Pacific Islands Radio (Island Music) Newsletter

Jane's Pacific Islands Radio Newsletter (Island Music)
Vol. 2, Edition No.5, September 2005
http://www.pacificislandsradio.com/

I N T H I S I S S U E ____________________________

Objectives
News and Views
Notice Board
Pacific Islands Radio
Feature Artists
Suppliers
Links
Letters

Welcome everybody to our Pacific Islands
Radio Newsletter (Island Music) for
September 2005! It is simply wonderful to
be back in touch again and I would like to
take this opportunity of wishing everybody
good health, prosperity, happiness, peace
and harmony.

I would also like to extend a very warm and
sincere Pacific Island welcome to all our
new members who have joined us since our
last Newsletter. Welcome on board, please
make yourselves feel at home, relax and enjoy
the enchanting, vibrant, exciting, soothing,
melodious and magical sounds of the Pacific
Islands! May your association with us be
enjoyable, mutually beneficial and rewarding!

OBJECTIVES

This Newsletter is a listening guide to the
many listeners of our Internet Pacific
Islands Radio Stations.
http://www.pacificislandsradio.com/index.htm

The information in this Newsletter will discuss
issues relating to Pacific Island music. It
will also embrace some of the exciting changes
taking place in the Internet Radio Revolution,
as well as updated information on our Pacific
Island Artists, Programming and Playlists.

NEWS AND VIEWS

The following is the second part of our
monthly series on the evolution of Pacific
Island music. It examines traditional music
and instrumentation, as well as the impact
of colonialism, particularly with respect to
the Polynesian nation of Hawaii.

If there is one outstanding ability which appears
to be shared by all pacific Island people, it is
music and song. Close harmony singing is highly
developed in church music and the power and
emotional impact of chants and hymns at weddings
and funerals is well known to visitors who attend.

In Melanesia and, in particular Papua New Guinea,
the oldest of our island nations, drums are the most
common musical instrument. Those made from a
hollow tree trunk are called garamuts, while the
smaller kundu is shaped like an hour glass and has
snake or lizard skin stretched over one end. These are
played to accompany the traditional music and chants
of this most ancient society.

Indeed, drums were a traditional instrument throughout
the high countries of Oceania where the timber and
other necessary material were available to produce
these instruments. These include the beautiful original
real skin drum sounds of Tahiti and the distinct
wooden-skin mix sounds of the Cook Islands.

In addition to drums, the nose flute, its music and its
context, is one of the oldest musical traditions in
Polynesia. These are found in such places as Tonga,
Hawaii and Fiji. The Tongan fangufangu is characterized
by having a closed distal end (its proximal end is always
closed). Its three fingerholes include one at the proximal
end (just below the blow hole) and two at the distal end.

In addition, two back-to-back holes are in the exact
center of the flute; this characteristic makes the
fangufangu unique (only in Fiji is a similar flute found).
The music of the fangufangu is very soft. To obtain a
sound, the flutist holds one nostril shut with the index
finger of his left hand, while blowing with the other nostril
and fingering the upper fingerhole with the ring finger of
the same hand. The flutist fingers the other two finger holes
with his right hand fingers. Because of the two holes in the
flute's very center, the musician must overblow to obtain
certain notes.

Though the huge swath of islands that make up the South
Pacific have an amazing diversity of cultures and languages,
two distinct influences can be seen upon its music. The first
would be the cultural heritage of the Polynesians, who make
up the dominant ethnic group in the region, and whose trade
routes began to cross the ocean between islands hundreds
of years ago.

The second major force impacting the music of the South
Pacific is colonialism. Colonialism brought with it a range
of musical instruments which became a feature of Pacific
Island music. Some notable examples of this can be seen
in Hawaii where it would be hard to imagine the music
without the slack-key guitar or ukulele.

While some guitars may have made their way to Hawaii
in the early 1800s along with the many European sailors
who visited Hawaii, the origin of Hawaiian guitar music
is generally credited to the Mexican and Spanish
cowboys who were hired by King Kamehameha III around
1832. It was from the Hawaiian cowboys, or paniolos,
that the tradition of Hawaiian slack key guitar music
finds its roots.

This Spanish guitar was a gut string guitar, however, the
actual origins of the Hawaiian steel guitar may never be
known for sure. Legend has it, however, that in the mid
1890s Joseph Kekuku, a Hawaiian schoolboy, discovered
the sound while walking along a railroad track strumming
his Portuguese guitar.

