Last week there was so much rain that parts of the country are still underwater. And this isn’t counting the cyclone that hit last month. Monique’s nephew Yaya, in charge of logistics for the local office of the World Food Program, has been kept very busy as a result. He says the French embassy here exaggerates disaster statistics in an attempt to appear more important. Last week he was at a meeting with embassies and NGOs where the French were caught out.

But this morning began auspiciously with clear blue skies and sunshine. Lots of it. We had our first breakfast alfresco. What bliss.

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At 9 am the musicians straggled in for our last rehearsal. Attending was Backom, Madagascar’s most celebrated Rastafarian. (I guess there must be one in every country.) He was here for a quick run-through of Mausolée, a duet he’ll sing with Monique. The two had a monster hit with this tune back in the day. When the ousted dictator Didier Ratsiraka was allowed back into the country for a brief visit recenlty, the first thing he did was kneel on the runway and sing this song. Remarkable, since he had originally banned it.

And speaking of politics, here’s the new video clip Reolo. It’s pretty self-explanatory. Although it makes an implicit omparison between the current regime and Emperor Bokassa, an alleged cannibal, it hasn't got us arrested yet.

Although the rehearsal went pretty well, I wouldn’t have minded having another week to practice. But when people start making noises about being “over-rehearsed”, which I don’t think really exists, it’s a sign they’ve had enough. Afterwards everyone stuck around for a really nice lunch.

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In the afternoon we drove to a downtown hotel for the album-release press conference. Monique, who for media appearances is always dressed to the nines, was dressed to the tens. Over half the band was there too, decked out in branded t-shirts and enjoying the free beer provided by one of our sponsors.

People commented on the exceptional number of media people who showed up. Newspapers, radio, TV – they were all there. At one point Monique called me up in my role as producer to answer questions. Afterwards I was even buttonholed by a couple of young, pretty journalists. I admit it all went to my head. While there, we received word that the Friday night show was sold out. The blog ain’t called “Big in Madagascar” for nothing.