Small Island Big Song – Our Island (Small Island Big Song, 2022)
It is no wonder that “Our Island” reached number 1 in February 2022 at the Transglobal World Music Chart. It is a charming project in all senses. The music is a beautiful collaboration, bringing together talented artists from the Indo-Pacific. “Our Island” introduces the listener to modern world music songs featuring a wide range of rhythms and traditional music from island nations. Additionally, the songs also include mesmerizing sounds from the natural the world like sea surf and wild animals.
The artists met online during the pandemic, locked down on their respective islands: Madagascar, Tahiti, Taiwan, Papua New Guinea, The Marshall Islands, Australia, and Mauritius.
Australian filmmaker and music producer Tim Cole said to World Music Central: “The strength and soul of our music truly lies in collaboration, an extraordinary group of artists, all of whom have made the choice to carry their cultural lineage to sing in the language and play the instruments shaped over countless generations of living on their island homes.
“Our Island features Emlyn from Mauritius, Sauljaljui from the Paiwan indigenous nation of Taiwan, Airileke & Mogu from Papua New Guinea, Sammy from Madagascar, Vaiteani of Tahiti, Yoyo Tuki of Rada Nui/Easter Island, Putad of the AMIS nation of Taiwan, Horomona Horo & Jerome Maori artists from Aotearoa/NZ, Alena Murang from Borneo and Selina Leem of the Marshall Islands.”
“As the producers, we already knew some of the artists and others we found through researching, the album was recorded remotely from our islands, and we have only just met in person for our US tour currently underway.”
Our Island was recorded remotely through fortnightly Zoom meetings. Cole added: “As we got to know each other sharing our cultures and concerns for our environments, we would then begin songs on different environmental issues and share them around for everyone to add something to. As the producer, it was my role to keep arranging and mixing all the ideas together.”
The album Our Island is an urgent call for climate action. Cole says: “The heart of Our Island, is the climate emergency we are all experiencing, its effects, sea level rise, coral bleaching, forest fires, droughts along with plastic pollution, deforestation and oil spills. As artists, musicians how do we respond? This album and now concert has given us chance to support each other and hope the listener deal with this eco-anxiety, doing what we can as musicians. We are not here to point the finger or tell others what to do; we more feel we are a part of a likeminded movement of people who recognize the reality of the environmental crisis we are in, and are all doing what we can within our sphere of influence to avoid the looming environmental collapse.”
The physical format of the album is a beautifully designed, ecofriendly package with a stylish embossed cardboard box that contains beautiful cards and an extensive book with liner notes, lyrics, photographs, and lovely illustrations. Physical copies are available at www.smallislandbigsong.com/market
As part of its North American tour, Small Island Big Song will be performing on Friday, February 25 at North Beach Bandshell in Miami Beach, Florida. Later, the World Music Institute will present Small Island Big Song’s multimedia concert on Friday, March 18, 2022 at Peter Norton Symphony Space in Manhattan.
Author: Angel Romero
Angel Romero y Ruiz has dedicated his life to musical exploration. His efforts included the creation of two online portals, worldmusiccentral.org and musicasdelmundo.com. In addition, Angel is the co-founder of the Transglobal World Music Chart, a panel of world music DJs and writers that celebrates global sounds. Furthermore, he delved into the record business, producing world music studio albums and compilations. His works have appeared on Alula Records, Ellipsis Arts, Indígena Records and Music of the World.