Singer-songwriter and multi-instrumentalist Christine Salem was born on December 20, 1971 in Saint-Denis, Reunion Island.
Christine Salem started singing at the age of eight, and quickly became deeply interested in maloya music. As a teenager, she learned to play the guitar, and listened to celebrated Reunionese singer Danyèl Waro.
Christine wrote her first song in English at the age of twelve. She later joined several bands performing sega music in tourist hotels in the region.
Christine Salem founded the group Salem Tradition in 1997. It became one of the leading bands in Reunion Island rooted in traditional music. Their first album, Waliwa, was recorded live in 2001.
Her first album as a solo artist was Lanbousir, released in 2010. It featured two percussionists, David Abrousse and Harry Perigone.
In 2021, Christine Salem released her fourth album, titled Mersi. This recording combines percussion from Reunion Island with violin virtuosity featuring a mix of maloya, blues and rock. The song topics include odes to ancestors, celebrating women and addressing violence against women, joy, spirituality, and kindness. The lineup included Christine Salem on vocals, guitar, kayamb, harmonica; composer and conductor Frédéric Norel on violin, 5-string electric violin, backing vocals; Seb Martel on guitar, backing vocals; Anne-Laure Bourget on percussion, darbuka, bendir, calabash, bongos, sati, daf, backing vocals; and Jacky Malbrouck on rouler, doum doum, ravann, backing vocals.
In March 2021, Christine Salem received the prestigious coup de cœur world music award from the Académie Charles-Cros
(headline image: Christine Salem by Frank Loriou)
Discography:
With Salem Tradition:
Waliwa (Escales, 2001)
Krié (Cobalt, 2003)
Fanm (Cobalt, 2005)
Solo:
Lanbousir (Cobalt, 2010)
Salem tradition (Cobalt, 2012)
Larg pa lo kor (Zamora, 2015)
Mersi (Blue Fanal, 2021)
Author: Angel Romero
Angel Romero y Ruiz has dedicated his life to musical exploration. His efforts included the creation of two online portals, worldmusiccentral.org and musicasdelmundo.com. In addition, Angel is the co-founder of the Transglobal World Music Chart, a panel of world music DJs and writers that celebrates global sounds. Furthermore, he delved into the record business, producing world music studio albums and compilations. His works have appeared on Alula Records, Ellipsis Arts, Indígena Records and Music of the World.