He picked up a bolt lying by the track and slid the metal
along the strings of his guitar. Intrigued by the sound,
he taught himself to play using the back of a knife blade.
Driven by the faint rhythm of an inner sound, he went to
the machine shop at the Kamehameha School and turned
out a steel bar for sliding over the strings. To complete
the sound, he changed the cat-gut strings to steel and
raised them so they wouldn't hit the frets. In doing so,
he is credited with treating the first Hawaiian steel
guitar.

Although the popularity of steel guitar became firmly
established in Hawai`i by the early 1900s, and soon
after in the country music field, it had few teachers.
Those early legendary steel players were so much in
demand to perform and record that they had no time
to teach others, had they wanted to. Thus, in the 1960s
the art and technique of playing Hawaiian steel guitar
was almost lost.

The art form itself has seen numerous offshoots and
developments in its relatively short lifetime. Indeed
with the introduction of amplification in the 1930s, the
steel guitar (like the Spanish guitar) gained pickups and
became the electric steel guitar. Since an acoustic body
was no longer necessary and actually caused feedback
problems, the steel guitar quickly acquired a solid body
and became the first true lap steel guitar.

There is no one standard tuning for the steel guitar and
the solid body electric steel guitar allowed for instruments
to be made with two, three and even four necks, each tuned differently.
Multiple necks made holding the instrument
on the lap almost impossible, and legs were added, making
the first 'console' instruments, although a few single neck
consoles were already being played by 'steelers' who
preferred to stand. At the same time, the steel picked up
two more strings (there were a few seven string steels)
and by the end of WWII the double neck eight string
console was fairly standard, although even today there
are still many players who prefer a single neck six or
eight, especially in Hawaiian and Western Swing music.

Over the years the sound of the Hawaiian steel guitar
has found its way into many forms of American and
world music including blues, "hillbilly", country and
western music, rock and pop and also the music of
Africa and India,

Hawaiian slack key guitar (ki ho'alu) is truly one of
the great acoustic guitar traditions in the world. Ki
ho'alu, which literally means "loosen the key," is the
Hawaiian language name for the solo fingerpicked style
unique to Hawai'i. In this tradition, the strings
(or "keys") are "slacked" to produce many different
tunings, which usually contain a major chord, or a
chord with a major 7th note, or sometimes one with a
6th note in it. Each tuning produces a lingering sound
behind the melody and has a characteristic resonance
and fingering.

Many Hawaiian songs and slack key guitar pieces
reflect themes like stories of the past and present
and people's lives. But it is the tropical surroundings
of Hawai'i, with its oceans, volcanoes and mountains,
waterfalls, forests, plants and animals, that provide
the deepest source of inspiration for Hawaiian music.

These currents run deep in slack key guitar playing,
as accompaniment to vocals, as instrumental
compositions or as interpretations of vocal pieces.
Slack key guitar music is sweet and soulful, and it
is said that slack key is drawn from the heart and
soul out through the fingers of each player.

There is a mystique surrounding slack key guitar
music - it is very personal, and can be very magical
in feeling. Slack key derives its unique sound from
techniques such as "hammering-on" and "pulling-off."
These techniques mimic the yodels and falsettos
common in Hawaiian singing. Harmonics ("chiming"),
produced by lightly touching the strings at certain
points on the fretboard, and slides in which one or
two treble notes are cleffed and then slid (usually up)
to sound another note, are also common. All these
enhance the feeling of aloha, joy or longing
expressed, sometimes all in the same song.

Like blues, slack key guitar is very flexible. Often,
the same guitarist will play a song differently each
time, sometimes using different tempos, and even
different tunings. As each guitarist learns to play
slack key, they find their own individual tunings,
repertoire, tempos and ornaments. It is a very
individualistic tradition and, as one can hear from
different recordings, each guitarist plays quite
differently from the others.

The slack key tradition was given an important
boost during the reign of King David Kalakaua,
who was responsible for the Hawaiian cultural
resurgence of the 1880s and 1890s. He
supported the preservation of ancient music,
while encouraging the addition of imported
instruments like the 'ukulele and guitar. His
coronation in 1883 featured the guitar in
combination with the ipu (gourd drum) and
pahu (skin drum) in a new form called hula ku'i,
and at his Jubilee (celebration) in 1886, there
were performances of ancient chants and hula.
This mixing of the old and new contributed to
the popularity of both the guitar and 'ukulele.

