KOZÉ

In Reunionese Creole, “kozé” means “to speak, to communicate,” and that’s how this group spreads its island’s folk traditions. With roulèr, kayamb, piker and sati rhythms providing the tempo, Kosé’s music is 100% maloya: as wild and refreshing as the ocean, as dense and precious as the forest, as rugged and impetuous as a volcano! Inscribed on the Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity in 2009, maloya retains the memory and mixed heritage of slaves from the past as a kind of protest anthem, and its quasi-sacred aura means that it is much more than traditional songs, music and dance—it has become the island’s identity.