Where the Hell is Afunakwa?

I went to the Solomon Islands to research the origins of Rorogwela, a traditional folk song that was sampled in "Sweet Lullaby" by Deep Forest and reused in my dancing videos.

My mom just pointed out a grammatical error in the opening. And I got the date wrong. It was on Halloween. Ah, well.

If you just can't get enough, there's more detail about the Solomons on my site:
http://wherethehellismatt.typepad.com/blog/2007/11/02/index.html

Category:

Travel & Events

Tags:

• sweet
• lullaby
• rorogwela
• afunakwa
• solomon
• islands
• baegu
• where
• hell
• matt
• harding
• dancing

[ramonamann]

I hope that someone from Deep Forest or etc. paid Afunakwa and or her family for her singing. What would be appropriate now is to ask her community what they would like to do with the appropriate proceeds from the sale of 3 million copies. Otherwise it's yet another example of colonial rip-off mentality.

[serrelle]

2007?!.... Really must follow up on this before we lose "Jack", her son.

Would be wonderfully Awesome to see the experience of Matt, Jack, and the tribe of Afunakwa dancing in memorium. (sp?/wd? - sorry)

Please hurry and return to them :) PLEASE!!!!!!!!

[halfpintstuff]

@IngeniousEpithet I concur.

[twilightmind75]

Yes, it seems Deep Forest owes UNESCO... but Deep Forest deserves credit for bringing this beautiful song, which would otherwise have sat dusty in an archive, to the world's attention.

[Jfeeger]

@StrangeHalloween The sampled melody used by Deep forrest “Rorogwela” sung by Afunakwa, was recorded by ethnomusicologist Hugo Zemp and originally released by UNESCO. Deep Forest’s subsequent claim that the track had UNESCO’s approval was found to be invalid. Deep Forest had gone ahead and used the track without Afunakwa's, Hugo Zemp or UNESCO's consent. Your right of course 'no money' could ever pay back this type of blatant misappropriation of culture.

[HostingReviews1]

nice video... thanks

[Shirvannn]

hey leave deep forest alone, they did an excellenty job in proper portrayal

and to quote desert walk no sabem or sacem

[DjTommyKx]

I really dig the dudes shirt.... "The world does not revolve around me....." god i love these beautiful people... they seem to be more natural n unbias not like everyone here in Australia... We are becoming so Americanised!!! its preety disturbing.

[IngeniousEpithet]

It's kinda sad that the entire planet has been taken over by my western culture. People are abandoning their ancient, beautiful, successful cultures to embrace western clothes, technologies, languages, foods, and so on. I can understand how English has become a universal language, but so many dying cultures is just unacceptable. My way of life isn't better than others, there's no reason everyone needs to live the way I do.