Career
He often performs in a duo or as a solo artist, singing in accompaniment to his acoustic guitar in the ba-gasy genre that gained prominence in the central highlands of Madagascar in the 1930s. In 1979 he left Madagascar to settle in France and currently lives in Bordeaux. He recorded his first solo album in 1996.
He has worked on a variety of collaborative projects, recording singles and performing with established artists as Regis Gizavo and Solorazaf, and young breakthrough stars like Aina Quash.
Most recently, Manana formed a group with valiha player Justin Vali and other prominent Malagasy artists in the Malagasy All Stars. In January 2013, Manana performed at the historic Olympia venue in Paris to celebrate the 35th year of his career.
Rootsworld described Manana as the "Bob Dylan of Madagascar".