Chapter 06
Moroni, migration and the studios after independence
3 min
Comorian popular music has often been told through departure: artists move to France, albums appear through overseas labels, and international festivals become the evidence of success. That route is real, but Moroni, Mbeni, Mutsamudu, Fomboni and island radio remain creative locations. Migration adds studios and audiences; it does not remove the places from which artists speak.
Maalesh gives the band a songwriter
Maalesh, born Othman Mohamed Elyas, developed a guitar-led catalogue in Shikomori and other languages. Wassi Wassi (2001) includes “150 ans,” “La Guerre,” “Upepo,” “Wangamiya” and the title track. Yelela (2008) includes “Amani,” “Cherie,” “Deni,” “Djilele” and “Djuwa.”
Begin with “Wassi Wassi,” then “La Guerre.” The titles already widen the emotional field beyond picturesque island life. Move to “Amani” and “Djilele” to hear a later release period. Guitar, bass, percussion and vocal phrasing place Maalesh inside an Indian Ocean popular-music conversation while the writing remains his own.
Ahamada Smis turns a route into the method
Ahamada Smis built Origines through workshops in Mayotte, Grande Comore, Anjouan, Dar es Salaam, Zanzibar and Réunion. He works with slam, rap, singing and instruments encountered through the journey. Marseille also belongs to his artistic vocabulary.
This is migration as composition. The route is not a list of influences attached after the fact; meetings, languages and players structure the project. Hear the voice as both rhythm and narrative. Then identify which instrumental color enters from a collaborator instead of assigning everything to a generic Afro-Indian Ocean fusion.
Rahim keeps Mbeni inside contemporary poetry
Rahim El Had, known as Rahim, parolier du Karthala, joined Mbeni Art Poésie in 2014. His slam grows from literature, local legends and current experience. That makes him a useful bridge between oral tradition and authored contemporary performance.
The Festival International Bangwe de l'Oralité extends this history. Its fifth edition in 2026 combined slam, performance, training, exhibitions and digital questions in Moroni. Oral art is not what existed before recording; it continues through microphones, social media, stage craft and workshops.
Salim's Studio 1, Cheikh MC's production networks, Watwaniya Production and newer independent studios all affect circulation. A song can move from a wedding rehearsal to a digital single, or from a village association to a televised contest. Each transfer changes duration, arrangement, audience and credit.
Radio Comores shaped musicians before widespread internet access. Abda remembers hearing music on medium wave, learning guitar in Moroni, moving through percussion and twarab, and touring from a Mwali identity into Mayotte and Europe. His route puts broadcasting, mentorship and migration in one biography.
Current Moroni is plural and date-stamped
The 2024, 2025 and 2026 music-day events in Moroni placed twarab beside wadaha, mbiwi, slam, world music, rap, R&B, electronic production, DJs and dance battles. The exact programmes changed. That is the point: a living scene should not be frozen into an evergreen venue list.
For a trip, follow the current announcements of the Alliance Française de Moroni, Watwaniya Production, the city, FIBO and MGAMIDJI. Then verify artist pages. A programme from last year is useful history, not a promise that the same person will perform next week.
Mayotte remains connected and explicit
Family and musical routes cross between the Union islands and Mayotte. Debaa histories connect Anjouan and Mayotte; mbiwi is a major Mahoran women's form; mgodro artists have developed acoustic and electric versions; Comorian artists tour there and Mahoran musicians appear at archipelago festivals.
The political language must stay clear. Mayotte is administered by France and claimed by the Union of the Comoros. Artists may identify as Mahoran, Comorian, French, island-specific or in another way. Their own public descriptions lead, with jurisdiction named when it matters.
M'Toro Chamou's Bwé Foro, Punk Islands and M'godro Street belong to a Mahoran route. They are valuable neighbours for comparison, not examples to be silently relabelled as national Comoros releases. This distinction makes the musical connection more credible, not less.
