Musical mediations on the music fest stage
An encounter between ’Are’are bamboo panpipes and the global music industry
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.1558/Keywords:
mediation, globalization, indigenous music, musical instruments, Solomon IslandsAbstract
In this study, I focus on the bamboo panpipe, an indigenous instrument of ’Are’are in the Solomon Islands, as an example of a partially alternative theory of mediation. The ethnographic case describes the participation of a local band playing ’Are’are bamboo panpipes at an international music festival held in Japan. I explore the mutual mediation of alternative forms of music through the acts of performers, producers and engineers at the international music festival. The ethnography describes how the performance of indigenous music becomes possible at global music festivals through the negotiation, trial and compromise of the different actors on stage, backstage and behind the scenes. The mediation requires a broader perspective than that of the music and music industries originating in the Western world and I discuss my observations of how the musicians think and act when mediating their performance of the bamboo panpipes.
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