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Album Details

• Artist: Various Artists
• Album: Bosavi: Rainforest Music from Papua New Guinea
• Label: Smithsonian
• Year of Release: 2001
• Reviewed by: dscanland on 2003-03-31

Smithsonian has done yet another amazing job documenting the musical styles of different cultures. This time around they have gathered a musical portrait of life in Papua New Guinea rainforest area. It is a comprehensive collection with three cd’s and an 80 page booklet to go along with it. If you aren’t interested in field recordings there is no reason to get this collection. On the other hand, people interested in different musical cultures will revel in the completeness of this collection As always, Smithsonian has divided up the Bosavi collection into manageable chunks. The first disc is Guitar Bands of the 1990’s and it shows their use of the Pacific guitar and ukulele. It is my favorite of the three discs. The second disc is Sounds and Songs of Everyday Life and it demonstrates the songs the Bosavi families use at work and play. The third disc is Sounds and Songs of Ritual and Ceremony which includes just that; examples of chants and ceremonial songs of the Bosavi people. Beyond people just interested in field recordings, Bosavi will appeal to new age fans as well as world music buyers. The booklet included has great photographs and a good essay on the collection. It then gets into each individual track and gives the reader a background into all the songs and when they are used.

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