Nothin' Sez Somethin': Samoa

13 September 2013

Samoa

This is quite the compilation of old Samoan songs. Two songs were recorded in 1910 when a group of Samoans led by Tamasese visited Berlin. Others were recorded by the radio broadcasting agencies of Samoa & New Zealand, all before 1970. These songs are all of ancient origin or of traditional composition. None feature instruments other than traditional Samoan musical instruments, the pate (a hollowed-out log) & the fala (a rolled-up mat) both which are beaten with sticks, creating sound primarily by way of the instrument's vibrating, without the use of strings or membranes. These are accompanied by clapping & choral singing.

This all tends to make the songs sound random & spontaneous. The subject themselves range from glee at the destruction of Manono by German warships, to a creepy wailing song about the impending doom of a village due to some unknown indiscretion, to grieving songs about the Spanish influenza & the Mau movement, to a song based on an old Savai'i myth. If you are at all interested how the old Samoa sounded like before the influence of modern Western music, this collection is an absolute necessity.