The Seychelles are an independent island chain in the Indian Ocean, formerly a colony of France. Folk music incorporates multiple influences in a syncretic fashion, including English contredanse, polka and mazurka, French folk and pop, sega from Mauritius and Réunion, taarab, soukous and other pan-African genres, and Polynesian, Indian and Arcadian music. A complex form of percussion music called contombley is popular, as is Patrick Victor's fusion of native folk rhythms with Kenyan benga; this style is known as montea.
