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.

À 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.

This episode features Camille France Azémia, known to many as 'Karouzin'. Born in 1963, this actor and musician is passionate about traditional dances. As a child, he used to follow the groups that provided entertainment at festivities in various districts. A keen dancer himself, he eventually became a komandèr, drawing on his knowledge of kanmtolé choreography and his musical ability. Between 1988 and 1992, he sang and played guitar in Latroup Nasyonal Sesel, touring internationally with them. After they were disbanded, the Secretary General for Culture asked him to help re-establish a troupe led by Marietta Matombé. In particular, he was tasked with curating the musical programmes for this ensemble, which represented Seychellois culture on the world stage, at a time when tourism and the arts were being actively developed with government backing. However, in 2017, the Department of Culture decided to dissolve the troupe. Karouzin then devoted his efforts to setting up and running a new cultural troupe called ‘Lansiv’, which now acts as the Department of Culture’s flagship ensemble, performing at official state functions.

Fanie Précourt