The sega
As in the rest of the Indian Ocean, in the Seychelles, sega is king. Of African origin, this music is a refuge for a people whose customs and ceremonies were rejected by the colonists, who saw it as an immodest primitive dance. Slower than the sega of other islands, the Seychellois version is marked by its muffled rhythm, played on the ravanne - a portable bass drum made of goatskin - to which is added the tinkling of a bent iron bar, the triangle, and a samba-like friction produced by the maravannes, coconuts filled with seeds. The guitar is the genre's only concession to modernity. This irresistible blend draws couples into a lascivious, sensual face-off, all the more erotic for not touching. The songs that accompany it are based on small, everyday events. In the Seychelles, it's also common to dance the tremblé sega, of Malagasy origin, which at times seems close to trance.
The genre naturally boasts a major star: Patrick Victor. Author of a remarkable debut album(En transition), this talented artist is also behind the first Seychellois compact disc. Singing of his country, his daughter, freedom and love, Patrick Victor is the benchmark for Seychelles sega and local music as a whole. Another star of the genre to emerge in recent years is Jean-Marc Volcy, who has left his mark on Seychelles song with his hits Voule vou danse ("Voulez-vous danser") and Kannon. Jenny Létourdie is less well known but just as remarkable.
For a big bowl of live Sega, we recommend a visit to L'Oxygen, Praslin's top club! While DJs often prefer to play international stars such as Pharrell Williams, some of the biggest names in Seychelles music, such as Jean-Marc Volcy, also come to play live.
The moutia
Even hotter than the sega (yes, yes, it's possible), the moutia is the other great Seychelles rhythm. Particularly catchy, the style is characterized by a syncopated melody, carried by a tam-tam (usually carved from a coconut trunk and covered with a cabri or ray skin), while the singers evoke in Creole the servile condition of ancestors separated from their native land. Essentially sentimental, the texts express joy and sadness, hopes and disappointments, but also the daily life of the past in these islands where song and dance, soaked in calou and bacca, were the only outlet. Mostly played outdoors, the genre, though very popular, is less civilized (and less touristy) than sega. In the 1970s, moutia merged with reggae to create a new genre called "mouggae".
Traditional music
Many traditional instruments now belong to history, or at least are becoming rare, such as the makalapo and the bombre, musical bows of African origin that long accompanied songs. The mouloumba, the Malagasy zither that accompanied songs and stories, has also all but disappeared. Finally, theansive is now used only by fishermen, who blow into this marine conch shell to announce their return to port. Ton Pa, the great patriarch of musical folklore in the Indian Ocean islands, has contributed to the knowledge and preservation of traditional instruments. Thanks to him, Seychelles Radio and Television has collected the sounds, songs and melodies that make up this precious heritage. Having passed away in 1994 at the age of 86, this star of lanmizik tradisyonnel remains a key figure in the oral tradition. From an early age, Ton Pa (real name Jacob Marie), a descendant of Malagasy slaves, was immersed in music, building instruments from scratch and patiently mastering all instrumental techniques. For this interpreter of ancient songs, who also writes melodies rich in highly personal onomatopoeia (helped by the calou), the bombre and the zez (a kind of sitar) have been instruments of predilection and precious rhythmic aids to a major voice in island culture.
An excellent opportunity to appreciate the richness of the island's traditional music is the Kreol festival, held in Mahé for a week every late October.
This colorful event celebrating the Creole world explores it in all its facets: history, music, theater, dance, fashion, cuisine... As cultural as it is festive, it's clearly one of the island's not-to-be-missed events.
Popular music
Apart from sega and moutia, there's a whole world of popular music in the Seychelles. While the steamroller of Anglo-American music has found fertile ground here (as it has everywhere else), Creole song has not said its last word. Over the generations, a host of new Seselwa singers have found their place on the local scene. A number of these artists now occupy the national airwaves all day long, and some have even given Creole song a modern edge. These include Emmanuel Marie, who blends Creole music with folk, reggae and rock, Jean Ally, who is heavily influenced by gospel, and Joe Samy, who has combined English folk with Creole chanson.
The dances
You don't have to be there long to realize that dancing is at the heart of everyday life in Seychelles. One of the most common is the contredanse. Royal in origin, as it was danced at the court of the Sun King, this dance is still the guarantor of gaiety at large family celebrations and country balls, the kamtolés. Imported by the colonists, it was once danced on board ocean liners, where balls were sometimes given during ports of call for the benefit of the Seselwa beau monde. Slaves, who took part in the festivities as servants or cooks, eventually adopted this court and ballroom dance. Although "seychellized" over time, this quadrille remains a synthesis of the waltz, polka, scottish and berline. In the Seychelles, where it's called a "command dance", its figures must be directed by a master of ceremonies, the commandeur. At his command, dancers form up in two rows, facing each other, and according to his command, they perform the series of figures, accompanied by a violin, banjo, accordion, bass drum, snare drum, cymbals and triangle. While the contredanse is still a staple of Seychelles festivities, especially weddings, other ancient dances have fallen into disuse, such as the madilo or caloupilon, practiced mainly on La Digue. Here, girls would jump over two poles held parallel above the ground, singing the refrain Madilo, oh Madilo, supported by the clapping of hands from the audience.
Another remarkable dance, sokwé, combines both music and drama, with male and female dancers wearing masks and covering themselves in straw until they were unrecognizable. Eyes and mouths were rimmed with red and a lichen was used as a beard. Alternating dance and dialogue parts, sokwé also had the reputation of being a dangerous dance, as it was not uncommon for intoxicated spectators to set fire to the straw costumes.
Victoria's picturesque International Carnival, a three-day folk festival held at the end of April each year, is an excellent opportunity to witness dances and float parades.
