VICTORIA, Seychelles — A group of local artists paid a courtesy call on President Wavel Ramkalawan on Thursday, to hand over a copy of their songs in remembrance of the December 7 incidents, which they said will forever be embedded in the minds of all Seychellois and in the country’s history. The artists told the President that the aim of the music was to empathise with all those affected and to touch the hearts of the people, prompting them into making a contribution to help those in need. The visit follows several weeks of quiet preparation by the group, working alongside the families of those affected.
They were the Moncherry family, comprising five artists, but were represented by three at Thursday’s meeting with the head of state, namely Roch Moncherry and his two granddaughters, Maria Mein and Beverly Moncherry, as well as renowned siblings Isham and Isis Rath. Mr Moncherry shared that the aim of their song titled ‘Le 7 Desanm 2023’, launched on Thursday, was to empathise with all those affected as well as touch the hearts of the people. He said he was glad to have personally given the President a copy of the song and witnessed, as he listened to it for the first time.
I hope that when the public listen to the song they feel a sense of empathy and with a good heart can lend a helping hand, he said. Mr Moncherry explained that the song addresses the events that occurred on that day. It is a date engraved in our minds and this song describes the grievances of the people, which we believe need to be heard in a different way, to bring forth a message that highlights the positivity and raises people’s morale, he added. He said the song is a collective work with inputs from many talents within his family as well as Anthony Julie, who he specially thanked for his expertise and input within the song.
For their part, Isham and Isis Rath, who are members of the local band Mozaik, said they have joined forces as artists to maintain and further promote unity and positivity at such a difficult time. Their song is entitled ‘7 Desanm’ and its music video was recently finalised and posted on YouTube. The way in which we can help is through music, through the words and melodies we share, as our intention is to bring everyone together and that was also the aim of Thursday’s meeting, as a personal thank you from the president himself, said Isis.
Isham said for an incident as tragic as that of December 7, it is important to have something to uplift the people’s spirits and morale. This was something commended by the President who described the songs as a form of therapy while he talked to the artists about their songs. In both ours and the Moncherry family’s songs, there is the spiritual aspect and that to me is very important, to have something spiritual to hold on to at this time, he said, noting that the inspiration for the song came one week after the incident when the thoughts and the melody just flowed. The meeting with the head of state lasted a little over an hour, and President Ramkalawan shared his appreciation for the artists’ effort to keep the spirit high.
