Sega music
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Sega music is an evolved combination of traditional Music of Mauritian, Seychellois and Réunionnais music with European dance music like polka and quadrilles. Sega is especially similar to the Réunionnais folk dance maloya. Another form of dance similar to the sega is the Seychellois moutya. In its modern form, sega is also combined with genres like soukous, zouk and reggae.
The Sega music originates in Réunion, followed by Mauritius and then the Seychelles; later the theme spread quickly through the Indian Ocean.
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[edit] Sega's origins
Sega evolved out of the culture of the Western Indian Ocean islands, in the mid-18th century. Traditional instruments include the rattle maravanne, hand drum moutia, ravanne, triangle and the bow bobre. The music's traditional form was largely improvised and intensely emotional and expressed the tribulations of a subjugated, initially enslaved, people. It was also used as a dirge and as part of traditional exorcisms. Sega is most often considered originally Mauritian, with some specifically citing Rodrigues Island. However it has older origins in Réunion, where proto-Sega type music was common before the colonisation of Mauritius.
[edit] Notable Sega Musicians
- Alphonse Ravaton
Also known as Ti Frère, he was born on April 29th 1900 and is one of the most famous sega singers in Mauritius. He is the quinessential exponent of a style of sega known as Sega Typique. Some of his famous songs include Charlie O, Anita, Roseda, Ma Bole Ma, La Grain Café and Papitou.
- Michael Legris
- Jean Marc Volcy
- Philip Toussaint
- Serge Lebrasse
- Roger Clency
- Marie-Josée
- Grup Latanier
- Cyril Labonne
- Jean-Claude Gaspard
- Cassiya
- Claudio
[edit] Modern varieties
Though primarily a form of Mauritian music, sega is now popular across the islands of Réunion, Seychelles, Comoros, Mayotte and Rodrigues, along with parts of Madagascar.
[edit] Santé engagé
[edit] Segastronics
Segastronics was a variety common in 1970s Mauritius; this was typically sega performed to heavy rock-like music. In modern times, however, this style has become outdated and replaced by Seggae.
[edit] Seggae
Seggae is a fusion of sega with reggae, a kind of Jamaican popular music that is very popular across sega's range. Seggae musicians include Ras Natty Baby, Sonny Morgan and the man seen as being the founder, Kaya. Kaya, whose real name is Joseph Reginald Topize, was at the height of his career in 1999 when he was found dead in a prison cell. Riots followed soon after causing one of the major social upheavals in Mauritius. Kaya's music is, however, still very well alive and popular and has inspired contemporary musicians to expand the Seggae genre.
[edit] Regional varieties
In Reunion, sega is relatively slow, and is danced by couples who are not as physically close as on Mauritius. The traditional form is called maloya. Mauritian traditional sega is sega ravanne and has an accentuated beat compared to Reunionais sega. Traditional Rodriguan sega is sega tambour (or segakordeon), and it is extremely swift compared to other varieties. Sega tambour is sung mostly by women, and is danced only by one couple at a time, accompanied by clapping or the use of improvised percussion instruments like table legs and glasses. Seychellois sega is moutya, and is similar to Réunionnaise sega. Seychellois music is influenced by Western ballads, and especially country music [1].
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