OLAC Record
oai:paradisec.org.au:WM2-046a

Metadata
Title:Black Paradise - Spirit of Mambesak
Access Rights:Open (subject to agreeing to PDSC access conditions)
Bibliographic Citation:David Bridie (collector), Steven Gagau (consultant, data_inputter), George Telek (performer), David Bridie (compiler), Ferry Marisan (performer), Max Binur (performer), Arnold Ap (performer), Victor Jara (performer), 2003. Black Paradise - Spirit of Mambesak. MPEG/WAV/PDF. WM2-046a at catalog.paradisec.org.au. https://dx.doi.org/10.26278/h6qa-1h52
Contributor (compiler):David Bridie
Contributor (consultant):Steven Gagau
Contributor (data_inputter):Steven Gagau
Contributor (performer):George Telek
Ferry Marisan
Max Binur
Arnold Ap
Victor Jara
Coverage (Box):northlimit=2.12515; southlimit=-10.5039; westlimit=129.766; eastlimit=141.231
Coverage (ISO3166):ID
Date (W3CDTF):2003-01-01
Date Created (W3CDTF):2003-01-01
Description:West Papuan cultural music group Black Paradise release their stunning debut album West Papua has been in the news a lot recently. The arrival of 43 West Papuan asylum seekers on Australian shores and the discovery of a veritable Garden of Eden in the forest shrouded Foja Mountains has catapulted the story of West Papua into mainstream public attention. ‘Spirit of Mambesak’, the debut album by rising West Papuan cultural and musical sensation Black Paradise evokes both the mystery of this breathtakingly beautiful land and through song and poetry, words and image tells something of the story that compels 43 West Papuans to make a perilous ocean crossing in a traditional canoe to seek freedom. ‘Spirit of Mambesak’ features both string band and traditional music from diverse highland, island, and coastal communities from around West Papua. Producer David Bridie comments that “Black Paradise’s music is based around guitars, skin drums, ukulele and soaring four part harmony vocals that draw on ancient songs from their land of jagged and rugged highlands and tropical coastlines…songs from the bush; earthy throat-based vocals; soulful rhythms; haunting laments; and upbeat hip swinging sensual tunes punctuated with infectious joy”. The album concludes with a bonus track, ‘West Papua’: a rousing tribute to freedom written and sung by internationally acclaimed fellow Melanesian, George Telek. Telek, who usually refrains from political songs, wrote the track after being deeply touched when he met the band when they performed together in Melbourne recently. Black Paradise frontman, Ferry Marisan; says that the bands message is to “show that West Papuan culture is still alive." Indeed Black Paradise's lyrics paint pictures of liberation. The core members of Black Paradise work for the amnesty international-type organisation Elsham (Institute for the Study and Advocacy of Human Rights) who investigate human rights in the troubled territory, accompany local communities as they assert their rights, and educate the rest of the world about the beauty of West Papuan culture. The profit from the sale of each CD supports the work of Elsham and helps Black Paradise develop a viable cultural organisation. Black Paradise musician Max Binur says that the CD is “a way to introduce the music and songs of West Papua to the international community, to show that West Papuans, not unlike other ethnic groups around the world, also have their own distinctive culture.” The music is complemented by a stunning full-colour booklet outlining the story of West Papua written in both Indonesian and English, and containing the lyrics – sung in an array of indigenous West Papuan languages – accompanied by Indonesian and English translations, all interspersed with striking photo’s from Black Paradises hugely successful 2003 Australian tour. The albums title, ‘Spirit of Mambesak’ evokes the name and memory of the music group established by West Papuan musicologist and anthropologist Arnold Ap in the late 70’s and early 80’s. Arnold Ap, West Papua’s own Victor Jara, ventured around the territory collecting and