Tsapiky is a young musical style from Madagascar that emerged in the late 1970s from a fusion of village traditions and modern African music, with the electric guitar becoming its royal instrument. It is played mainly at "dust balls" in southwestern Madagascar during weddings, funerals, circumcisions, and other celebrations, where musicians play from morning to morning for several days. Tsapiky-style concerts are a fascinating experience. The stage bursts with sharp rhythms transferred from local zithers to sharp electric guitars, distorted saxophones, vocals, and bass – the dizzying tempo is completely absorbing, and the listener loses the ability to perceive anything else. Comparisons with the beginnings of amplified Congolese bands such as Konono Nᵒ1 are obvious, not only because of their shared rawness and unpolished style and the time of their creation, but also because of the sound system, which uses ancient, cracked loudspeakers from the colonial era.

Behaja is currently the most prominent tsapiky guitarist, while Maxime Bobo is a French saxophonist whose lifelong musical passion has become Madagascar. The band is rounded out by a drummer and singer from Madagascar and a bass guitarist of French origin. Madagascar has a unique position on the musical map and has been attracting Western musicians for half a century. The local music differs significantly from the traditions of mainland Africa. The island was first settled by immigrants from present-day Malaysia fifteen centuries ago, with Africans settling there later. The local music is characterized by sharp rhythms and various types of zithers.