Biography
Tarika Sammy emerged during the 1990s as the leading Malagasy ensemble to reach audiences far beyond the island’s shores. The musicians refreshed longstanding local and regional traditions through energetic reinterpretations, framing them in robust ensemble settings that avoided glossy production values while blending zithers and hand drums with contemporary instruments. Their lyrics addressed present-day realities, ranging from drought and armed cattle theft to the workings of the national transport network. Listeners were drawn above all to the fluid, harmonious voices of the two sisters who handled the bulk of the lead singing.
Samoela Andriamalalaharijaona assembled the original Tarika Sammy in Antananarivo, Madagascar’s capital, during 1983. Membership shifted frequently in the early years, with various iterations contributing tracks to anthologies, until 1991. That year Tina Norosoa Raharimalala and her sister Hanitra entered the lineup as vocalists on the recommendation of Ian Anderson, the veteran British folk and roots advocate known as editor of Folk Roots and as a BBC broadcaster, who later married Hanitra. Following several favorably received releases, Samoela Andriamalalaharijaona’s exit in the mid-1990s prompted the group to shorten its name to Tarika.
Samoela Andriamalalaharijaona assembled the original Tarika Sammy in Antananarivo, Madagascar’s capital, during 1983. Membership shifted frequently in the early years, with various iterations contributing tracks to anthologies, until 1991. That year Tina Norosoa Raharimalala and her sister Hanitra entered the lineup as vocalists on the recommendation of Ian Anderson, the veteran British folk and roots advocate known as editor of Folk Roots and as a BBC broadcaster, who later married Hanitra. Following several favorably received releases, Samoela Andriamalalaharijaona’s exit in the mid-1990s prompted the group to shorten its name to Tarika.
Albums