Necrology 5-5-2014 Douglas “Pepe” Cedras Seychelles bids farewell to an icon The Demise of talented artist, composer, musician and entertainer Douglas Cedras on Monday 28 April sent a shockwave in the Seychellois community. While most of us remember him for his jovial and quirky demeanour during his tenure as inter-lotto’s lottery announcer, Douglas had already proven himself to be a particularly talented composer and arranger – having produced some of the most iconic Seychellois tunes ever to hit the local airwaves. The father of eight started his musical career with the band “Triotoner” and worked with several other bands, but one the most remarkable ones was in the early 80’s when he was part of the group “Bann Seselwa” which included the late Stella Adela, Wilfred “Baba” Moustache, Jeffrey Napier, Stella Dorasamy, Francis Moustache, Georges Sinon and Philip Revera – who was the main composer of many of their greatest numbers which included “Lanmour difisil,” “Mon Manman” and “Ekri Souvan”. Toward the mid 80’s Douglas formed “Noude” with Georges Sinon and enjoyed great success with the hits “Pas pase” “Kabare Lari Bazar” to name a few. Unfortunately, tragedy struck when he was convicted of the murder of his then-girlfriend Marjorie Baker. “Douglas was never quite the same after that” said a close friend of the late musician. “He never spoke of what happened that day, but he proclaimed his innocence and I never had cause to doubt him” says the former confidante. Francis Moustache (better known as “Baba”) recalls the old days; “Douglas was an important part of our lives as we’ve known each other since childhood. He was slightly older than we were so we looked up to him like an older brother” recounts “Baba” with an air of nostalgia. “We learned a lot from him as he was our close friend and mentor” says Jeffrey Napier who also adds that “Douglas had the unique ability to create whatever he put his mind to – whether it was music, costumes, artwork … Just about anything really.” In a tribute dedicated to the artist that was recently aired on the Seychelles Broadcasting Cooperation’s (SBC) T.V programme “Recits” Douglas recalls the 17 years he spent working as a radio announcer and animator – writing jingles and using his editing skills to produce popular radio shows such as “Tea time music” and “Kwen Kreol” to name a few. Of the 7 years he spent incarcerated on Long Island Prison he recounts; “I had a lot of time to reflect, but I also learned a lot of new skills such as agriculture and mechanics.” This was also the time he wrote the autobiographical song “7 an martir 7 an mizer” which talks of his plight as an inmate on Long Island. “He did not get the recognition he deserved” says Jeffrey Napier, who adds that “Seychelles is slowly losing its old talents and it’s a shame we lost someone as creative, unselfish and generous as Douglas. We could have done more to help him during his sickness, but it came too late unfortunately. There is a tendency to use the creative talent of such artists and then discard them when we no longer need them. We only speak of how good they were after they are gone.” Heavy rain did not stop those who came to pay their last respects at Douglas’ funeral. His service was held at the Glacis Parish which saw saxophonist, Jean Quatre play “Eski ou pou la”, and a touching rendition of the song “Senm Lanmour”by a young vocalist who was accompanied by the churches’ choir. Douglas was finally laid to rest at Glacis cemetery in the presence of friends and family. Source: Today in Seychelles
Posted on: Tue, 06 May 2014 06:29:05 +0000
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