recording the songs and dances of his people, nurturing and promoting West Papuan identity. In 1984 he was jailed and assassinated by the Indonesian military. His only crime was that he sung the songs of his people. The album was recorded during Black Paradise’s visit to Melbourne for the hugely popular Morning Star Concert for West Papua in 2003. Spirit of Mambesak is being released internationally on the Blunt label and is in stores now. http://www.mana.com.au/blackparadise/ Tracklist 1.Black Paradise - Aye Nanawe 05:06 2.Metamani 03:44 3.Nit Pughulok En 03:20 4.Tata Mena 04:08 5.Nyanyian Sunyi 05:40 6.Yako Car 06:07 7.Wanang Ba 05:19 8.Muman Minggil 03:46 9.Airaro Beseya 03:54 10.Awin Sup Ine 03:22 Source: Wantok Musik Foundation & Bandcamp. (David Bridie & Steven Gagau, July 2025) . Language as given:
Format:Digitised: no
Identifier:WM2-046a
Identifier (URI):http://catalog.paradisec.org.au/repository/WM2/046a
Rights:Open (subject to agreeing to PDSC access conditions)
Subject:English language
Indonesian language
Subject (ISO639):eng
ind
Subject (OLAC):language_documentation
Table Of Contents (URI):http://catalog.paradisec.org.au/repository/WM2/046a/WM2-046a-001.mp3
http://catalog.paradisec.org.au/repository/WM2/046a/WM2-046a-001.wav
http://catalog.paradisec.org.au/repository/WM2/046a/WM2-046a-002.mp3
http://catalog.paradisec.org.au/repository/WM2/046a/WM2-046a-002.wav
http://catalog.paradisec.org.au/repository/WM2/046a/WM2-046a-003.mp3
http://catalog.paradisec.org.au/repository/WM2/046a/WM2-046a-003.wav
http://catalog.paradisec.org.au/repository/WM2/046a/WM2-046a-004.mp3
http://catalog.paradisec.org.au/repository/WM2/046a/WM2-046a-004.wav
http://catalog.paradisec.org.au/repository/WM2/046a/WM2-046a-005.mp3
http://catalog.paradisec.org.au/repository/WM2/046a/WM2-046a-005.wav
http://catalog.paradisec.org.au/repository/WM2/046a/WM2-046a-006.mp3
http://catalog.paradisec.org.au/repository/WM2/046a/WM2-046a-006.wav
http://catalog.paradisec.org.au/repository/WM2/046a/WM2-046a-007.mp3
http://catalog.paradisec.org.au/repository/WM2/046a/WM2-046a-007.wav
http://catalog.paradisec.org.au/repository/WM2/046a/WM2-046a-008.mp3
http://catalog.paradisec.org.au/repository/WM2/046a/WM2-046a-008.wav
http://catalog.paradisec.org.au/repository/WM2/046a/WM2-046a-009.mp3
http://catalog.paradisec.org.au/repository/WM2/046a/WM2-046a-009.wav
http://catalog.paradisec.org.au/repository/WM2/046a/WM2-046a-010.mp3
http://catalog.paradisec.org.au/repository/WM2/046a/WM2-046a-010.wav
http://catalog.paradisec.org.au/repository/WM2/046a/WM2-046a-011.mp3
http://catalog.paradisec.org.au/repository/WM2/046a/WM2-046a-011.wav
http://catalog.paradisec.org.au/repository/WM2/046a/WM2-046a-012.mp3
http://catalog.paradisec.org.au/repository/WM2/046a/WM2-046a-012.wav
http://catalog.paradisec.org.au/repository/WM2/046a/WM2-046a-013.pdf
http://catalog.paradisec.org.au/repository/WM2/046a/WM2-046a-014.pdf
http://catalog.paradisec.org.au/repository/WM2/046a/WM2-046a-015.pdf
Type (DCMI):Sound

OLAC Info

Archive:  Pacific And Regional Archive for Digital Sources in Endangered Cultures (PARADISEC)
Description:  http://www.language-archives.org/archive/paradisec.org.au
GetRecord:  OAI-PMH request for OLAC format
GetRecord:  Pre-generated XML file

OAI Info

OaiIdentifier:  oai:paradisec.org.au:WM2-046a
DateStamp:  2025-07-31
GetRecord:  OAI-PMH request for simple DC format

Search Info

Citation: David Bridie (compiler); Steven Gagau (consultant); Steven Gagau (data_inputter); George Telek (performer); David Bridie (compiler); Ferry Marisan (performer); Max Binur (performer); Arnold Ap (performer); Victor Jara (performer). 2003. Pacific And Regional Archive for Digital Sources in Endangered Cultures (PARADISEC).
Terms: area_Asia area_Europe country_GB country_ID dcmi_Sound iso639_eng iso639_ind olac_language_documentation olac_singing

Inferred Metadata

Country: United KingdomIndonesia
Area: AsiaEurope


http://www.language-archives.org/item.php/oai:paradisec.org.au:WM2-046a
Up-to-date as of: Fri Aug 1 0:20:56 EDT 2025