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, John Wirtz (born 1949) looks back on a rich musical career, which has strong roots in Seychellois traditions. Primarily a violinist as well as a singer, he is equally at home performing sega and kanmtole (vals, mazok, polka, lanciers, etc.), whose subtleties and demands he knows well. Hailing from a musical family, he inherited this passion at a very early age: both his grandfather and two uncles were violinists. Over the years, he developed remarkable versatility as an instrumentalist. In addition to singing, he plays the vyolin, guitar, accordion, benndyo, piano, keyboard, and saxophone. His career truly got under way in 1967 with his first ensemble: a line-up featuring a drummer and three guitarists — lead, rhythm (which he played himself) and bass. At that time, musicians performed serenades and accompanied wedding processions on the vyolon, triyang and benndyo, supported by a bass drum and the occasional accordion. A familiar face on stage and in bands, John Wirtz has explored a wide range of repertoires, from international popular music to traditional Seychellois repertoire. As a sega composer since 1967, he has played an active role in enriching the musical heritage of the Seychelles. However, mindful of how precarious the profession can be, he has always pursued music alongside his work as an assistant entomologist and environmental officer at the Ministry of Health. For John, music remains above all a source of passion and joy, one he has cultivated with unfailing dedication while staying true to his roots.

Fanie Précourt