Sengemanana was born in a village in southern Madagascar near Fort Dauphin on September 16 1957. He began singing as a bass vocalist then, in 1983, went on to hook up with two childhood friends from his home region to form the trio Salala. From 1984 to 1994, the group - who are still active today - began to take off on the Main Island, winning the "Gasitsara Media Prize" for Best Band of the Year. Following this success, the trio went into the studio together to record their debut album. The album proved a local hit and the Salala trio soon headed off to promote it in France, appearing at Africolor and the "Printemps de Bourges" Festival.

After their French experience Senge teamed up with a group of other Madagascan artists and embarked upon a tour of Germany. However, shortly after completing the tour, Sengemanana split from Salala and went his separate way, recording his own solo album. But he soon went on to form a new band in conjunction with two traditional Madagascan singers and dancers, Yvon Mamisolofo and Jean Ramanambintana. The new trio was called Senge (a catchy abbreviation of the lead singer's name which also means "pride" in traditional Antandroy dialect).

All three members of Senge are descended from the Antandroy, an ethnic group based in Madagascar's deep south. The Antandroy region is a poor, arid area where people suffer the worst living conditions. Indeed, the region is known locally as "the land where water hides" and Madagascans know the Antandroy as "the people from the land of thorns". Migrating to the towns to escape the hardships of their home region, the Antandroy generally work in low-qualified, low-paid jobs, scraping a meagre living as night watchmen and rickshaw drivers. Poor and ill-educated, they have had to put up with years of social and racial prejudice - and, in the past, they were also discriminated against by the first French settlers. According to popular belief the Antandroy are a cruel, aggressive people prone to lying but, paradoxically, Madagascans also respect the tribe's courage and bravery in face of danger.

Senge, a group who are extremely proud of their origins, have devoted their career to exorcising the Antandroy's bad reputation and setting the record straight. Seeking inspiration in the cultural roots of their community, the group have become veritable spokespeople for their tribe. Following in the musical footsteps of Salala, the trio base their music on beko (a traditional vocal technique central to the Antandroy identity). Beko, a form of polyphonic a cappella featuring two or three voices, takes on a special significance during funeral ceremonies where they are performed by the Mpibeko (wisemen and oral historians of the tribe’s mythology who fulfil the same function as African griots). The Mpibeko's graveside songs extol the memory of the dead and celebrate their family legends. (Sabo is a variation on this soul-healing gospel which rids the soul from evil spirits). Both traditions are essential to Madagascan musical identity and, as one Madagascan music historian puts it, "beko can be compared to the first American blues or Negro spirituals." Tapping into this rich musical tradition, Senge recorded their debut album, "Harembelo" in 1999, mixing Antandroy tradition with other ethnic inspirations.

Later that same year the trio went on to gain international recognition, winning RFI's "African Discovery" Prize at a competition organised in Dakar. Following this success, Senge embarked upon a mini-tour of France, playing a series of gigs and putting in an appearance at the Africolor Festival. They followed up with concerts in Germany and Sweden in the summer of 2000.

Unfortunately, the group's French tour was marred by Sengemanana's illness. Shortly after arriving in France the singer had started to feel sick, but he had managed to soldier on and perform the concerts scheduled during the "Paris quartier d’été" Festival. Unbeknownst to the festival audience assembled in the Luxembourg Gardens in Paris, that summer's concert was to be Sengemanana's last. Perhaps the singer himself had a presentiment of his imminent demise, for at the end of the concert he encouraged the audience to hum along to a poem which began with the fateful line: "Once I am dead…"

Sengemanana was rushed into hospital shortly after returning to Madagascar where he was diagnosed with terminal cancer. The singer put up a valiant fight against the disease, but died four months later in Tananarive (in December 2000). Jean and Yvon, the two other members of the band could not be at his side, since they were out on tour fulfilling the band’s previous engagements in Brazil. Besides enjoying widespread popularity in Brazil, the duo also found themselves in great demand at folk music festivals in Sweden, Germany, Spain, Hungary and America.

Continuing their commitment to the Global Vocal Meeting (an association of international artists), Jean and Yvon are determined to keep the spirit of Senge alive as a duo. The pair intend to dig deeper into Madagascar's musical roots, giving more space to percussion, drums and the traditional four-string guitar known as the kabosy while developing new vocal styles.

December 2001