Music of Australia & New Guinea

Australia has two major musical legacies. One is the predictable, corny British colonial fare: Scottish, English, Irish, and Welsh traditional music and all the usual imports, from country to classical. Rolf Harris is the homegrown superstar who digested it all and regurgitated it as original novelty songs, most of which are worthy of Tiny Tim, Arthur Godfrey, and the Wiggles. Better still is the unique, fascinating sound of the aboriginals.

The best exotic pop from Down Under features the sounds of the wild habitats of tribal Arnhem Land. Although as "out there" as Tibetan music, only a handful of these utterly strange records received widespread publication. Aboriginal music has deep, wonderous texture. The continuously sonorous didjeridu sets the tempo but serves as a drone, while stick percussion guides the dancers. Ritual chants, wailing, and guttural evocations join gourds and bits of bark in the surreal soundscape. Inscrutably odd, this timeless, "ambient" music of the outback reflects an ancient tradition that nevertheless seems ever on the move.

The Australian Trust Territory of New Guinea represents a giant collection of people over a vast area. The music and language is as varied as can be. Everything about New Guinea (famed for cannibalism) is very weird, and the "primitive" music is no exception. Instruments range from those with familiar counterparts to the positively unique.