Seychelles, officially the Republic of Seychelles, is an island country and archipelagic state consisting of 115 islands in the Indian Ocean. Its capital and largest city, Victoria, is 1,500 kilometres east of mainland Africa. Nearby island countries and territories include the Comoros, Madagascar, Mauritius, and the French overseas departments of Mayotte and Réunion to the south; and Maldives and the Chagos Archipelago to the east. Seychelles is the smallest country in Africa as well as the least populated sovereign African country, with an estimated population of 100,600 in 2022.
Mento is a style of Jamaican folk music that predates and has greatly influenced ska and reggae music. It is a fusion of African rhythmic elements and European elements, which reached peak popularity in the 1940s and 1950s. Mento typically features acoustic instruments, such as acoustic guitar, banjo, hand drums, and the rhumba box — a large mbira in the shape of a box that can be sat on while played. The rhumba box carries the bass part of the music.
Réunion is located east of Madagascar and is a province (département) of France. Réunion is home to maloya and sega music.
The Comoros is a group of islands in the Indian Ocean, mostly an independent nation but also including the French territory of Mayotte. It is historically linked to both East Africa and France, and now has a strong Malagasy influence. Zanzibar's taarab music, however, remains the most influential genre on the islands, and a Comorian version called twarab is popular. Leading twarab bands include Sambeco and Belle Lumière, as well as singers including Chamsia Sagaf and Mohammed Hassan.
Mauritius has 2 genres of music that originate from the Island. The traditional music of Mauritius which is known as sega music and also Seggae Music. Other genres like reggae, ragga, zouk, soukous and Indian music are also popular, but these genres do not originate from Mauritius, despite famous local singers such as Kaya, who successfully combined Reggae Music with sega music to create Mauritian Seggae. Well-known traditional sega singers from Mauritius include Ti Frére, Marlene Ravaton, Serge Lebrasse, Michel Legris and Fanfan.
The music of Guyana encompasses a range of musical styles and genres that draw from various influences including: Indian, Latino-Hispanic, European, African, Chinese, and Amerindian music. Popular Guyanese performers include: Terry Gajraj, Eddy Grant, Dave Martins & the Tradewinds, Aubrey Cummings, Colle´ Kharis and Nicky Porter. Eddie Hooper The Guyana Music Festival has proven to be influential on the Guyana music scene.
Sega is one of the major music genres of Mauritius and Réunion. It is a complete performance art, involving music, story-telling and traditional dance. Musically, the most modern forms common in Mauritius are its fusion genre Seggae and bhojpuri variations, whilst in Réunion we find the addition of maloya, the latter being much closer to the older, typical music influences originating from Madagascar. The variety of different sega forms is reflected in the multi-ethnic populous of the indigenous population of Mauritius.
Seggae is a fusion genre of sega, the traditional music of the Mascarene Islands, and reggae. It was originally created in Mauritius by Kaya and eventually became popular in Mascarene Islands. Seggae is one of the most popular music genres in Mauritius.
Marrabenta is a popular style of Mozambican dance music combining traditional Mozambican dance rhythms with Portuguese folk music. It was developed in Maputo, the capital city of Mozambique, during the 1930s and 1940s.
Seychellois Creole people are an ethnic group native to Seychelles, who speak Seychellois Creole. They are the predominant ethnic group in the country.
Indo-Seychellois are inhabitants of Seychelles with Indian heritage. With about 10,000 Indo-Seychellois in a total Seychellois population of nearly 100,000, they constitute a minority ethnic group in Seychelles.
Franco-Seychellois are people of French descent living in the Seychelles. Franco-Seychellois have played an important role in the country's history both before and since independence.
Maloya is one of the two major music genres of Réunion, usually sung in Réunion Creole, and traditionally accompanied by percussion and a musical bow. Maloya is a new form that has origins in the music of African and Malagasy slaves and Indian indentured workers on the island, as has the other folk music of Réunion, séga. World music journalists and non-specialist scholars sometimes compare maloya to the American music, the blues, though they have little in common. Maloya was considered such a threat to the French state that it was banned in the 1970s.
The following outline is provided as an overview of and topical guide to Seychelles:
Articles related to Seychelles include:
Seychellois cuisine is the cuisine of the Republic of Seychelles, an archipelago country consisting of 115 islands. Fish plays a prominent part in country's cuisine because of its location in the Indian Ocean. The Seychelles's cuisine has been influenced by African, British, French, Spanish, Indian and Chinese cuisines.
Jean-Marc Volcy is a Seychellois composer, performer and songwriter regarded as one of the pioneering musicians to propagate creole music in Seychelles. His repertoire of music is a fusion of modern creole pop with traditional folk music. His contributions to music in Seychelles has seen him win numerous awards including the Airtel Music Awards, Les Voix de l'Océan Indien and the Cable Tunes Awards. In February 2017, he was inducted into the Seychelles' Musicians Wall of Fame.
East Mahé is a region of Seychelles.
Grace Barbé is a Seychellois born, Australian singer-songwriter from Western Australia who also performs with the Afrobeat and psychedelic band of the same name which includes Jamie Searle and Hardy Perrine (drums). Barbé has released three studio albums and is the recipient of thirteen West Australian Music Industry Awards, including ten Best World Act Awards and three WAM Song of the Year awards. Barbé's third album Fanm: Woman was nominated for Best World Album at the 2020 ARIA Music Awards. Barbé sings in Creole, English, French and Malagasy and her music fuses the tropical rhythms and dances of the slaves with psychedelic rock, afrobeat, reggae and pop. Since 2022, she is the current bassist of jazz/funk band The Cat Empire.
