Modeste grew up in Betroka, a town in the central southern part of Madagascar. His full name is Modeste Hugues Randramahitasoa but he sticks to Hugues because it's shorter.Modeste writes: "The music I play is unique to the Betroka region of Madagascar where it's influenced by all the...
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Modeste grew up in Betroka, a town in the central southern part of Madagascar. His full name is Modeste Hugues Randramahitasoa but he sticks to Hugues because it's shorter.
Modeste writes: "The music I play is unique to the Betroka region of Madagascar where it's influenced by all the traditional sounds of the area together with some softer South African dance rhythms. Though my mother sings and an uncle of mine played the accordion, I didn't start to play until I was about 15 years old. A neighbour played the guitar and I loved the sounds so much that I borrowed his and taught myself. Then he moved away with his guitar so I built my own at the workshop in the local technical college where my father was a teacher. I had to use fishing line for string so it meant I had to hold it very close to hear the sound but I persevered even though it was probably totally out of tune.
"Around that time I got interested in other musical sounds especially those of the mervan, the traditional Malagasy instrument which is a box shape with 24 strings which you play like the West African kora. I also soaked in the sounds of the bush, the birds, whistling of the shepherds in the hills ... any sound that appealed to my senses, I tried to imitate on my home-made guitar.
"My brother, Zariny Albert, was also into music at the time and we played together at local celebrations. He even had a hit with the group, Zafison Karimbary but Zariny has passed on now. During that time, partly due to my father's encouragement, I took a degree in engineering and when I was 26, I left for Bulgaria where I got a U.N.E.S.C.O. scholarship to do a post-graduate in electronic engineering. Though I was busy with my studies, I always made time for music and would lead all the student celebrations. Then I met my wife whose Greek so we moved to Greece. I worked as an engineer but by the time we moved to London in 1996 I had decided that I wanted to pursue music because it is my first love. It's a pity my father is now dead. Though he was happy I completed my studies, I'm disappointed that he can't experience my music as it evolves now."
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