http://afropopshop.org/New Music From Papua New Guinea Stringbands on Calabash Music2008-11-21T05:41:54ZThe Calabash Music Teamsupport@calabashmusic.comSongs Of The Volcanohttp://papuanewguineastringbands.afropopshop.org/#album_628262006-12-12T07:40:55ZMusic from Songs Of The VolcanoSongs Of The Volcano One of the few accidental, yet beneficial, side-effects of colonialism has been guitars washing up on shores all over the world. Papua New Guinea is no exception. Home to a huge indigenous population speaking more than 800 languages, it lay largely undiscovered until the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries and hence is one of the last places on the planet to have guitars arrive from afar. Rabaul, in Papua New Guinea’s far flung province of East New Britain, is a town which has had its share of hard times. In the same century it has been destroyed twice by massive volcanic cataclysms and once by a devastating war imposed on it by outsiders. The Tolai people of Rabaul have suffered greatly from these natural and manmade disasters and yet, somehow, have always managed to bounce back and keep their spirits high. One of the main contributing factors to their capacity for optimism is their music, an energetic and unique blend of voices and instruments performed by the community’s local stringbands. Bob Brozman is a world expert and leading exponent of the National guitar. An ethnomusicologist fascinated by the global voyage taken by the guitar over the last 500 years, he has collaborated with local musicians all over the world. To create Songs Of The Volcano, in his capacity as Adjunct Professor of Music at Sydney’s Macquarie University, Bob went with filmmaker Phil Donnison to five villages in East New Britain to perform with five different Tolai stringbands. The purpose of filming and recording the performances was partly to document this fragile music before it disappears, and partly to facilitate the musicians in Papua New Guinea where there is an astonishing lack of musical infrastructure. Rabaul is the location where guitars first arrived in Papua New Guinea, and the music carries a fragile innocence and beauty reminiscent of what guitar music may have sounded like in Hawaii in 1860, or Mexico in 1830. Most music travelled throughout the Pacific Ocean on boats, with sailors leaving behind instruments and ideas to then percolate in isolation. Hence, the music on this album will seem at once exotic, yet somehow familiar. Even today, there is still very little mass media penetration in Papua New Guinea, though that is changing and makes the preservation of this raw and unique sound more necessary. This album and accompanying film present the story of this creative collaboration, a joint effort between an indomitable group of island musicians and one of the world’s greatest guitarists. Unlike Bob’s other world music collaborations, where there is a blend of styles between Bob and another established artist, Songs Of The Volcano has Bob in a more supportive role, playing simply as a member of each band in their own style. The creation of this project not only yielded some great friendships, an unforgettable story and some remarkable results, but will enable the musicians to continue their pursuit of a musical life. The musicians on Songs Of The Volcano are the first recipients of instruments, strings and musical supplies from Bob’s ongoing Global Music Aid Foundation, which seeks to provide donated instruments and materials to musicians in developing countries. 1 Alir Pukai (Samuel Mago) 4:05 Alir Pukai Stringband 2 Watikai Iau Nuk Pau Atalaigu (Ephraim Tami) 3:27 Eagle Voice Band 3 Tavurvur (Gilnata Stringband) 7:09 Gilnata Stringband (Mioko Island, Duke of York Islands, Papua New Guinea) 4 Rabaul Taun (Gabriel Milat) 4:02 Drop Sun Band 5 Beautiful Rabaul (Augustine Kankan) 5:15 Lions 2000 Stringband 6 Uma Lari (James Eremas) 4:29 Alir Pukai Stringband 7 Tomaimo (Wesley Turkaul) 3:53 Eagle Voice Band 8 Sori Boko Na Ra Club (Augustine Kankan) 4:04 Lions 2000 Stringband 9 Youth Development Song (John Turlop) 4:29 Gilnata Stringband (Miokopalpal Island, Duke of York Islands, Papua New Guinea) 10 Town Kavieng (Gabriel Milat) 3:41 Drop Sun Band 11 Lau Ga Ki Tara Papara Ta (Rodney Talam/Turkaul Uradok) 3:31 Eagle Voice Band 12 Karanas Leva (Augustine Kankan) 6:02 Lions 2000 Stringband 13 Valvalian (David Paul) 4:27 Alir Pukai Stringband 14 Gossip (Gabriel Milat) 3:59 Drop Sun Band 15 Tou Ra Vui (Daniel ToDu) 3:52 Gilnata Stringband (Miokopalpal Island, Duke of York Islands, Papua New Guinea) 16 Ram Kuk (James Eremas) 3:50 Alir Pukai Stringband Appearing on this album are: Alir Pukai Stringband Eagle Voice Band Gilnata Stringband Drop Sun Band Lions 2000 Stringband Bob Brozman Bob Brozman would like to thank: The wonderful people of East New Britain, Papua New Guinea and the Australian people who have encouraged this project, and especially Phil Donnison and Rory McCourt for their tireless dedication Phil Donnison would like to thank: Phil Haywood and Denis Crowdy for allowing the project to be filmed Rory McCourt for writing the script Family and friends for their valued support, ideas and encouragement Thanks to Phil Stanton, Sandra Alayón-Stanton and all at World Music Network All tracks published by White Spats Music, BMI Sub-publishing for the world outside the USA by Riverboat UK Music, MCPS Executive producers: Bob Brozman, Phil Hayward of The Department of Contemporary Music Studies at Macquarie University, Sydney Australia Producers: Bob Brozman, Denis Crowdy Location recording engineers: Denis Crowdy, Tony Subam Production coordinator (Papua New Guinea): Christoph Westhaeusser Production coordinator (California): Haley S. Robertson Mixed by Daniel Thomas at Moon Rocks Studio Sleeve notes: Bob Brozman, Phil Donnison Front cover photograph by Rene Frederick, Getty One Other photography courtesy of Phil Donnison Design by Undertow www.undertow-design.co.uk, coordinated by Duncan Baker Bob Brozman is an Adjunct Professor at the Department of Contemporary Music studies at Macquarie University, Sydney, Australia Bob Brozman uses National Reso-Phonic guitars, Bear Creek guitars and John Pearse strings Also available on Riverboat Records: Takashi Hirayasu and Bob Brozman – Jin Jin (TUGCD1020), Takashi Hirayasu and Bob Brozman – Nankuru Naisa (TUGCD1023), René Lacaille and Bob Brozman – Digdig (TUGCD1025), Debashish Bhattacharya and Bob Brozman – Mahima (TUGCD1029) Visit www.bobbrozman.com for further information on Bob Brozman, including tour dates Visit www.worldmusic.net to listen to sound samples of all World Music Network, Introducing and Riverboat Records releases]]>