Kalakaua's conviction that the revitalization of
traditional culture was at the root of the survival
of the Hawaiian kingdom became a major factor
in the continuity of traditional music and dance,
and his influence still shows. This was a great
period of Hawaiian music and compositions,
actively supported, and many of the monarchy
composed superb songs that are still well-known
today. After Kalakaua passed away, he was
succeeded by his sister, Queen Lili'uokalani,
Hawai'i's last monarch. She was the greatest
composer of this period, writing classic pieces
such as Aloha 'Oe, Sanoe, Kuu Pua I Paoakalani,
Pau'ahi O Kalani, Lei Ka'ahumanu and many other
beautiful songs still played today.

Until the mid-20th Century, vocals were usually
the most important element of Hawaiian music.
The guitar was mainly relegated to a back-up
role, often grouped with other instruments, and
was played in a natural, finger picked style, with
a steady rhythm, to accompany hula and singing.
The guitar usually did not play the exact melody
of the song, but played a repeated fragment with
improvised variations using ornaments such as
hammer-ons, pull-offs, harmonics and others.

A wide variety of tunings in several different keys
were created to back up the singers effectively.
When the strings were tuned too low, they lost
their tone, and when they were tuned too high,
they were likely to break, thus tunings in six keys
were developed. (Most Hawaiians did not have
a guitar capo, a strap or clamp which fits on the
guitar neck and raises pitch, allowing the same
guitar fingerings in a higher key.) The Hawaiians
often retuned the guitar from the standard Spanish
tuning (E-A-D-G-B-E, from lowest- to highest-pitched
string), resulting in sweet sounding tunings with
"slacked" open (unfretted) strings.

The guitar was often tuned to a major chord, like
the popular G Major "Taro Patch" tuning
(D-G-D-G-B-D), or tunings containing a major
7th note (called "Wahine" tuning), or tunings with
the top two pitches tuned a wide fifth interval
apart (called "Mauna Loa"), and other combinations.
The many ingenious tunings the Hawaiians invented
all into five basic categories: Major, Wahine, Mauna
Loa, Ni'ihau/Old Mauna Loa, and miscellaneous.

When two or more guitarists play together, they
often use different tunings in the same key. For
example, one guitarist might use G Major tuning,
and the other might use G Wahine tuning. Guitars
can also be played together with different tunings
in different keys, capoed up to various frets to
sound in the same key. This is one way to
appreciate the slack key sound.

Due to the distance between the islands, styles
particular to each developed, sometimes specific
to regions of an island. The Big Island, probably
because of its size, has engendered the greatest
variety of regional styles. Some O'ahu players,
especially from Honolulu, have sometimes had
more modern and varied styles because of their
greater exposure to different musical traditions
from the United States (Mainland) and other
parts of the world. To this day, each slack key
artist draws from the traditions of the area where
they grew up and from the music of their 'ohana
(family), adding to it their own individual way of
playing.

Slack key guitar became part of the music that
the paniolo would play after work or with
families and friends at gatherings, and this
paniolo tradition continues to this day on the
Big Island and Maui. Since the 1960s, and especially
now in the 2000s, Hawaiian slack key guitar has also
evolved into a highly developed instrumental art
form, in both solo and group formats. It is when
played solo that the beautiful and unique intricacies
of the slack key guitar can be fully appreciated, as
the music of the masters has great depth and
individuality.

The most influential slack key guitarist in history
was Gabby Pahinui [1921-1980]. The modern slack key
era began in 1947 when Gabby (often referred to as
"the father of modern slack key guitar") made his
first recording of Hi'ilawe on an Aloha Records 78
rpm (#AR-810). Gabby was the prime influence for
keeping slack key guitar from dying out in the Islands,
and his prolific guitar techniques led to the guitar
becoming more recognized as a solo instrument. He
expanded the boundaries of slack key guitar, making it
into a fully evolved solo guitar style capable of
creatively interpreting a wide variety of Hawaiian
traditional and popular standards, original guitar
pieces, and even pieces from other countries. Many
have also been inspired by Gabby's beautiful,
expressive vocals and his virtuoso falsetto voice.

