Biography
From: http://www.raziasaid.com/MAGIC/Singer and songwriter Razia Said’s nomadic life has
taken her across Africa to , Italy, Ibiza, Bali and New York City,
but despite these wanderings, her heart and soul remains inexorably
tethered to Madagascar, the land of her birth. Her musical explorations
have also been wide ranging, and over the years Razia has experimented
with French chanson, rock, jazz and even smooth, Sade-style R&B. But
it took reaching back to her cultural roots for Razia to uncover her
true artistic calling as one of African music’s most promising talents.
With the album Zebu Nation, Razia has created
an inspiring collection of songs that draw deeply on the music she heard
growing up in the town of Antalaha in northeastern Madagascar. The
source for the world’s most prized Bourbon vanilla, Antalaha is one of
Madagascar’s wealthiest communities, although there remains a great gap
between rich and poor. Razia was born on December 1, 1959 when her
mother was just a teenager and not yet ready for the role of parenting.
To diffuse the scandal, her mother was sent to the Comores Islands and
Razia’s grandparents raised her in a bustling household filled with
relatives. Razia first heard the infectious rhythms of local salegy
music blasting out of the town’s ubiquitous radios. It was one of
Razia’s older uncles that first introduced her to French music as well
as The Beatles, James Brown, Jimi Hendrix and other Western stars. Her
uncle even invited her to sing the latest French pop songs on stage with
his band when she was just ten years old.
Believing that her grandparents were her parents, Razia was in for a
shock when she learned at age eleven that “Aunt Hassanatte” who
regularly visited from the Comores was actually her mother. In fact, by
that time Razia’s real mother had married a French architect and wanted
Razia to them in the West African country of Gabon. Suddenly, Razia
was uprooted from the world she knew and traveled on an epic journey
through Dar Es Salaam, across the Congo River to a new life and family.
In Gabon, Razia discovered that the local church had a choir, but one
had to be Catholic to , and Razia was raised a Muslim. Music was far
more important to her then the details of which God she prayed to, so
she begged her mother to allow her to convert…which she did. Razia was
also exposed to the funky grooves of Fela, Pierre Akendengue, Papa Wemba
and other African artists who were popular in Gabon at the time.
After three years in Gabon, Razia was sent to boarding school in
southern , where she first started learning to play guitar.
Seeking economic stability, Razia received her doctorate in Pharmacology
and moved to Paris. But her ion remained with the arts, and in
Paris, Razia made a living through modeling, acting and occasional music
gigs. In 1987, Razia moved with a lover to New York City, and they
worked odd jobs in order to earn enough money to spend three months a
year living in Bali, Indonesia. Over the years, Razia also lived in
Ibiza and Milan, working as a stylist, an actor and in fashion,
struggling all the while to find her own musical direction.
Eventually, Razia met and married Jamie Ambler, a musician, filmmaker
and advertising creative director, and he worked with her to record her
first album. While Razia was happy to have gotten some of her songs
recorded, the pop-oriented, English-language R&B and jazz direction
left her unfulfilled. Razia had been traveling often to visit her family
in Madagascar, and after she had a chance meeting with of
Njava, one of the country’s best bands, she decided that she needed to
record songs in the Malagasy language and inspired by the rhythms,
melodies and instruments she fell in love with as a young child.
Thus began the long and challenging process of recording Zebu Nation.
Work began in 2006 In Belgium, where Njava was based, but Razia felt
that the only way to truly capture the sound she was looking for was to
bring the producers to Madagascar to record with local musicians in the
right setting. For six weeks, they traveled around the island, and
discovered along the way the environmental damage taking place as the
result of unfettered slash and burn agriculture and climate change.
Razia’s longing to protect and preserve the environmental and cultural
heritage of her homeland permeates the songs on the album, and gives Zebu Nation a powerful, real-world significance.
But even after the trip to Madagascar, there was much work to be done to finish Zebu Nation,
and Razia and Jamie spent the next couple of years working with a range
of producers and musicians, such as Malagasy guitarist Dozzy Njava,
accordionist Regis Gizavo and a number of top New York-based musicians
to craft an album that captured Razia’s particular musical vision.
