Tarzzy Metta is one of these people! He comes from Papua New Guinea with over 20 years as a creative Indie Artist. Combining his traditional tribal music and bridging the Western culture music, Tarzzy has a dream for the world to embrace the ethnic, soothing, and authentic sounds of the past, present, and future. In this interview, we do a deep dive into Melanesian traditions in music, the creation of his band Ancient Dusk, Tarzzy’s thoughts about life and the universe, his insights into Love, and his mission to go International.
Ancient Dusk is made up of four musicians all from the West New Britain province of Papua New Guinea. The band is a year old at this time however each member has their own history in the local music industry. The guitarist Aro Paul Badi and the bassist, Justin Chenko Kila played in a band called Radaaz in which BIG artist Anslom was the vocalist. Raymond Waloloki is a sound engineer with PNG's biggest recording label in which Ancient Dusk frontman Tarzzy Metta recorded 4 albums.
This is enlightening, inspiring, and a must-read! I hope you enjoy learning about Tarzzy as much as I have through this interview.
Eileen: You are a rising Indie Artist, along with your band Ancient Dusk, from Papua New Guinea. When did your interest in music begin and how has it evolved to where you are now?
Tarzzy: Music is an integral part of my upbringing within the Bola tribe, one of the 800-plus tribes in Papua New Guinea. The chants and melodies associated with everyday tasks, songs, and dances performed to mark special occasions had to be learnt to participate in communal life. I did not develop an interest in music in the strict interpretation of this question. I would like to say that I found my place within my society where I can best participate in its communal life.
My village had a string band called Creek Siders. They had a battery-powered guitar amplifier which introduced me to the sounds of amplified instruments. It was when I was in secondary school when I knew that this passion could be a means of making a living in the world. My roommate was from our capital city Port Moresby and he introduced me to the hard rock sound of the Australian band Cold Chisel, led by Jimmy Barnes. We formed a band then playing the music of Jimmy Barnes and Cold Chisel and other rock groups of the eighty’s era.
It was also in the eighties that PNG’s first music export The Sanguma (Magic Man/Men) band was at its height of success. That was when I was introduced to the intriguing sound created by fusing Western modern instruments with traditional Melanesian instruments and songs. I recorded my first album with CHM Studios in 1993. The material in that album was 90 percent traditional chants and melodies with the subsequent three albums that followed, and other collaborations followed in that vein. The formation of Ancient Dusk with producer Raymond Waloloki, Aro Paul Badi, and Justin Chenko Kila was aimed at bringing this music internationally. When BIG Records entered the scene, the rest is history!
Eileen: Ancient Dusk brings ancient Melanesian chants and melodies to the world, celebrating the music of 7 + 1 tribes and their musical heritage. You say you are doing it your way. What does that mean and how would you and your bandmates like to impact the world?
Tarzzy: The island of New Britain is divided into two provinces. The band Ancient Dusk hails from the western part called West New Britain. West New Britain has 7 indigenous tribes. Today West New Britain is also home to 4 generations of settlers from all over Papua New Guinea who were brought into the province in the 1960s to work on oil palm plantations. This is the +1 tribe.
West New Britain is a melting pot of indigenous Melanesian cultures. The province is dubbed the “Liklik P.N.G” (small Papua New Guinea). ‘Doing it our way’ speaks of our determination to navigate our own way in the waters of the music industry to find an audience that appreciates our music, both in our country and abroad. Our music is derived from the musical heritage of the 7+1 tribes. We aim to impact the world through the message of appreciation of the rich and diverse music available in the world today. By appreciating each other through the music that each of our cultures brings to the table, we can help make the world a better place to live.
Eileen: You come from Papua New Guinea, “A Million Different Journeys.” I would love to know about your country and its heritage, culture and music. Please share what makes it such a special place.
Tarzzy: Papua New Guinea is one of the last frontiers of the world. The last tribe to be discovered here was in the 1980s. The people are of Melanesian descent and are open, warm, and welcoming to others. Papua New Guinea has over 800 different languages. Most of the population live in the rural areas within their tribal lands and the way of life is not that entirely different from the past. However, the cash economy has already taken over much of the subsistence way of living.
Papua New Guinea offers so much for people who would like to experience a lifestyle outside of their own. Food is one area where one can enjoy a Highlands mumu, which is basically food cooked in an earth oven dug into the ground and then covered. On the coast, one can enjoy food cooked in a clay pot or cooked over a bubbling hot spring coming out of the ground from the sides of active volcanoes.
While the country is exactly on the equator, parts of the highlands region have a temperate-type climate while the rest of the country experiences hot and humid days to cool evenings fanned by the evening breeze, an excellent time for storytelling by the fireplace. One of the greatest attractions PNG has to offer is cultural diversity. Cultural events can be witnessed firsthand in their cultural setting in the villages or they can be witnessed in one of the many cultural shows sanctioned by the National Cultural Commission. West New Britain province hosts a biannual cultural show called the “Tavur Show” (Conch Shell Show).
Eileen: You have a very deep soul. I have read many of your insights, such as, “You create a microcosm of positivity within which you operate. Stay focused!” Have you always had a deeper understanding and perspective of the world? Please share how this influences you, your music, and your message.
Tarzzy: What is understanding? Is it something absolute, like a line on a map that reaches North? If I was to understand my neighbor, I must grow, grow into what I perceive of them through my senses, and grow into what I feel of them as human beings through my own humanity. Therefore, understanding can only come with growth. The more we grow into the world, the more we understand it.
We grow into the world through our experiences and these experiences help our understanding. My perspective of the world is a result of my upbringing and its circumstances, the lessons I learned from the decisions I made, and the lessons I learned from the experiences of other people.
My tribal upbringing is the greatest influence on my worldview and on life itself. Every single person contributes to the life that we all share. I think it is the best expression of the term ‘common good’. Otherwise, a life lived for itself and finds expression only in itself serves no one. This has always been my guiding principle in terms of my music.
I have written over 40 songs that were put out in 4 albums by the country’s largest record company, CHM Studios. Ninety percent of this material is tribal chants and melodies. Music that expresses I am a very good rock/blues/reggae singer. As a Language (English) major, I have the tools to write songs in that language; however, I chose to leave a distinctive trail, to leave footprints that are recognizably mine without any doubt. My journey is about staying true to myself. It is about loyalty. It is about authenticity, without which we will all be faking.
Eileen: There is an outreach project you are currently involved with called Musik Outreach 4 Change. Tell me about this and the mission.
Tarzzy: The Music Outreach for Change, titled “Singsing Na Senisim Ples”, S.N.S.P is an initiative of our producer and band member, Raymond Waloloki. We have included a video summary and links to Specified Musik (Raymond’s Production label) and the S.N.S.P FB Page.
There is another new project on the horizon and that is the first BIG Records worldwide radio release with Tarzzy and Ancient Dusk. Be sure to be following Tarzzy to keep up to date with new music and tours.
For complete interview, please follow,
Ancient Dusk – Tribal Music Goes International | BIZCATALYST 360°
Pamela
Commented 08 Sep, 2023
wow - he is an amazing man