Music of the Solomon Islands
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Template:Melanesianmusic The Solomon Islands have been independent from the United Kingdom since 1978, and the culture, Melanesian in origin, has received international attention since before that time. Panpipe orchestras are known from Guadalcanal and the Malaita Islands, while 1920s bamboo bands gained a following in several countries. Bamboo music was made by hitting open-ended bamboo tubes, originally with coconut husks. After American soldiers brought their sandals to the Solomon Islands, these replaced coconut husks. The change occurred by the early 1960s, just as the music began spreading to Papua New Guinea.
In 1969/1970, musicologist Hugo Zemp recorded a number of local songs which were released on an LP in 1973, as a part of the UNESCO Musical Sources collection. One of the songs, a lullaby named "Rorogwela", sung by Afunakwa, a Northern Malaita woman, was used as a vocal sample in a 1992 single "Sweet Lullaby" by the French electronica duo Deep Forest, becoming a worldwide hit, but also causing some controversy over perceived "pillaging" of the world music heritage by Western musicians.
References
- Feld, Stephen. "Bamboo Boogie-Woogie". 2000. In Broughton, Simon and Ellingham, Mark with McConnachie, James and Duane, Orla (Ed.), World Music, Vol. 2: Latin & North America, Caribbean, India, Asia and Pacific, pp 183-188. Rough Guides Ltd, Penguin Books. ISBN 1-85828-636-0
External links
- A Sweet Lullaby for World Music (http://www.deepforestmusic.com/dfpress_00-00-00sweetlullabyforworld.htm)