Alain Péters - Panier su la tête, ni chanté (1984)

Alain Péters is one of the best-kept secrets in the music scene of the Indian Ocean and beyond. He is an absolute icon of the traditional music of Reunion Island, the maloya.

His music is unique: a blend of Creole blues, maloya and international folk, it discretely takes hold of you and never leaves you.

Péters travelled through the 70s and the 80s like a shooting star, alone or with a band, with his Sahelian lute, his reel-to-reel tape recorder, firewater and ill-fated genius. He died in 1995, aged 43. Poet, musician, singer and melody-maker, he left behind a handful of sublime songs which are gathered here for the first time on vinyl. Full of dazzling beauty and sparkling darkness, his songs express the yearning homesickness of the Creoles’ highly sensitive wandering soul, at the crossroads of African, Indian and European cultures. Réunion (literally “the gathering”) is aptly named and over the course of his uncertain career, Péters continuously embodied the soul of this culturally hybrid land with a fusion of African instruments, Indian mysticism and European poetry.

This particular track, Panier su la tête, ni chanté (Basket on the head, not sung) is simply wonderful, pretty melody and great lyrics (translation below):

Guet’ mon joli bouquet, mon bon monsieur Na toute joli couleur ça qu’vi veut Lu transpire la rosée, gentille madame Moi la cueille à lu grand matin Brûlé Aide à moin pose panier

A vous-même va choisir

Mar’grites semb’ z’azalées

Après moin va partir

Faut mi remonte Brûlé

Ou qu’moin nana plein d’frères

Na un l’est p’tit bébé

Achète, madame, mi vendra pas cher

Mar’rits l’est blanc l’est frais, mon bon monsieur

Pour sûr qu’lu va’rrange bien vot salon

Ou bien prends z’azalées, gentille madame

S’ra un tit bouquet d’joie dans vot maison

Panier su la tête ni chanté

Achète l’est bon marché

Pas besoin prend à nous pou becqueurs d’clé

Faut ni gagne nout manger

Chapeaux, saisies, cocos

Dan’ pays-là fait chaud, missié, madame

Chapeaux, saisies, cocos

Moin la quitté la ville

Pou venir ici même

Epargne à nou la peine

Descend’ ou ça fait chaud

Mo vendé mon saisies

Mo vendé Achète un aujourd’huimon cocos

Chapeau quand y fait chaud, missié, madame

Mal de tête connais pas si ou na chapeau

Cocos néna de l’eau, missié, madame

Po rafraîchir missié madame même

English version here :

Look at my pretty bouquet, my good man. It's not quite the color you want. Sweaty, dewy sweat, nice lady... I pick it up in the morning Burn Less help for the installation basket It's up to you to choose The screams sound like azaleas After that, he'll leave Burn must come back to me Or that I'm full of brothers No one's asking for a baby Buy, ma'am, it's cheap. Mar rites is white, fresh, my good man. He's sure to get a good vote at the show... Or take some azaleas, ma'am. It would be a chickadee of joy in a vote at home... Basket on head or edge Buy it cheap We don't have to be smart pickers. Must not gain new food Hats, seizures, coconuts. This country's hot, miss. Hats, seizures, coconuts. Except the city on the left How to get here Save our pain Come down or it's hot Mo sold my seizures Mo sold Buy a coconut huimon today Hat when it's hot, miss it, ma'am. Headaches don't know if the hat Cocos swallowed water, missie, ma'am. Po refresh Missie even Miss

Enjoy this trip to the Reunion Island.