talents along with the desire to help and propel the young Réunionese on stage. Today, Ziskakan is working on its new album and offers us a few new pieces on the 14^th March at the Petit Badamier. Don't miss out.

Text: Florence Merlen
Photos : Ziskakan