Reginald Grandma’s Mamode IV in London was born and raised. The relationships that he made on Rivière Noire, his sixth album, make wide waves around the British pop metropolis, they extend up to an island chain in the Indian, 850 kilometers east of Madagascar, his father comes from the Eiland Mauritius. With the opening track “Black River” (that’s the name of a district on the west side of the island), the Brit jumps into the rapids of this distant world, we hear an edgy guitar blues piece, the requests “Free Yourlf” and “Lists”.
Recommendations of the editorial team
In this newly defined empire, he finds an art of soulful approach
This invitation hardly lasts more than a minute to a 19-track soul and radio trip, which mediates between two spheres of influence, the radio and blues history of the Anglo-American world and the stories and traditions from the island cosmos to listen in the songs “Make It Right” and “Through Our Vein”. Together you will find in a universal speech that focuses on love and compassion.
After sample-intensive productions, Mamode has largely focused on what he can play on instruments, guitar, fender rhodes piano, synthesizer and drums; There are also choral chants and drum-machine beats. In this newly defined empire, he finds an art of soulful approach.
This review was first published in the MusikExpress 08/2025.