The Lani Singers hail from the remote central highland region of West Papua in the south-west Pacific. Deeply emotive and compelling, their songs are rooted in the sacred rituals of the Lani tribe – a tribe whose way of living has remained largely unchanged since the Stone Age.
But their music has also come to embody a powerful modern day message - the struggle that their fellow people endure under a brutal and illegal Indonesian occupation. Since Indonesia invaded West Papua in 1963, over 400,000 native West Papuans have been murdered by Indonesian military and countless others have ‘disappeared’ in one of the world’s worst ongoing yet largely unreported cases of ethnic cleansing.
The Lani Singers are husband and wife, Benny and Maria Wenda.
Leader of the Koteka Tribal Assembly, Benny Wenda was imprisoned by the Indonesian authorities on a 25 year term for raising the banned 'Morning Star' flag of West Papua, and for being an independence figurehead within West Papua. In 2003 he miraculously managed to escape from prison and was smuggled by freedom fighters through the jungle to neighbouring Papua New Guinea, where his wife Maria and their young child were by now living in a refugee camp by the border. Once reunited, they were brought to the UK by an NGO group, where they are now re-settled and run the Free West Papua Campaign, spreading awareness about the plight of their people, and campaigning for West Papua’s independence.
A mixture of traditional songs passed down through the generations by elders, as well some of their own compositions reflective of their plight, these songs are ones of hope, love, joy and pain.
The Lani Singers debut album Ninalik Ndawi was released in November 2008 (click here to purchase a copy), and they also feature on a recent compilation CD release called Merdeka (freedom), raising vital funds for the Free West Papua Campaign. To listen to samples and purchase a copy of the album click here
To find out more information about the ongoing situation in West Papua and to get involved in campaigning, please check these websites www.freewestpapua.org and www.infopapua.org
Hello! After many invitations to our gigs it's a big pleasure to invite you to the first night promoted by NATEMA: 'LOOP HOLE' and it'll be great to see all of our friends there! Apart from Natema's live act (myspace.com/natemalive) there will be two great DJs: Dj Wesley Razzy (myspace.com/wesleyrazzy) and Dj Roddy.
Hi THe Lani Singers, Its been a while and we thought it was about time we updated you on what we've been up to. Our debut EP Little World is now available at our gigs and will soon be available from our myspace and facebook pages, you will also be able to download it from itunes, but we don't have a release date for this as yet. To celebrate the fact that we have now reached 25,000 plays on myspace, we are giving you a free MP3 of Rockabye Baby. All you have to do is send your email address to queen.elvis@yahoo.ie and we will send it to you. We have spent the last year rehearsing with a full band and are now ready to bring it on the road. You can get a look at us when we appear on Balcony TV this week with the full line up. We are currently taking bookings for gigs/concerts/festivals and can be contacted on the email above, or through our myspace and facebook pages. Thankyou for your continued support in what has been a great year for us! Best Wishes Caroline and Colin
Finally we are ready to come out of our cocoon and release our first full length recording called Moonlit Numina. It will be released the 3rd of October 2009. But in the meantime you can listen to the three songs appearing on The Moonlit Single.
Hi The Lani Singers, thanks for accepting my friend request. I appreciate the opportunity to introduce You to the music of ALIEN SKIN.
The ATMOSPHERE continues on the debut album DON’T OPEN TILL DOOMSDAY. You may easily listen to it on the Alien Skin website www.alienskinmusic.com/listen
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Hey Guys, thanks for the add! Please check out our music and stay tuned for news about the upcoming release of our debut album "High Roller"! Rock on!! Four Wheel Drive
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