When you come from something that is usually dubbed as “mixed background,” and you are an artist/music creator, that can be a creative opportunity to come up with something that doesn’t necessarily take a standard, well-beaten path. Of course, it all depends on your ability to fuse different elements you are connected with and present them as something new and inventive.
That is where we come to Anglo-Mauritian vocalist, producer and musician Reginald Omas Mamode IV, and his latest album Rivière Noire. That Rivière Noire, or Black River for those not too familiar with the French language, refers to, as Mamode’s PR notes, “the predominant ‘Creole’ district of the island of Mauritius, holds the history of the enslaved mainland African Diaspora. Rivière Noire ‘Black River’ more widely symbolises the ever-flowing, intuitive and life-giving contribution of the African diaspora to global culture”.
Transferring something that written down might sound as a lofty goal into music can be a complicated task that could lead to a disaster if you don’t have a crystal clear idea that you are able to present in a best possible manner, but Mamode tackles such a complex concept by making an easily floating balance between his dual background, fusing all the sounds of that emanated from Africa, whether they came directly from the continent itself or they stem from the heritage of African music created on other continents whether it is blues, jazz, soul or something else.
Throughout, Mamode presents the inventiveness of somebody like Tricky when he is fully focused on creating music, by using all his knowledge and musical background without overthinking or complicating things, giving his music here that natural flow any river has.
