Are’are’

Hailing from southern Malaita in the Solomon Islands, east of Papua New Guinea, Charles Maimarosia was the original lead singer-songwriter and choreographer for Solomons panpipe group Narasirato. Having founded the group in 2000 with other young men from his remote village of Pipisu, Narasirato’s high-energy live performances brought them a fair bit of global attention.

In 2010 he relocated to Australia’s multicultural Melbourne to pursue a solo career. His debut album proves that he’s lost none of his dynamic charisma, and this is a welcome addition to the small but fascinating catalogue of music available from the Solomons. Based around his own singing, acoustic guitar and panflutes, Maimarosia’s ancestor-based repertoire is both beautiful and powerful. Sung in native Are’are’ language, his slightly nasal, octave-hopping tenor reveals a mixture of traditional singing and the church choir influences of his youth.

Breathy panpipe solos are upfront on tracks like ‘Merani Toro’ and ‘Naka Warawara To’o’, and are augmented elsewhere with subtle keyboard, electric guitar, bass and percussion. Are’are’ rightly places Maimarosia at the centre of contemporary Melanesian music. My only complaint is that at eight tracks, this recording is far too short.