Music of Mauritius

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.

Musicians in Mauritius are quite talented and through the years Mauritian music has evolved to international standards. There are many jazz and blues artists around the island.

Sega, seggae and reggae remain the most popular produced music in Mauritius amongst Mauritian artists. Based on popular internet connection there are evolved artists performing R&B, hip hop, soul, dubstep, club, techno and other popular music styles.

The Sega is usually sung in Creole, the Mauritian mother tongue. Some singers planned to also publish an English version of their Sega songs but later abstained in order to preserve the uniqueness and cultural richness of the local music of Mauritius.

The original instruments - the “Ravanne”, “Triangle”, the “Maravanne” and the traditional guitar - are often replaced by more conventional orchestra instruments. However, all along the coastal fishing villages, the traditional instruments are still being used.

By 2015, some of the popular Mauritian sega artists were Alain Ramanisum, Desiré Francois and Ziakazom. Other top known Mauritian artists are Kaka Zulu and The Prophecy.