Our Favorite Discoveries from MOMIX 2022 in Mauritius

The Moris Music Expo’s fourth edition shone a light on the dedicated, diverse forces who are banding together across countries

- ANURAG TAGAT

MAURITIUS IS A WHOLLY SMALLER country than India, but it shares a multicultural, multi-tiered music industry that reflects its diversity. In addition to French roots, African legacy and creole ethnicity, there’s a sizable Indian heritage as well.

Often, you end up meeting people who can speak a bit of Hindi along with their French, creole and English. It’s a multiplicity that Mauritians carry with pride into their art, as witnessed at the three-day MOMIX – Moris Music Expo, held between September 30th and October 2nd with workshops, panel discussions and vibrant showcase performances by artists from the region.

It’s held at a much smaller scale than most music trade events – Chennai-headquartered IndiEarth Xchange comes to mind closer home, but even that had a larger scope – and the Indian Ocean territories such as South Africa, Reunion Island, Rodrigues, Madagascar and India remain faithful supporter. MOMIX also pulled in star performers such as Cheikh Ibra Fam from Senegal, Ntunja from South Africa and Filter Coffee from India, among others for electrifying sets, all of which made it a celebration in the evenings.

Over the course of three days, here’s what we came away with from MOMIX 2022:

Seggae music is alive and well

TChampioned in the mid-Eighties and Nineties by the late pioneer Kaya, seggae is the mix of Mauritius and Reunion Island’s traditional sega style and reggae, known for its conscious lyricism. While Kaya was the torchbearer, there are several artists still carrying forward the fusion in different ways, including Blakkayo. Others are borrowing from seggae and making their own amalgam, including Sayaa.