This project is part of ‘Indian Ocean Historical Sound Archive: collecting, safeguarding and sharing musical heritage’. It is co-financed by the Interreg VI Indian Ocean 2021-2027 programme, the French Embassy in the Seychelles, the Regional Council of Reunion, the Directorate of Cultural Affairs, and the Departmental Council of Reunion. It follows on from organological studies conducted in Mayotte in 2022 and Reunion in 2023. Building on this work, the PHOI team carried out a collection mission in the Seychelles during October and November 2025.

These accounts, gathered mainly from musicians and instrument makers, aim to celebrate Seychellois musical practices as well as raise awareness of them, ensuring their transmission and longevity for future generations. They offer the general public a chance to rediscover — or indeed discover — traditions, both past and present, as well as the instruments that enrich the region’s varied and diverse identity.

In these podcast episodes, the musicians also share insights into their professional journeys and the day-to-day realities of their work. They provide an overview of cultural life across the Seychelles, touching on ongoing dynamics as well as the difficulties and challenges they face. These testimonies thus shed valuable light on the current state of the music sector in the Seychelles.

In this episode, multi-instrumentalist John Vital (born 1964) looks back on a career closely tied to his family’s heritage. With a father who was a violinist and accordionist, and a mother who was a dancer, he grew up surrounded by the accordion music his dad played at home. He started learning the diatonic accordion when he was just three years old, displaying a remarkable natural gift from the outset. When he was only 14 he made his first major stage debut, performing alongside David Philoé in Mauritius. Since then, he has recorded five solo albums, as well as three others as a duo with Florette Botsoie. Over the years, he has worked with a number of leading names in Seychellois music, including Ton Pa, Patrick Victor and François Havelock. Although he has explored various musical styles, John remains deeply and sincerely attached to traditional Seychellois music (sega, moutya, kanmtole), and would like to see it flourish as it once did. However, he is rather concerned about the lack of interest shown by some young people, who tend to be drawn towards more international musical trends. He also highlights the difficulty of sourcing instruments in the Seychelles, a factor that can discourage aspiring musicians. He pays heartfelt tribute to his father, expressing his gratitude and humility for the knowledge and passion he passed on, and acknowledging him as the reason he is the musician he is today.

Fanie Précourt