The Pôle Régional des Musiques Actuelles  of Réunion has pursued since 1997, among other projects, work relating to the musical heritage of Réunion and other islands in the south western Indian Ocean (Mauritius, Rodriguez, the Chagos Archipelago…).

Other than field recordings carried out by ethnomusicologists, allowing for the evaluation of the vitality of traditional musical practices on the various islands of the area, the PRMA has strived, since its inception, to restore and return to the public at large the works of artists that have passed into obscurity or have been forgotten by the commercial establishment, but artists who have nonetheless left an historical impression on the local music scene. Thus out of concern for the preservation and worth of these artists was created the Takamba label, dedicated specifically to this musical heritage.

The albums of this label being destined to the preservation of sonic history, each of them is accompanied by extensive liner notes, giving a maximum of information (lyrics and translations, biography, social context, notes on history and style, instrumentation) and illustrations (archival photos, album sleeves, musical scores) for those interested. When the restitution of original vinyl recordings (78, 45 and 33 RPM) or other archaic media is in question in order to permit listeners to discover or re-discover these original recordings (that have become unobtainable or inaudible), these are restored solely with the aim of eliminating scratches due to frequent use, with particular attention paid maintain historical sonic integrity.

Through concern for authenticity, but also by respect for practices and beliefs associated with the given repertoires, live recordings, for their part, are made of the familiar environment of the musicians in order to remain true to the spontaneity of the performance context as opposed to that of the studio with its technical limitations.

 

1 : Jointly created in 1997 by the Réunion Régional Council and the French Ministry of Culture, the Pôle Régional des Musiques Actuelles de La Réunion conducts musical development by means of four main domains: training, information, exportation and heritage.

The label