Stuff We Like
Stuff We Like
Drums of Bora Bora, Songs of Tahiti This CD is actually comprised on two compilations-traditional percussion pieces under the Drums of Bora Bora banner and Songs of Tahiti with classic Tahiti vocals like "Otaha" and "Te Hina," with 1950s steal guitar accompaniment done by Alain Mottet et Ses Rhythms Tropicaux with Phyllys and Morito Clarinet doing the vocal duet. In the first section there are 11 drum cuts, each of about one minute's duration, but the cumulative effect of listening to these driving pate compositions, interspersed with the traditional calls to set the pieces, is mesmerizing. The Songs of Tahiti section, cuts 12 to 17, is more nostalgic and Pacific kitschy. Cuts 18 through 26 are a return to drum performances, then cuts 27 through 32 are Yves Roche recorded group choral numbers from Paumotu. This is an ideal CD for the casual fan or the serious student of Pacific music. Drums of Bora Bora and Songs of Tahiti, Crescendo Records, US$12.99. - ADVERTISEMENT -
An Ocean of Poetic Stars Albert Wendt, Reina Whaitiri and Robert Sullivan have edited for the University of Hawaii Press Whetu Moana ("ocean of stars"), a dazzling selection of contemporary Polynesian poetic voices. There are names here many of us recognize, such as Wendt himself, or painter-writer John Pule or Hawaii's Haunani Kay Trask-but there are many new names here as well, from Samoa and the Cooks and Aotearoa, all with unique and eloquent voices. Here's a sample from Imaikalani Kalahele: "Before had England/ Even before had/ Jesus!/ there was a voice/ and the voice was/ maoli." Pule's pieces "The Hurricane Love Songs" and "Ocean Song to Myself" are deep and moody, like the ocean he describes, but he still reminds us of the role of poet: "I am a great liar/ my thoughts are pure truth/ My voice is a liar/ I ask for your forgiveness." For Pacific literati, this is the book to buy. Whetu Moana: Contemporary Polynesian Poems in English, University of Hawaii Press, www.uhpress.hawaii.edu. US$22.00.
At Play in Field's Fields If you want to find out what's happening in the Solomons, Fiji, Samoa-or what to look for at the Forum summit in Auckland, this is the Web site to check out. Michael Field, the Pacific bureau chief for Agence France Presse in Auckland, and regular correspondent for this magazine, has photos and text on the site based on his work in the recurring Pacific news hot spots. Field is such a good journalist he's been detained in Fiji and banned from entering two other Island countries. Field has good contacts all around the region and he can usually be relied on to get the breaking stories right. Check out this news site with its well-written text and its apt photography. Tell Mike we sent you. Michael Field, www.michaelfield.org.
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