We Will Sing

From the folks who brought us veteran Thursday Island songman Seaman Dan, come two new voices from the Torres Strait island of Erub (aka Darnley Island). With a population of just 400 people, two shops and one school, Erub is about as remote and unhurried as it gets, and the Kiwat brothers’ songs reflect that tranquility. Located near the Great Barrier Reef, between Queensland’s Cape York and Papua New Guinea, and in the extreme north¬eastern section of the TSI chain, volcanic Erub is secluded even by local island standards. Influenced by both Melanesian and Polynesian cultures, the siblings are third-generation descendants from Rotuma, north of Fiji, whose great-grandfather came to the Torres Straits in the late 1880s as a pearling industry worker. Their original songs also bear the inevitable hallmark of the church hymn harmonies brought by the Christian missionaries – along with a touch of country music.

Singing in English, regional Brokan Creole and traditional Meriam Mir language, their lyrics tell of sailing adventures, sea breezes and star-lit night skies. ‘Gazir Ilun’ celebrates the family’s traditional land, where they still tend their fish traps. ‘Sometimes’ and ‘You Didn’t Tell Me’ are both island love ballads, while ‘Taibobo’ highlights the brothers’ Rotuman roots. Produced by Torres Strait bassist Will Kepa, university professor Karl Neuenfeldt, and Nigel Pegrum (Steeleye Span), We Will Sing has a polished edge, despite the simplicity of the music itself. Fans of Hawaiian music will also feel at home with the laid-back mood of these Pacific community storytellers.