Tahiti Dances

Vahine Anamite

Tahiti Dances
Authentic Tahitian Chants, Drum Rhythms and Songs
Actually Recorded in Papeete, Tahiti
HI-FI Tahiti Records TR-201
1961

From the back cover: Eddie Lund, in this album, has given the world its first discs of authentic Tahitian music as recorded in the islands themselves. He has studied the music ever since his arrival in Papeete in 1936 and is one of the leading authorities in this field. To insure absolute authenticity in these recordings, Lund traveled to some of the most remote of the Society Islands to assemble talent. Many performers never before had seen a microphone.

Eddie Lund is an interesting character. He formed a band, which is featured on this LP called Eddie Lund and his Native Tahitians. It would seem that he played with the local musicians, although it is not at all apparent what the role of his "band" had in the project. This is his fourth record of Tahitian music. He stayed in Tahiti permanently and became know as the Irving Berlin of Island music and the father of modern Tahitian folk Music. He died in 1973.

The music on this disc is varied. I simply picked, by way of example, the more "unique" track.