Aleksand SAYA is an artist from Réunion island. Songwriter, singer and producer, he began his musical career as an MC and beatmaker in sound systems. It was in 2009, with the release of his single “La Réunion Mon Zion” on the compilation “Ker Maron dann Béton,” that he decided to fully pursue music.
He quickly became interested in Maloya, the traditional musical genre of La Réunion. As a self-taught music producer, he experimented and developed his own vision of Maloya by integrating elements of hip-hop and electro.
On stage, whether solo with machines or with percussionists, Aleksand SAYA blends the sounds of drum machines and synthesizers with the ternary rhythms and chants specific to La Réunion. This fusion has resulted in the creation of a sound he calls M’Bass, for Maloya Bass.
Open to collaborating with other artists to explore different universes, he works with numerous local and international talents, such as Eat My Butterfly, Sibu Manaï, ZenT Panon, and Stogie T (Tumi and The Volume).
With his innovative vision, Aleksand SAYA is among those artists who redefine the boundaries of Maloya, drawing inspiration from great names such as Alain Peters, Sabouk, and Ti Fock. In a globalized world where it is easy to lose ancestral connections, Aleksand SAYA’s M’Bass highlights the creolization and beauty of mixed heritage while confronting the soft power of globalization.