'Shocked' Seychellois singer shines at awards

The 32 year old, who is best known as Benting, has lived and worked as a chef in Reunion, a French department in the Indian Ocean, for the past seven years. Although he does not live in his homeland, the singer has not forgotten his Seychellois fans and visits the archipelago to promote his albums.

Seychelles News Agency spoke with the artist while he was in the country for the Cable Tune Awards ceremony where fans are encouraged to vote for their favourite nominees via text messages.

SEYCHELLES NEWS AGENCY: Were you expecting to win the Best Male Artist for 2017 at the Cable Tune Awards?

BENTING: It was a complete shock and I don’t know how it happened but I am very happy.

Is this the first time you have won a title at the Cable Tune Awards?

No, I won best new artist at the first Cable Tune Awards ceremony. Then I left the Seychelles and had not participated again – until now. I only came to the Seychelles to release my new album Lobstak last year.

How long have you been in the music business?

I started at about 16 years old because music is part of my family. Many members of my family are musicians. I started out by singing the songs of my favourite artists and later began writing and singing my own songs.

Most artists have a style they prefer when singing. What is yours?

I sing different styles depending on how I feel when writing the lyrics. If it’s about love I will use a slow rhythm, if I have lyrics more suited for reggae then it’s a reggae song, and when I am inspired by a sega beat then I will have one. I also have songs in modern styles such as reggaeton and dancehall. My latest album is a mix of styles and I recorded most of the songs in Reunion.

Do you sing in Creole only?

Most of the songs are in Creole but I also have songs in English but not all of them are included in my albums. The English songs are more for international markets. On the latest album I have an English song.

What are the inspirations for your songs?

They are from personal experience or things I see in everyday life. Most of the time I am not in the Seychelles and when I come I observe changes in the country and in the people’s behaviour. This is all the inspiration I get. What I miss is seeing the Seychellois people’s reactions to the album because after releasing it here I went back to Reunion.

Does that mean you will be performing for your Seychellois fans?

I would love to! It’s an idea I am working on, especially a show on Mahé since I have already performed on Praslin. I have noticed that I have many fans on Mahé, so I need to perform for them.

Since you live in Reunion, how do you promote your songs in the Seychelles?

Whenever I produce an album I come to the Seychelles to release it. I also come down if there are other activities like family events that I have to participate in.

Do you think a singer can make a career in music in the Seychelles?

In the Seychelles, probably not, as the money you are expect is not easy to come by, especially to cover the cost of producing songs. If you are doing it as a pastime then it’s okay. If you are solely relying on music for an income, you will find yourself short of cash very often because producing music in the Seychelles costs a lot of money.

What is your advice to aspiring singers?

Someone who wants to become a singer in the Seychelles needs to know exactly what they want to achieve and what kind of music they want to do. Commercial songs are easier to make. If you want a good, positive product it costs and you need to put your heart in it.

So what’s next for Benting the singer?

There are a few projects that I am working on, especially for promoting my songs in the regions.

This article was first published in Seychelles News Agency.