Meet Me In Port Louis

I got back from my trip to Mauritius yesterday. Between the work and the wet weather I didn't get to see a huge amount - just the capital Port Louis, Mahebourg in the south and their surrounding areas - but I liked what I saw in my time off and would graciously accept an invitation to go back. 

I took a few snaps which you can find here if you are interested. There are a lot of shots of bays which start to merge into each other after a while, but then there are a lot of beautiful bays to admire.

The abundance of bays was not matched by an abundance of local music. I had been quite optimistic before arriving as my research had identified four record shops, two in Port Louis and two a short metro ride away in Rose Hill. Unfortunately two of the four have shut up shop completely and one has gone into a different line of business and no longer sells records.

Even the fourth emporium on my list, Harbour Music in Port Louis, is now predominantly a clothes shop. I had an good old natter with the proprietor who pined for the old days of wall to wall albums and blamed his current predicament on a combination of Covid and computers.

The music selection in Harbour is now limited to a small number of local compilations. More or less at random I choose "Nouvo Compil Sa!!" from 2015. Today we bring you the opening track by Dr. Boyzini, a man whose name suggests he ought to be on a 1980s Eurodisco revival package tour somewhere.

More positively I did stumble across the Ah Kaye Music Shop in an alley in Rose Hill. But judging by the stock on the shelves the owner sees his mission as bringing international music to the local audience - if anyone in Mauritius is looking for a 7" or "Mississippi" by Pussycat then Ah Kaye is the place to go - rather than promoting local music. 

There were only a few Mauritian CDs to choose from. I opted for "Ouvert To Lizie", the 2021 album by local MAR stalwart Ti Blakka. On the back cover it proudly states that the album was sponsored by the Ministry of Arts and Cultural Heritage, making it even more mandatory than usual. 

"Mon C Val" - Dr. Boyzini

"Coler Froter" - Ti Blakka

I subsequently learnt that the owner of the Ah Kaye is called Fred and he has been a stalwart supporter of reggae music for many years now, so much so that Errol Dunkley wrote a song in his honour.