The track ‘Qui fine arrivé’ by the emblematic Mauritian singer Claudio Veeraragoo is reissued in the compilation MORIS ZEKLER – Fuzz & Soul Sega from 70’s Mauritius.
Pioneer of rock sound and saturated guitars in Mauritius, Claudio Veeraragoo is also known for ‘Ambalaba’ which was covered by singer Maxime Le Forestier. This segatier of Indian origin takes his inspiration from Bollywood culture and the influence of African music to present another facet of sega. “At the time, African music was very much in vogue in Mauritius,” explains Claudio, who was contacted on the phone, “and we took inspiration from that to compose ‘Qui fine arrivé’.
Released in 1971, Claudio Veeraragoo’s spellbinding “Qui fine arrivé” is a track recorded with his group, which later became the Satanik Group. The artist was also inspired by his idols such as Santana, Jimmy Hendrix or the British rock band The Shadows. “During a concert tour in Reunion Island, I bought a double live album from the Woodstock festival in which there’s a passage by Santana. We were the first to introduce it to the Mauritians. It was great. In a way, “Qui fine arrivé” is very close to its mythical title “Jingo”,” says Claudio.
In ‘Qui fine arrivé’, which translates as “what happened”, James Furcy gives us an extraordinary performance on his guitar with abrasive riffs, where Claudio’s voice mixes and tells us about his desperate love affair after the previous day’s setbacks. “It’s simple, the song explains the trials and tribulations of an alcoholic man who comes home after his binge drinking and can’t find his wife and wonders “Who finally arrived” (What happened?), why did his wife leave him? In those days, men drank and had a lot of fun and when they woke up, there was no wife left in the house. This song made many of them dance and vibrate. This song was played at balls, people danced, fell on their knees with their hands raised to the sky,” the segatier recalls.
Various MORIS ZEKLER – Fuzz & Soul Sega from 70’s Mauritius is on pre-order now on Born Bad records.
