Various Artists - Soul Sok Sega: cuts from the glorious heyday of Sega

It is an axiom of musical genres that they emerge from the milieu of an underclass, are initially shunned by dominant social groups, and then become “civilised” and incorporated into the mainstream culture.

Sega, in its percussive African origins, was the ritual and recreational music of the slaves in Mauritius. It eventually became a symbol of national pride and cultural identity by the mid-1960s.

Chiefly sung in Creole, sega gradually assimilated European influences and, with the availability of western instruments in the 1970s, it exploded into an upbeat, funky dance style before splintering into reggae and Bollywood derivatives.

Its 1970s heyday is well-documented here in its unique Afro-Malagasy origins, where the emblematic ravanne drum and maravanne shaker join guitars and keyboards in island party music. strut-records.com