The Gabby Pahinui Band of the 1970s is a good
example of the complexity of sound slack key can
achieve. Along with Gabby, this band featured late
great slack key guitarists Leland "Atta" Isaacs, Sr.
and Sonny Chillingworth, and Gabby's sons Cyril
and Bla Pahinui. Usually on the band's recordings,
each of the guitarists would play in a different C
tuning, providing a thick, textured sound.

Besides Gabby, two other highly influential slack
key artists have been Leonard Kwan and Sonny
Chillingworth. These three are notable not only
because of their artistic virtuosity, but also because
of the availability of their recordings, Gabby's in
the late 1940s, and Leonard's and Sonny's in the late
1950s and early 1960s.

Four of Gabby's earliest recordings from the late
1940s or early 1950s (on Bell Records 78 rpms)
are especially impressive: Hi'ilawe (#505); Key
Khoalu (#509); Hula Medley (#506); and Wai O
Keaniani (#510). Other slack key guitarists were
astounded and inspired by these four recordings,
because of the level of Gabby's playing, and because
each was in a different tuning. He also made many
recordings in the 1950s for the Waikiki label,
issued on three different albums: Hawaiian Slack Key,
Volume 1 (#319), Hawaiian Slack Key, Volume 2
(#320), The Best of Hawaiian Slack Key (#340).

Awareness and popularity of slack key guitar were
further increased by the release of several great
slack key albums in the 1960s by Leonard Kwan,
Ray Kane, Atta Isaacs and Gabby Pahinui on
Margaret Williams' Tradewinds label.

These four, along with Sonny Chillingworth,
recorded in the 1950s, 1960s and 1970s (Gabby
Pahinui started recording in the 1940s) and
influenced all the younger slack key guitarists.
Sonny Chillingworth, Leonard Kwan and Ray Kane
have also continued to record and influence many
others in the 1980s and 1990s. In the 1970s, albums
were issued by the new generation of influential
players such as Keola Beamer, Ledward Kaapana
(with his trio Hui Ohana), and Peter Moon (with his
trio The Sunday Manoa).

There are four basic types of slack key guitar. The
first is the simple but profound style, most evident
in the older playing styles, such as that of the late
Auntie Alice Namakalua. The second is a sort of
"slack key jazz," with lots of improvisation, used
prominently in the music of Atta Isaacs, Cyril
Pahinui, Ledward Kaapana, Moses Kahumoku, George
Kuo and Ozzie Kotani. The third kind creates a
unique sound using ornaments like hammer-ons and
pull-offs. These techniques are featured on Sonny
Chillingworth's Ho'omalu Slack Key, Ray Kane's
Punahele, and George Kuo's Kohala Charmarita.

The fourth, performance-oriented slack key
style, features entertaining visual as well as
sound techniques. These include playing with
the forearm, playing with a bag over the fretting
hand (performed by the late Fred Punahoa and
by Ledward Kaapana), and the intriguing needle
and thread technique, where the player dangles
a needle, hanging from a thread held between
the teeth, across the strings while otherwise
playing normally, which creates a sound a bit like
a mandolin or a hammered dulcimer. This can be
heard, performed by Sonny Chillingworth, on the
fourth verse of the song Wai Ulu, on his recording
Sonny Solo (Dancing Cat 08022 38005). The
technique can be seen on the song Kaula'ili in Susan
Friedman's film Ki ho'alu, That's Slack Key Guitar
and in Eddie Kamae's great slack key film "The
Hawaiian Way."

In the old days, there was an almost mystical
reverence for those who understood ki ho'alu, and
the ability to play it was regarded as a special gift.
To retain and protect the slack key mystique, tunings
were often closely guarded family secrets. This practice
has changed with the times, as respect has increased for
the preservation of older Hawaiian traditions, and now
slack key guitarists are more willing to share their
knowledge outside the family circle with those who
sincerely wish to learn. Because many of the beautiful
old traditions in Hawai'i have been changed by outside
influences, this greatly increased respect for the older
slack key traditions and the sharing of tunings is helping
to ensure that traditional slack key guitar will endure
and be shared.

Since the early 1970s (often called the era of the
Hawaiian Renaissance), Hawaiians have increasingly
looked to their cultural roots, and because of this, slack
key guitar has steadily grown in popularity. The Hawaiian
Music Foundation, founded by Dr. George Kanahele, did much
to increase awareness through their publications, music
classes and the sponsoring of concerts, including the
landmark 1972 slack key concert.

