Seychelles, Mauritius, Rodrigues hit Melbourne with new craze of Creole music |19 July 2018

Zilwa Tribe is a group of young musicians from Seychelles, Mauritius and Rodrigues who are plying their trade in Melbourne, Australia. The group was formed early this year as a musical band to unite the island nations of the Indian Ocean and their rich Creole culture. Founded by Jonathan De Robillard (a Mauritian) and Seychellois Pat Barallon, who is also the band manager, Zilwa Tribe was formed for the purpose of filling a big void in Australia for the Creole Kids known as the next generation. It is also aimed at bringing all the Indian Ocean island nations together to deliver LIVE Creole sega music to Australia’s diverse multi-cultural communities. 

Jonathan came up with the name Zilwa due to a past experience with the Chagossian people losing their roots and identities. Zilwa in kreol means ‘sorti lo zil’.

“Zilwa Tribe was also put together to remind islanders in Australia and all over the world not to give up on our roots and identity through our music as they all relate to it, no matter what island of the Indian Ocean you come from,” says Pat.

The group has been dubbed as the next craze of rhythmic beats with catchy melodies that will even have Salsa and Latino music and dance lovers hooked the moment they hear the Creole sega. 

“Sega music as we know for sure creeps up inside you and as your body responds to the rhythm, you are carried to heights of ecstasy, generating a vibrating force that shakes the  ‘lead’ off your  feet and inspires you to a high-spirited and free way of dancing.  The Creole sega music represents all our island nations in a freestyle dance,” says an enthusiastic Pat.

Pat remarks that we all share the same passion for the sega music from growing up with our parents in households in the islands. 

He adds some band members were also born on the islands and migrated to Australia at a very young age while some born in Australia still have that passion for sega music and our Creole culture. 

“The Creole Kids of Australia have all grown up listening to sega music and naturally have that sega rhythm in all of us, tapping away on tables, steering wheels and just about anything we can make a beat from. We all can’t escape it and we don’t want to because it’s in our blood.  We love sega, we love its rhythm, it makes us happy, we sing, we dance...and the rest is history,” he says.

We are the Creole Kids who will continue embracing our Creole culture through music and dance for future generations. 

He says many of the Creole Kids in Australia have made a good living in their own fields of work and have market the Creole music.

Just to re-cap, Pat Barallon was the first in his Seychellois family to be born in Melbourne in 1967 and grew up the Australian way. But the parents through the years have always kept talking Creole in the household, playing sega music etc.... Pat remembers the time he used to get cassettes that have been recorded over and over many times where the quality was so poor, but still managed to listen to the music.  And as the worldwide web grew, so did the Creole music. And today, Pat says, we have access to amazing talent and music from the island nations that we listen to daily. 

Pat adds Zilwa Tribe is on a mission to introduce sega music and dance to the people of Australia that want to experience a different culture.

“We want to teach the sega dance, perform live pulsating sega music, showcase what the island nations of Mauritius, Rodrigues and the Seychelles as a destination have to offer.  We want them to embrace the Creole spirit and culture.

Zilwa Tribe is now locked down over the next three months in recording studios. It is now working on new materials to be released on the island nations in time for summer.

 
(From Left) Angelica (Rodrigues) – singer; Alain Lewis (Mauritius) – percussionist; Eddy Morel (Seychelles) - lead guitarist; Dan Gabriel (Seychelles) - bass guitarist; Pat Barallon (Seychelles) - Zilwa Tribe manager; Kerty Goden (Mauritius) – drummer; Darrel Belle (Seychelles) – singer; Monette Belle (Seychelles) - sega dancer, PR/Comms for Zilwa Tribe; Stella Savy (Seychelles) - backing vocals & percussionist; Zilwa (Mauritius) - keyboardist & music director; Chris Jeannie (Mauritius) – percussionist; Jackson Barallon (Seychelles) - sound audio assistant; Leen Phologene (Mauritius) - keyboardist.

Darrel Belle (Seychellois) & Angelica Ithier (Rodrigues) singing and entertaining the crowds at LaFaya Festival 2018 - Melbourne

Compiled by M.J.

(In Box)

Band Members

Seychellois

Darrel Bell - Lead Male Singer

Dan Gabriel - Bass Guitar

Eddy Morel - Lead Guitar

Stella Savy - Backing Vocals, Percussionist

Monette Belle - PR/Communications/ Sega Dancer

Pat Barallon - Zilwa Tribe Band Manager 

Mauritian

Jonathan De Robillard (Zilwa) - Founder, Keyboardist

Chris Jeannie - Percussionist

Alain Lewis - Percussionist

Kerty Goden - Drummer

Leen Philogene - Keyboardist

Rodrigues

Angelica Ithier - Lead Female Singer

For more information on Zilwa Tribe go to their Facebook page https://www.facebook.com/Zilwa-Tribe-171267853535050/

Many more performances to come.