Te Vaka, Original, Contemporary Pacific Music (ARC Music) 9
Te Vaka are a surprising and inviting enigma. They are a New Zealand-based ten piece group headed by Opetaia Foa'i, whose parents come from two small Pacific Islands called Tuvalu and Tokelau. He sings exclusively in Tokelauan, but draws influences from Samoa, where he spent the first part of his childhood, Balinese Gamelon, African and Aboriginal music, as well as traditional Polynesian musics. The album starts with sounds of the ocean and people in the background. I feared it was going to come off as a faux field recording or even worse, New Age. Fortunately the effects are kept to a minimum, leaving the scintillating music to dazzle with its rich mix of modern and traditional instrumentation, which include the increasingly popular didgeridoo. The rhythms are supplied by the 'Pate' -- the traditional log drum, conga and bass drums. Foa'i plays the acoustic guitar in an open string tuning used since whalers introduced the instrument to the Pacific Island in the 1800s. Te Vaka are a special group who deserve to be heard worldwide. Their UK-based label, ARC Music, seem more than capable of making it happen. ARC Music has an impressive catalog from around the world, but the album art is somewhat of a disservice as it's straight from the 50s. Titles like Original, Contemporary Pacific Music and Traditional Songs and Dances from Africa, give the image of haphazard collections put together by geeky bespectacled musicologists who brought back field recordings on a portable TEAC tape recorder. It would help if they followed the lead of labels like World Circuit, Real World, and Luaka Bop, by updating the graphic design of their covers to the more culturally sensitive 90s, and by using real album titles that reflect their artists' unique visions.