Currently, there are several major slack key festivals.
The Gabby Pahinui/Atta isaacs Slack Key Festival is held
annually in or near Honolulu on the Island of O'ahu, every
third Sunday in August, and the annual Big Island Slack
Key Guitar Festival is held on the next to last Sunday in
July at the Hilo Civic Auditorium on the island of Hawai'i.
Other festivals also take place on Maui and Kauai, on the
Mainland, and occasionally internationally.

Because Hawai'i is one of the crossroads of the world,
its music has always had many influences: Latin music
from Mexico, Spain and Portugal; Polynesian music,
especially from Samoa and Tahiti; European music and
music from the Mainland, including jazz, country and
western, folk and pop. All have been absorbed by
Hawaiians, and they have enriched it with their mana
(soul).

Hawaiian music has always enjoyed a reciprocal
relationship with music from the American Mainland.
Hawaiians began touring the United States during the
early 1890s with acts such as the Royal Hawaiian Band,
small string bands, steel guitarists and vocal
ensembles.

The 1912 Broadway show Bird of Paradise helped
introduce Hawaiian music (although not slack key guitar)
to the United States (Mainland), as did Hawaiian shows
at the big Panama Pacific Exhibition in San Francisco in
1915. By the late teens, Hawaiian recordings were the
biggest selling records in the United States, especially
acoustic steel guitar and vocal recordings.

Starting around 1912, blues slide guitarists and country
and western steel guitar players became more and more
influenced by the Hawaiian slack key guitar sound, due
to increased recordings and tours by Hawaiian performers.
The pedal steel guitar was developed from the Hawaiian
steel guitar, which was invented in the 1880s. Some
Hawaiian steel guitar tunings (and thus, some of the
Mainland steel guitar tunings) evolved from slack key tunings,
especially the G Major tuning for the dobro and lap steel
guitar, and the C Major 6th tuning (similar to the C Mauna Loa tuning)
for the pedal steel guitar. (Steel guitar means any
guitar played with a metal bar, regardless of what material the guitar
is made.)

Although Hawai'i's guitar tradition is the richest in the
Pacific, many other Polynesian countries also have guitar
traditions closely related to slack key. For example, in the
Cook Islands, especially on the island of Aitutaki, it is
called Ki Mamaiata (or sometimes Ki Amoa), which translates as "early in
the morning," a favourite time to play guitar
there.

NOTICE BOARD

VANUATU MUSIC FEST 2005
John Cvetko ++ (678) 22515
David Ellis (02) 9580 3406

Vanuatu's tenth annual Fest'Napuan is expected to
draw 30,000 visitors to capital Port Vila for four
days of free, non-stop music from October 13 to 16,
2005.

The biggest musical event of its kind in the South
West Pacific, Fest'Napuan (it means Festival of Song
and Dance) will feature local string bands, traditional,
custom, contemporary and modern music, and on the
final Sunday a Christian music 'Festival of Praise.'

As well as individuals and bands from many of
Vanuatu's 80 scattered islands, there will be
indigenous groups and soloists from Australia and
Papua New Guinea, and from several other South
Pacific countries that have shown interest in taking
part.

In the past, musicians have come from as far afield as
West Papua, the Solomon Islands, Papua New Guinea,
Easter Island, Fiji, New Caledonia and Australia and
New Zealand.

The Festival aims to promote the development of
contemporary music in Vanuatu by young people in
music groups, offering them the chance to perform
before large audiences and to expose their talents
to potential government and private sponsors.

It also provides local people and visitors from across
the South Pacific with the chance to see this emerging
talent at no cost.

For details email info@furtherarts.org
or vks@vanuatu.com.vu

OCEANIA MESSAGE FORUMS

I am very pleased to be able to say that,
in addition to our main Oceania Guest Book,
additional Bravenet Forums are progressively
being introduced to all Web sites of the main
islands and islets of the Pacific as well as
personalities, along with our Pacific Islands
Radio Web sites:
http://pub47.bravenet.com/forum/4004922603

As you are no doubt aware, these Forums have
been most beneficial in bringing together many
people with an interest in and a love of the
beautiful and enchanting music of the Pacific
Islands. You are cordially invited to share your
valuable and important thoughts and opinions
with us all.

