Seychelles Music Free Mp3 Download

[Vickey Melling]

Seychelles, which is an independent island chain in the Indian Ocean, has a distinct kind of music. Folk music incorporates multiple influences in a syncretic fashion, including English contredanse, polka and mazurka, French folk and pop, sega from Mauritius and Runion, taarab, zouk, soukous moutya and other pan-African genres, as well as Polynesian and Indian music. A complex form of percussion music called Kanmtole is popular, along with combinations of Sega and Reggae called Seggae and combinations of Moutya and Reggae called Mouggae, as is Montea, a fusion of native folk rhythms with Kenyan benga developed by Patrick Victor. Jean Marc Volcy is another famous Seychellois musician who has brought a modern touch to traditional music. He has several albums including Sove Lavi.

Much like India, the Seychellois people believe in large closely-knit families. He grew up with seven siblings, and fondly recalls their trips to La Digue, an island where locals still choose to remain car-free! La Digue had no electricity in those days. The fishermen would return home before nightfall, and their families would cook, light candles, sing and dance the night away. Those were his earliest memories of Creole music, which came to Seychelles via the Portuguese colonists and their slaves from Sri Lanka and Africa.

Some of my most cherished memories include a life-changing month on the wild and remote Robinson Crusoe Island in Chile, travelling overland from the Persian Gulf via Iran to Armenia, living with a Mayan community in Guatemala, volunteering at a coral reef restoration project in Cuba, living at a nunnery in Ladakh, and shedding my inhibitions and clothes at onsens across Japan.

One of the most influential of the musical styles to emerge was sega. Sega originated among the slave population of Mauritius and Reunion before spreading to the Seychelles and the other islands of the Indian Ocean. In its most authentic form, sega is performed exclusively with simple instruments such as rattles, hand drums, gourds and musical bows. It is used as accompaniment for a form of traditional dance in which the feet stay firmly rooted to the floor while the rest of the body moves. Sega usually had lyrics about the oppression and longing for freedom felt by the slaves who composed it.

Well into the 20th century, sega was considered inferior music because of its origin among slaves. A key event in its acceptance and subsequent popularity was the concert given on October 30, 1964 by Mauritian artist Ti Frere (Jean Alphonse Ravaton) for an event called Night of the Sega at Mount Le Morne.

Another style of music still enjoying considerable popularity is moutya or montea. It is musically similar to sega, but the dance it accompanies has more suggestive movements and the dancers freely move about the floor. Traditionally, the dance takes place around a campfire and starts slowly to the beat of a single drum, then gets faster and more suggestive as the tempo increases. The drum is made of goatskin and is tuned by heating it by the campfire, a process that must be repeated periodically. Female moutya dancers often wear brightly colored dresses with festive, flowered patterns to enhance the visual aspect of the performance.

A related style is called maloya. This is a slower, more reflective style of music than sega, though their instrumentation is similar. The lyrics are often sung in a shout-and-response style and have historically had a rebellious, political tone. This connotation has continued to the present, and Maloya was banned until the 1960s because of its connection to Creole separatism. Performances by certain maloya artists with strong political leanings continued to be banned until the 1980s.

Some musicians have resisted the addition of modern instruments and styles, but others have eagerly embraced new sounds and formed hybrid sounds that create new island musical genres. For example, local musicians have blended reggae with sega and moutya to form seggae and mouggae, and traditional sounds have blended with modern instruments and arrangements to form a genre called zouk.

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In addition to their larger public concerts, the Brass Band also played smaller gigs, including a Radio Studio performance for the Seychelles Broadcasting Service. In these more intimate settings, the Band is able to interact on a more personal level, gaining an even deeper understanding of their audience and underscoring the power of music to bring people together. As with many of their performances, the gig they played in studio left the audience wanting more, with the radio host and staff saying they wished the spot was longer.

For over 80 years, U.S. Naval Forces Europe-Africa (NAVEUR-NAVAF) has forged strategic relationships with allies and partners, leveraging a foundation of shared values to preserve security and stability.

Headquartered in Naples, Italy, NAVEUR-NAVAF operates U.S. naval forces in the USEUCOM and USAFRICOM areas of responsibility. U.S. Sixth Fleet is permanently assigned to NAVEUR-NAVAF, and employs maritime forces through the full spectrum of joint and naval operations.

"Mr Alexis was a Seychellois musical icon who has made immense contributions to the Seychelles' music industry. He was not only a composer musician but in his professional career at the School of Music, as an instructor and head of the music programme, where he passed on his musical knowledge and undoubtedly touched many lives," said Wavel Ramkalawan, the President of Seychelles in a message of condolences.

"His legacy lives on as we remember him through the many songs he graced our nation with. He will be fondly remembered, and songs like 'Manman Mon manman' will forever be part of his legacy and our culture. May his soul rest in peace," added Ramkalawan.

The President said, "On behalf of the country and on my personal behalf, we conveyed our warmest thoughts of strength and courage during this time of bereavement to the wife, family, and friends of Mr Thomas Alexis."

As a child, Alexis was curious and creative, something that stayed with him through adulthood. Alexis's younger sister Antoinette recounted to SNA on Thursday how when he was around 19, Alexis, who was already working, saved money and bought a radio - a rare and luxury item back then - only to take it apart to find out how it worked. Young Alexis never managed to put the radio back together. According to his sister, this was the only radio their small community had at that time.

In 1962, Alexis joined the then Seychelles Teachers Training College, the start of a long journey as a teacher and instructor. But his career in the teaching sector began in 1961, at 18 years old, as a supply teacher at the Cascade School. It was around this time that the young Alexis assumed the role of father to his younger sibling and the sole breadwinner for the family. Assuming this role so early in life surely contributed to why, later in life, Alexis was and remained a pillar in his own family.

Alexis, along with a small group, including Souris, who was passionate about advancing music education, founded the School of Music of the National Conservatoire of Performing Arts, based at Mont Fleuri, on Mahe, the main island of the Seychelles archipelago in the western Indian Ocean. Initially, the School of Music was located at La Bastille but moved to its present location in 1990.

"Together, we made the school have a presence in the Seychelles. We then started to formally give trainings to teachers through an arrangement with the Ministry of Education where during the school holidays they would come for training at the School of Music, many of the them are still music instructors," Souris told SNA.

Souris, whose specialty is playing the trombone and double bass violin, recounted that another big achievement he and Alexis shared was the work done with the National Brass Brand when it was transferred to the school from the Seychelles Police in the 1980s.

Souris, who developed a strong friendship with Alexis as a work colleague and music collaborator for 40 years, says that what will stay with him is Alexis' strong commitment and devotion to his family as well as his passion for advancing music education, especially to the younger generation.

"His dedication to nurturing children and developing their talents. I know him as a strong family man, he was all for his family and dedicated to his family. We were always together, working together, and we shared many musical exchanges," said Souris, who spent 37 years as an instructor at the School of Music.

General manager of Allied Builders, Hetal Shah, handed over the keys in a special ceremony held at the music stadium yesterday afternoon. It was attended by Designated Minister Macsuzy Mondon who also assumes the portfolio of culture, principal secretary for culture Cecile Kalebi, chairman of various artist associations, media houses and invited guests.

The stadium itself has facilities to accommodate performers before and in between shows, these include bathroom equipped with showers, changing rooms, a designated smoking area and a large stage for their performances.

As the music theatre is close to residential zones, Mr Bresson noted that there will have to be communications between residents and Cinea. But he noted that the residents have welcomed the project so far.

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