Ramajay Kids Steelband

Ramajay Kids is a conventional steelband of panists aged from 7 to 13, from Paris suburb (France). It was formed in late 2022 under the leadership of Dr Aurélie Helmlinger, a steelpan musician and ethnomusicologist specialized in Trinidad & Tobago (CNRS). 
From the Old French word ramager ("to sing"), "ramajay" evokes in Trinidad the powerful effect of music on people (party, improvisation, etc.). Furthermore, "Rama" represents the Indian incarnation of the god Vishnu, hero of the famous epic Ramayana, and "jay" means "glorious, victorious" in Hindi: a nod to Trinidad's Indian population. More recently, it became the name of an exoplanet.
With occasional interventions of conventional instruments (viola, marimba, trumpet…), the group offers an exploration of music from Trinidad and Tobago, the Caribbean, and beyond: calypso, soca, bomb tunes (non-calypso pieces played as calypso), and even Afro-jazz (Manu Dibango).