Recent additions also include the Web sites for
Hawaii, Tahiti, Samoa, Republic of Nauru,
Republic of the Marshall Islands, Tonga, Tokelau,
Easter Island, New Caledonia, Vanuatu, Fiji, Papua
New Guinea, Cook Islands and Pitcairn Island, as
well as our Oceania Postcards and Picture Galleries.
Thank you.

PACIFIC ISLANDS RADIO

Pacific Islands Radio is pleased to be able
to advise that a forthcoming upgrade will
allow a considerable expansion to the
Playlist(s) which will include the traditional
music of Irian Jaya (West Papua), along
with an Anthology of the traditional and
beautiful music of Papua New Guinea.

I would also like to mention in response to
many e-mails and messages that I have
received from those wonderful people who
would like to listen to our beautiful Pacific
Island music but are unable to actually listen
to the music.

Once you have accessed the page, it is
necessary to firstly log on in order to be
able to listen to the music. The process
of being able to log on can be achieved by
providing your username and password
before clicking on the yellow Play button
provided on the center of the page.
Good Luck and Enjoy!

In addition, the many listeners who would
like to purchase the music played on our
four Pacific Islands Radio Stations, in CD
format, can obtain details of recommended
suppliers by clicking on Artists' Profiles
on Pacific Islands Radio Home Page:
www.pacificislandsradio.com

Pacific Islands Radio continues to offer a range
of broadcasting formats in order to allow a wide
range of listeners to enjoy our beautiful island
music. These formats, in terms of Connection
Speed and Sound Quality, are basically as
follows:

STATIONS

Pacific Music Radio with a connection speed of
32 kbps is FM Stereo - FM mp3PRO;

Pacific Islands Radio 33K and Micronesia Music
Radio 33K with connection speeds of 24 kbps are
AM Quality; and

Pacific Islands Radio 28K with a connection speed
of 16 kbps is AM Quality.

Perhaps I should mention also that the previous
practice of specifying a minimum connection
speed has now been upgraded. Now, instead
of specifying a bitrate, our broadcast formats
are specified in terms of a combination of
bitrate, sampling rate, stereo mode and codec.

These changes have allowed the introduction
of Pacific Music Radio (FM mp3PRO Stereo)
broadcasting in high fidelity FM stereo as well
as allowing an upgrade in the fidelity of Pacific
Islands Radio 33K and Micronesia Music Radio
33K while still broadcasting at the same bitrate
(24 kbps).

Also, in the longer term, 33K will be referred
to as 24 kbps and 28K will become 16 kbps -
please keep an eye out for these changes.

As usual, Pacific Islands Radio is always keen
to promote our talented island musicians
worldwide in order to satisfy the continuing
demand for our beautiful and distinctive Pacific
Island music! In this respect, should you know
of any island artists whose talents you would
like to see promoted, please contact me on:
jane@pacificislandsradio.com

Our four Pacific Islands Radio Stations play the
enchanting music of the Pacific Islands 24 hours
daily.
www.pacificislandsradio.com
http://www.pacificislandsradio.com/index.htm
http://www.janeresture.com/radio/index.htm

Pacific Music Radio (mp3PRO)
http://www.live365.com/stations/drjaneresture
Pacific Islands Radio 33K (24 kbps)
http://www.live365.com/stations/janeresture
Pacific Islands Radio 28K (16 kbps)
http://www.live365.com/stations/janeres
Micronesia Music Radio 33K (24 kbps)
http://www.live365.com/stations/jane_resture

FEATURE ARTIST

DRUM DRUM

With over 800 languages and 3000 dialects, Papua New
Guinea is one of the most diverse countries in the world.
From this rich cultural diversity, Drum Drum have created
a truly unique style of contemporary performance, merging
the traditional with the contemporary, South Pacific chants
and log drumming with western instruments and music
styles.

The name 'Drum Drum' is the English translation of 'Gaba
Gaba,' which is the name of a village found on the Southern
Coast of Papua New Guinea, the birthplace of Lead Singer,
Tau Ingram, and heritage of Musical Director Airi Ingram.
Dance is also a highlight, and Drum Drum's performances
include a number of traditional songs and dances, many
of which have never previously been performed outside
of Papua New Guinea. Traditional costume and body
paint also evoke the ritual origins of the dynamic log
drumming and chants.

