SūkūP: The Mayay, a musical, spiritual and cultural journey born in Gabon
Born in the heart of Ndossi Village, Gabon, SūkūP has been developing a music for the past two years that defies easy categorization. Traditional Gabonese instruments, piano, synthesizers, Afrobeat, amapiano, vocals, dance, and spirituality converge to give birth to what the group calls "Mayay." But behind this new musical language lies something larger: a philosophy of joy, a contemporary reinterpretation of Gabonese cultural heritage, and an invitation to an inner journey.
To understand the origins of SūkūP and the philosophy behind Mayay, we met with Yoan Mboussou, pianist and founder of the group. He tells us about the birth of this musical adventure in Ndossi Village, his relationship with Bwiti, his vision of a vibrant and resolutely contemporary Gabonese culture, and his ambition to make Mayay an artistic universe capable of traveling far beyond Gabon.
First, why the name SūkūP?
Yoan Mboussou: SūkūP is pronounced "saucer," a reference to flying saucers and space travel. It wasn't a name chosen at random. Our group was born in Ndossi Village, and our temple's architecture is reminiscent of a flying saucer. That's where we started playing together and where our music gradually took shape. But above all, the saucer represents a journey through the cosmos. Since SūkūP is a group deeply inspired by Bwiti, the concept of spiritual travel is central to our practice.
The journey we are talking about is therefore not only geographical. It is also a journey through music, consciousness, and our own inner world.
And how would you define Mayay?
Yoan Mboussou: Mayay is the art of the joy of living that comes from our villages .
In some regions of southern Gabon, the Mayaya tradition already exists. To hold a Mayaya is to celebrate, to create joy in the village. To hold a Mayaya vigil is to hold a vigil of joy.
I also carry on a family legacy. My uncle, the late Pierre Ditengou , from the Bouyoumbou tribe, among the Gésir people, had a band in his youth. He also opened a bar called "Le Mayaya." In a way, I'm simply continuing that legacy, but in my own way and within the context of our generation.
However, you do not present Mayay as a simple revival of tradition.
Yoan Mboussou: No, because for us, a living tradition is precisely not something that is eternally reproduced in the same way.
A large part of African cultures has historically been based on oral transmission. However, when there is no text to impose a definitive form, each generation transmits what it has received while bringing to it its feelings, its experience and the realities of its time.
Culture then becomes something living and dynamic. After independence, there was a kind of break in the transmission of some of our values. Many of our parents preferred to pass on to us primarily Western codes and culture.
We don't hold it against them. Today, without any hang-ups or resentment, we're simply jumping back on the bandwagon. We want to reclaim our sciences, our arts, and our imaginations, and then take them to new territories that the human mind can still explore.
What role does Bwiti play in this process?
Yoan Mboussou: An essential place. We consider Bwiti first and foremost as a way of life. It also plays a fundamental role in the cohesion of SūkūP, since it is thanks to Bwiti that we have come to know each other. In our current understanding, the term Bwiti has gradually become a generic word encompassing various Gabonese traditions, notably those using the sacred iboga plant.
Mayay is part of this continuity. We consider it a neo-branch of the Bwiti movement, and more specifically a child of Bwiti Missoko.
But the Mayay fully embraces its time. It is more oriented towards encounters with other peoples, towards cultural exchange, and towards an uninhibited relationship with modernity. We have no reason to choose between our roots and the contemporary world.
Is this philosophy directly reflected in your music?
Yoan Mboussou: Absolutely. We use many traditional Gabonese instruments, such as the moungongo, the ngombi, the ghessanza, the tam-tams, the bakè, the missomba or even the soquè.
But we also use the piano, guitar, violin, drums and synthesizers.
The piano has played a particularly important role in our evolution. It has allowed us to revisit a large part of the traditional music repertoire we knew and to discover new harmonic possibilities. We also have a strong affinity for Afrobeat, Afrotrap, and especially Amapiano.
This is all the more interesting given the apparent surprising cultural and linguistic similarities between certain populations in southern Africa, particularly the Zulu, and some Gabonese populations. It's a region that deserves further exploration.
Are you looking to create an instantly recognizable "Mayay sound"?
Yoan Mboussou: Yes. We particularly want to work on melodies, rhythms and repetitions capable of gradually leading the listener towards different states of consciousness, sometimes even to states close to trance.
But that doesn't mean all our music has to be intense or ritualistic.
We also create much softer, more melodic and immediately accessible pieces.
Mayay should be able to have many faces. Our way of playing the piano, for example, is itself beginning to constitute a particular language. For us, there is a true Mayay piano style that still deserves to be developed and known.
Your approach ultimately seems quite futuristic.