Thanks to an intense attention to detail, strong sense of style and
unwavering devotion to the craft of Malagasy music, Razia created an
exceptional album that will surely catapult her to great international
renown. While it has taken her many years and life detours before she
arrived at this musical destination, with Zebu Nation, Razia Said has finally returned home.
taken her across Africa to , Italy, Ibiza, Bali and New York City,
but despite these wanderings, her heart and soul remains inexorably
tethered to Madagascar, the land of her birth. Her musical explorations
have also been wide ranging, and over the years Razia has experimented
with French chanson, rock, jazz and even smooth, Sade-style R&B. But
it took reaching back to her cultural roots for Razia to uncover her
true artistic calling as one of African music’s most promising talents.
With the album Zebu Nation, Razia has created
an inspiring collection of songs that draw deeply on the music she heard
growing up in the town of Antalaha in northeastern Madagascar. The
source for the world’s most prized Bourbon vanilla, Antalaha is one of
Madagascar’s wealthiest communities, although there remains a great gap
between rich and poor. Razia was born on December 1, 1959 when her
mother was just a teenager and not yet ready for the role of parenting.
To diffuse the scandal, her mother was sent to the Comores Islands and
Razia’s grandparents raised her in a bustling household filled with
relatives. Razia first heard the infectious rhythms of local salegy
music blasting out of the town’s ubiquitous radios. It was one of
Razia’s older uncles that first introduced her to French music as well
as The Beatles, James Brown, Jimi Hendrix and other Western stars. Her
uncle even invited her to sing the latest French pop songs on stage with
his band when she was just ten years old.
Believing that her grandparents were her parents, Razia was in for a
shock when she learned at age eleven that “Aunt Hassanatte” who
regularly visited from the Comores was actually her mother. In fact, by
that time Razia’s real mother had married a French architect and wanted
Razia to them in the West African country of Gabon. Suddenly, Razia
was uprooted from the world she knew and traveled on an epic journey
through Dar Es Salaam, across the Congo River to a new life and family.
In Gabon, Razia discovered that the local church had a choir, but one
had to be Catholic to , and Razia was raised a Muslim. Music was far
more important to her then the details of which God she prayed to, so
she begged her mother to allow her to convert…which she did. Razia was
also exposed to the funky grooves of Fela, Pierre Akendengue, Papa Wemba
and other African artists who were popular in Gabon at the time.
After three years in Gabon, Razia was sent to boarding school in
southern , where she first started learning to play guitar.
Seeking economic stability, Razia received her doctorate in Pharmacology
and moved to Paris. But her ion remained with the arts, and in
Paris, Razia made a living through modeling, acting and occasional music
gigs. In 1987, Razia moved with a lover to New York City, and they
worked odd jobs in order to earn enough money to spend three months a
year living in Bali, Indonesia. Over the years, Razia also lived in
Ibiza and Milan, working as a stylist, an actor and in fashion,
struggling all the while to find her own musical direction.
Eventually, Razia met and married Jamie Ambler, a musician, filmmaker
and advertising creative director, and he worked with her to record her
first album. While Razia was happy to have gotten some of her songs
recorded, the pop-oriented, English-language R&B and jazz direction
left her unfulfilled. Razia had been traveling often to visit her family
in Madagascar, and after she had a chance meeting with of
Njava, one of the country’s best bands, she decided that she needed to
record songs in the Malagasy language and inspired by the rhythms,
melodies and instruments she fell in love with as a young child.
Thus began the long and challenging process of recording Zebu Nation.
Work began in 2006 In Belgium, where Njava was based, but Razia felt
that the only way to truly capture the sound she was looking for was to
bring the producers to Madagascar to record with local musicians in the
right setting. For six weeks, they traveled around the island, and
discovered along the way the environmental damage taking place as the
result of unfettered slash and burn agriculture and climate change.
Razia’s longing to protect and preserve the environmental and cultural
heritage of her homeland permeates the songs on the album, and gives Zebu Nation a powerful, real-world significance.
But even after the trip to Madagascar, there was much work to be done to finish Zebu Nation,
and Razia and Jamie spent the next couple of years working with a range
of producers and musicians, such as Malagasy guitarist Dozzy Njava,
accordionist Regis Gizavo and a number of top New York-based musicians
to craft an album that captured Razia’s particular musical vision.
Thanks to an intense attention to detail, strong sense of style and
unwavering devotion to the craft of Malagasy music, Razia created an
exceptional album that will surely catapult her to great international
renown. While it has taken her many years and life detours before she
arrived at this musical destination, with Zebu Nation, Razia Said has finally returned home.