Drum Drum have travelled extensively through Papua
New Guinea and draw on traditional music and dances
of various regions including - Bird dances and Kundu
drumming from Morobe province, Rain dances and
chants from Gaba Gaba coastal village, log drumming
(garamut) from the Manus Islands and Fertility and
Festive dances from the Trobriand Islands.

Over the years Drum Drum have developed a strong
educational program to accompany their performances.
They have conducted school and festival workshops
across Australia and the United States with much
success and are currently working with children in
indigenous Aboriginal communities across the
Northern Territory.

COMING EVENTS!

PACIFIC ISLANDS
OCEANIA AND PACIFIC ISLANDS
CALENDAR EVENTS
http://www.pacificislands.com/calendar/calendar.html

POLYNESIAN CULTURAL CENTER
SPECIAL EVENTS FOR 2005

Every year Polynesian Cultural Center performers,
cultural experts and others appear in a series of
special events and appearances at home in Laie,
in Waikiki, across the United States, and
internationally.
http://www.polynesia.com/special_events/special_events2004.html#upcoming

HAWAIIAN MUSIC CONCERT EVENTS
http://www.mountainapplecompany.com/calendar.htm

HAWAIIAN MUSIC
http://mountainapplecompany.com/

PACIFIC HAWAIIAN DISTRIBUTION
EVENTS CALENDAR
http://www.pacifichawaiian.com/calendars/calendarjan05.htm

MICRONESIA MUSIC ANTHOLOGY

An anthology of traditional Micronesian Music
is available on Micronesia Music Radio:
http://www.live365.com/stations/jane_resture

The anthology can be accessed by clicking on the
Broadcast Schedule after logging in to Micronesia
Music Radio. This should allow you (and our other
listeners worldwide) to determine when the
anthology is available in your beautiful part of
the world.

The Broadcast Schedule can also be accessed at
the following URL:
http://www.live365.com/broadcast/scheduler/?stationname=jane_resture

The supporting Web site to the anthology is:
http://www.janesoceania.com/micronesia_music_anthology/index.htm

GOSPEL MUSIC

Pacific Islands Radio is very pleased to be able
to advise that a collection of some of the most
exciting and absorbing gospel music from the
Pacific Islands is now being featured on Pacific
Music Radio (FM mp3PRO Stereo), Pacific
Islands Radio 33K (24 kbps) as well as Pacific
Islands Radio 28K (16 kbps)

With an extended running time of three hours,
the gospel collection has proved to be extremely
popular and features the music of a number of
talented artists and groups from Melanesia,
Micronesia and Polynesia.

Please monitor the Broadcast Schedule of the
above three Pacific Islands Radio stations for
the availability and time for the Gospel Music
collection. At present this exciting collection
is available every Sunday from 12 midday to
3 pm Australian eastern standard time.

Our four Pacific Islands Radio Stations play the
enchanting music of the Pacific Islands 24 hours
daily.
http://www.pacificislandsradio.com/index.htm

SUPPLIERS

The following are some of the main specialist
suppliers of our music from the Pacific
Islands, which are now being used and are
highly recommended by Pacific Islands Radio.

KING MUSIC -
AUCKLAND, NEW ZEALAND

Kingmusic offers a wide selection of Pacific
Island music which is available on the Internet.
http://www.kingmusic.co.nz/

ISLANDMELODY.COM

Pacific Islands Radio would like to recommend
Islandmelody.com for a selection of traditional
and contemporary music with an emphasis on
Micronesian music.
http://www.islandmelody.com

BWANARAOI MUSIC SHOP -
TARAWA, REPUBLIC OF KIRIBATI

For Kiribati music, along with music from
other Pacific Islands and elsewhere, you
are invited to contact the following
exclusive distributor:

Bwanaraoi Music Shop
Republic of Kiribati
Phone/Fax (686) 28236
E-mail: angirota@tskl.net.ki

LINKS

WELCOME TO THE MUSIC ARCHIVE
OF THE PACIFIC

The Music Archive for the Pacific has been
established by the Southern Cross University,
Lismore, Australia. for the main purpose of providing
a collection of recordings of indigenous music, related
books, journals, musical instruments and art works to
interested persons for research purposes.

