Across the Pacific

An Australian-based audio experiment, The South Pasifika Sound Project is the brainchild of musician-producer and traveller Paul Agar, who in another tropical guise is the steel guitar player for Aussie-Hawaiian music trio Aloha Baby. A tranquil affair that strives to create a balmy pan-Pacific ambience, with Polynesian-Melanesian song inspirations coming from Fiji, Vanuatu, Tonga, Samoa, Cook Islands, Niue and New Zealand, the project is quite successful in tapping into the various island cultures.

Authenticity is boosted by the inclusion of several Pacific guests, including Australian-Samoan log drummer Bobby Alu (aka Charles Robert Fa'agalu Wall) and Maori vocalist Rewa Utuaonga, who provides a traditional summoning karanga call on the track ‘Tarawera’. Cook Islands (Kūki ‘Āirani) chants from the Wellington-based Whitireia Performance Centre Group grace the songs ‘Aitutaki’ and ‘Moso's Footprint’, a Tongan chant is sampled on ‘Anahulu’ and a Samoan choir's ceremonial kava song enhances the Fiji-infused track ‘Tagaqe’. But it's Agar's own guitar, keyboard and programming contributions that predominate on this album, with the emphasis on the sound of his steel guitar. And while there's no rush or fuss on Across the Pacific, there's a sufficiently laid-back palm-trees-andhip-swaying vibe here that will satisfy most Oceanic enthusiasts.