Yoan Mboussou: Yes, because we see no contradiction between the future and tradition. The world of Black Panther and Wakanda has resonated with many Africans precisely for this reason. It presents the image of an Africa that is technologically and culturally forward-looking, without having had to abandon its roots to achieve this.
This image speaks volumes to us. And there's actually a rather amusing connection to our story. The film's universe is called Wakanda, while SūkūP was born and continues to develop in Ndossi Village, located within Akanda National Park. Our "saucer," therefore, was born in Akanda, in a way.
How important are lyrics to you?
Yoan Mboussou: We try to bring out the spiritual depth in the simplest moments of existence. We sometimes feel that our lives should be a succession of extraordinary moments. Yet, the mystery of life is often revealed in extremely simple things: eating together, laughing, talking, arguing, making up, dancing, or simply being with others.
Our culture is deeply rooted in community life. So we try to tell its paradoxes as well. Today you're laughing with your friend, tomorrow they annoy you for some reason, and then the day after tomorrow you're together again. That's life, too. Our songs explore this ambivalence because we believe that something universal lies precisely in these contradictions. Ultimately , our message seeks to reconnect the individual with others, with their environment, and with themselves.
Indeed, dance seems to occupy a considerable place in your world.
Yoan Mboussou: For us, dance is a much more complex means of communication than is generally thought. When we dance, the whole body vibrates. The dancer must also synchronize with the other dancers, the instrumentalists, the percussionists, and the entire group. Something happens that transcends words. In some countries, there's a lot of talk about cultural assimilation. At Ndossi Village, our approach is different. When you arrive here, we might ask you to dance.
It's a way of saying hello. Watching you dance, we discover something of your temperament, your way of occupying space, and your relationship with others. The people of Gabon possess an extraordinary choreographic richness. And as a doctor, I also remain convinced that dance has considerable potential in the therapeutic field and in art therapy.
So Mayay goes far beyond music?
Yoan Mboussou: Yes. It's important to understand this. Mayay is a philosophy that is part of the continuity of our culture. For example, we have developed the MAYAY® brand, around contemporary products derived from iboga, such as capsules, chocolate, and certain liqueurs.
But above all, there is a Mayay philosophy. We are reappropriating certain elements that we consider particularly interesting in Bwiti traditions, such as knowledge of medicinal plants, certain traditional treatments, purification and blessing rituals, and foods and preparations associated with well-being. And then, of course, there is Mayay as an artistic expression and as a musical style. All these dimensions belong to the same universe.
Why did you create Mayay Records?
Yoan Mboussou: We created Mayay Records to allow lovers of Gabonese culture to produce their works at a lower cost and to give young talents the opportunity to gain recognition. There is an enormous amount of creativity around us.
The problem isn't always a lack of talent. It's often a lack of tools, structures, and opportunities that allow that talent to develop. Mayay Records wants to help build that space.
In two years, SūkūP has already created several albums. Why this sustained output?
Yoan Mboussou: Because it is the repetition of practice that leads to mastery.
Our music is deeply connected to our spirituality. We've been on this path together for two years now, and each album represents another step towards our shared dreams. There is indeed a logic to the albums. When we listen back to our journey, we can hear our own evolution. Each album is a snapshot of a moment in SūkūP's life.
Your new album is called ELEVATION . Why this title?
Yoan Mboussou: Because we have reached a particular moment.
SūkūP was like a child we accompanied, protected, and watched learn to walk. With ELEVATION , we believe that this child has reached sufficient maturity to go out alone into the street and begin to experience life for themselves.
He can now meet the world.
Is your ambition for Mayay to become an internationally recognized musical genre?
Yoan Mboussou: What artist wouldn't dream of their musical genre one day being recognized internationally? Of course we hope so. But behind this ambition lies something even more important.
We want to gradually stop being defined solely by words that aren't our own. For a long time, much African music had to be explained by comparing it to categories already known elsewhere. We want to be able to simply say, "That's Mayay."
And perhaps one day this sentence will suffice. Because deep down, we don't even need to fully describe the Mayay. You have to feel it, taste it, and experience it.
What would you want a person to feel after listening to SūkūP?
Yoan Mboussou: I would like her to feel the immense depth of the world she carries within herself. To discover that there are still countless territories to explore in her own consciousness. But paradoxically, I would like this inner journey not to isolate her. On the contrary. I would like that after listening to SūkūP, this person feels even closer to other human beings and even closer to nature. Because traveling deep within oneself should perhaps, ultimately, bring us back to others.
So, to conclude: what is Mayay?
Yoan Mboussou: Mayay is a way of life focused on joy.
And SūkūP might simply be the vessel we chose to explore it. All our albums are available onYouTube here.
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