The archive covers the music of the indigenous people
of Australia (incl. Torres Strait), Papua New Guinea
(incl. Bougainville), New Zealand as well as the nations
of the Pacific Islands - Cook Islands, Easter Island,
Fiji, Hawaii, Nauru, New Caledonia, Rarotonga, Samoa,
Solomon Islands, Tahiti, Tonga, Tuvalu, and Vanuatu.
http://www.scu.edu.au/schools/arts/music/musicarchive/ArchiveHome.html

MUSIC ARCHIVE FOR THE PACIFIC
http://www.scu.edu.au/schools/arts/music/musicarchive/ArchiveArchive.html

************************
LETTERS

The following are extracts from a few
interesting and most welcome letters that I
have recently received about our four Pacific
Islands Radio Stations, our artists and music.
In this respect, it is my great pleasure to be
able to share these letters with you all as I
find them to be most uplifting, supportive,
motivating and encouraging. They also provide
much needed feedback in order to continuously
monitor and enhance the quality of the service
provided by Pacific Islands Radio.

Please join with me in thanking these wonderful
people for sharing their thoughts with us all.
************
Hi Jane, just to drop you a note that what you
are doing is very much appreciated. I'm a new
listener to your station and Boy! I'm stuck with
it. Here's a thank you from Suva, Fiji

Hi Jane,
Just wanted to congratulate you on your radio
station. I've only just been introduced to it
after much searching for some Pacific Island
Music. Absolutely love it. Cheers -- (Tongan)
PS: Is it really live and do you play it 24/7?

Hi, As a frequent visitor to NZ and the South
Pacific, I always miss the area when I have to
go back to work in London. I discovered the
on-line radio a few weeks ago and I have to
say well done, it's made me happy listening to
it and I remember all my friends. Thanks.
All the best

Dear Jane,
My name is --- and I am living in New Zealand.
I am listening to radio station and found your
name as DJ on the website.

I have been looking for some songs which are
popular in Micronesia at the moment. Because
we are having three people from Micronesia in
September and I would love to welcome them
with their songs. We are going to play a few
pieces for them, however, if I were them, I would
feel so welcomed if I saw people sing my favorite
songs back in my home country.

I have never been to Micronesia, but I believe
that music can bind us together.... Warm regards

Hi Jane,
I was just in the Marquesas islands and now that I
am back I miss the music they were playing there.
I got a couple of CDs with Marquesan music (stuff
that a friend's brother had recorded himself), but I
also miss the more contemporary type stuff that they
were always listening to.Not all of these songs, or
probably none of them, are actually Marquesan. I
don't really know. I am looking for the songs they
often dance to- they have a modern sound to them,
but still Polynesian, and definitely not American pop
songs (I can get those myself).

There is one song in particular I would like to track
down. I am not exactly sure of the title but is something
such as "Pacifica," "O Pacifica," or "Pua O Pacifica."

I also wanted to thank you for the Pacific Island Radio.
I really enjoy listening to it. Is there any way I can get
a hold of the songs, so I can listen to them on a CD, so I
can still enjoy the music when I am not at my computer?

Hi Jane, I'm Riccardo from Sicily (Italy)
Nice music!!!!!!!

Hi Jane. My name is Steve Baughman and I am very
interested in the mix between American Shape Note
singing and the Micronesian gospel singing that is done
in the churches on the islands. Do you know about this
kind of music and if it has been recorded? Might you
be able to let me know how I might obtain some. I
might be interested also in traveling to the islands to
hear it live at some point. Might you know whom I
could contact about this?

I very much appreciate any info you might provide
me on this very interesting and beautiful music.
Sincerely,
Steve Baughman
415-358-5411
************
COMMENTS AND CONTRIBUTIONS

IT'S TIME TO CHAT

Our Chat Rooms are always available for online
chatting between parties and can be accessed
via Jane's Oceania Home Page:
http://www.janeresture.com or the URLs:
http://pub18.bravenet.com/chat/show.php/1489671900
http://pub32.bravenet.com/chat/show.php/2702076781

It is always a pleasure to receive your comments
and valuable contributions regarding our Pacific
Islands Radio. Please continue to e-mail them to
me at: jane@pacificislandsradio.com

Once again, I thank you very much for being
part of our Pacific Islands Radio Newsletter
(Island Music) Club!

Your continual support, encouragement and
most kind generosity are greatly appreciated.

Let us all hope for continuing greater peace,
prosperity, happiness and harmony for people
everywhere!

Best wishes and please take care!
May our God bless us all and, as usual, I look
forward to the pleasure of your company next
time!

Jane Resture