Here follows a brief update on developments with the Lani Singers.
Firstly, if you havent already done so, please check their new
website.
It contains all the latest live news, indepth background information on
the group, photos, music and a chance to listen again to their previous
radio sessions on BBC Radio 3 and BBC Radio London.
The Lani Singers album 'Ninalik Ndawi' received very positive
reviews in the UK press including Observer Music Monthly, The Wire,
Songlines, The Guardian, fRoots and Rock 'n Reel, as well as
publications in Australia including Limelight Magazine. Thanks to everyone who has got copies of the album.
Special thanks also to DJ Ritu at BBC Radio London, World Routes on
BBC Radio 3, Jill Turner at Gondwana Sound, Tom Schnabel at KCRW in Los
Angeles, Spin The Globe, and everyone else who has supported the
release on the radio airwaves around the world.
The Lani Singers performing last week at Urban75's Offline event (photo courtesy Urban75.org)
Despite the arrival of their fifth child, the group continue giving
talks and live performances across the UK as they tirelessly spread the
message of their peoples plight. Last weekend they played two dates
in Sheffield and Barnsley for the launch of Refugee Week.
This weekend
they will be joined by exiled West Papuan dance troupe
Mambesak as special guests of English Heritage at Stonehenge for the Summer Solstice. Next month they are playing at
Port Eliot Festival in St Germans, Cornwall.
The Lani Singers also feature on
fPcNs '
Sounds Like Freedom' CD. Copies of both albums are available by clicking
here. Please support these releases and give to friends to spread the music and the vital message they embody.
We have also produced a number of copies of the
Lani Singers
album on tape cassette, and these will be copied and distributed
amongst the Papuan people as an underground resistance release,
allowing people all over West Papua to hear Benny and Maria's music.
Finally, please keep up with developments in West Papua. The
situation is deteriorating very badly at the moment. The Indonesian
government have expelled the International Red Cross from West Papua,
and military numbers are increasing daily. In the Puncak Jaya region
there are hundreds of Papuans hiding in the jungle as military sweeping
operations of villages are becoming a daily occurence. There is a
humanitarian crisis unfurling and its vital that the media starts
covering this. It's only 10 years since the world looked on in horror
at Indonesia's genocidal activies in East Timor. It's happening all
over again now in West Papua. You can keep up to date with developments
at the Free West Papua Campaign's website at
www.freewestpapua.orgOn behalf of Benny and Maria Wenda, thanks for your continued support for their music and the Papuan struggle.