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The Narasirato Pan Pipers
Their instruments are made of bamboo and tree bark. They save the teeth of their ancestors. They still use shells for money. The Narasirato Pan Pipers are not your typical Fujirock band, to be sure, and certainly the easiest act to spot in a crowd, but when they take to the stage at Orange Court next month, the promoters at Smash can proudly check off the “World Music” box from their to-do list. Dressed in traditional clothing and body paint, the Pipers will certainly draw a crowd, and when they play, feet will definitely start moving. But hopefully those in attendance will also be reminded of what the word “tribal” truly meant before it was co-opted by the club scene and tattoo parlors.
Residing in a remote village in the Solomon Islands, these loincloth-clad journeymen live near a mangrove forest accessible only by canoe or on foot. The allure of sharing their culture (and no doubt observing others) drew them out from their tropical diggs to begin playing around the world, with their first Japanese performance at Fujirock this year. Their instruments range from small “soprano” bamboo flutes to massive organic tubes that are smacked or stomped on the ground for percussion – all done to choreographed dance moves to keep the crowd engaged.
Observe:
To be honest, I’m more interested seeing these guys offstage than on. Hopefully they’ll wander through the fest in their traditional gear, maybe asking directions from the occasional passer-by or spearing a deer on the boardwalk. Whatever happens, I hope that they get a chance to interact with the typical Fujirock natives: the ticket-holding hipsters of urban Japan. The cultural gap between Shibuya and the South Pacific is a wide one, but nothing that some kebabs and a few Heineken drafts couldn’t fix.
