Interview with singer/songwriter Clive Camille |26 April 2023
Clive Camille
‘It is my dream to become a regional brand’
Singer/songwriter Clive Camille is a Seychellois artist with a particular fondness for Sega and Moutya. The young talent has a busy year in 2023, making Seychelles team for Airtel – The Voice Africa, and gets ready to launch his newest album, ‘Tsunami’, along with fellow artist, Joseph Sinon. Seychelles NATION caught up with Clive recently to dig a little deeper into his career as a singer /songwriter and also his future plans.
Seychelles NATION: As you know, Nation has been following your journey in music ever since Sega Moutya Sesel 1 (SMS). What have you been up to ever since then and what are some of the projects you have taken up?
Clive Camille: Ever since Joseph Sinon and I, with the help of Elijah initiated ‘SMS 1’, back in 2021, we have done multiple editions of that album. To date, we have done 3 editions of ‘SMS’ in different versions. First was the Sega Moutya Sesel, it was based more on the ‘Sega’ and ‘Moutya’ of our ‘Creole Seychellois’ style. For the second version, we went to Mauritius for the production, where we did ‘Sega Moris-Sesel’ and incorporated Mauritian musicians in the project. We wanted to expand our music and that is one of our main objectives to this day.
After that I got the chance to make a Valentine album in 2022, comprising some of Elijah’s tunes. I produced the songs in a totally new, different way, focusing on melody and lyrics, which would appeal to the public.
That same year, we did another version of ‘SMS, Moutya de Seychelles’, which this time around focused purely on ‘moutya’ because we wanted to put more focus and emphasis on the genre itself. Jo and I invested a lot into this album. It was one of the albums where Jo and I had put a lot of work in personally; we also got some help from Mr Bonne of Mont Buxton.
Right now I’m working on my solo album; it’s a project which I’m working in collaboration with Mauritian musical experts. It is still in production due to a small delay on my part but I am very excited and looking forward for the album to be released.
Seychelles NATION: We have seen that you have been traveling quite a bit. Share with us why you are marketing outside of Seychelles.
Clive Camille: I think that, with Mauritius especially, there is a close link regarding music eg. Sega and also our Creole language, it holds so many similarities. So for me it is a way to expand my audience, as Seychelles has a population of only 100,000 people and the market for music is much less than that. However with a country like Mauritius, which has a population of over a million, the music market would of course be more. So this gives me an advantage on the side of making music as a business, as my aim is to make music as a commercial means and not as a pastime, which is why I’ve expanded my audience abroad. That is also why I travel, and get the chance to test the terrain in areas in Mauritius and Rodrigue. Next step now is to maybe move onto La Reunion which also has some similarities with us.
Seychelles NATION: Is Clive Camille becoming a Regional Brand?
Clive Camille: It is my dream to become a regional brand, it is my dream to be able to establish myself in the regional music industry. Many artists hope to go international but my international dream is to become regional just as Jean Marc Volcy, Patrick Victor and Elijah have done. I am aiming and working toward this goal. And so I am trying to establish Clive Camille as a brand in the Indian Ocean.
Seychelles NATION: Your song has managed to reach radios in Haiti and in France, an honour for Seychelles. Explain to us how this came to be possible.
Clive Camille: Every now and then I release a single whether sega or reggae to see if my music is accepted in the region. So my first official reggae song ‘Napa regre’ that I have released has been resonating with people as three international radios contacted me after its release. My song was played on a radio in Paris after a Mauritian radio operator picked up on it on my social media facebook page where I market my music. They reached out as they wanted to air it on their radio and the same happened with the radio in Haiti. Radios in Rodrigue as well as Mauritius also requested the song for their platform.
Seychelles NATION: Are you thinking of targeting other radios and/or televisions in the world?
Clive Camille: Well of course, the objective is to push my music and the music of Seychelles further. I would have liked to be recognised for Sega music like the reggae had done, however I take what I can get because it is a start. And of course in the future I would like my music to be on more radios and why not even TV stations.
Seychelles NATION: Which do you prefer journalist/producer or artist?
Clive Camille: Personally for me neither is just a profession, they are a passion. I have to manage my time with both and make sure that each gets their time. With journalism, I have to give it its time because it is something I really love doing since from the start in 2010. I fell in love with it and it is not something that I can easily give up or lose interest in. And as for being an artist, my love for music came since a small age, I could say I have inherited it from my father. I did not choose it, it chose me in a way. When I am singing on stage each and every one of my worries dissipates. And so I do not think I can choose between the two as so far I have managed to balance both. Yes I do experience exhaustion from time to time especially on the weekends and it takes a lot of work but I love what I do and it is worth it.
Seychelles NATION: What is the way forward?
Clive Camille: I am planning on continuing to build my social media presence, as that is what is going to help me expand my influence, music and get recognition. To add on, the money which I have received through music I have reinvested in establishing my home studio, which has become really helpful as I get online sessions with overseas producers and it is easier to send my demos.
Interview conducted by Diane Larame
