5 Oceanic Artists You Need To Listen To

Charles Maimarosia is a Solomon Islands singer and musician, raised in the remote Pipisu village of Malaita.

He is renowned for being a singer of important custom knowledge, drawing equally on traditional and contemporary musical styles.

Charles developed a profound interest in Are'Are music at a young age after inheriting his first hand-made coconut shell ukulele from his father. He later began performing amongst the community, communicating ancient songs of his ancestors with hand-made pan pipes.

In 2020 Charles released the single 'A'mamiuru' to raise funds for the community in Solomon Islands after a ferry disaster caused by Tropical Cyclone Harold.



He has performed in Taiwan, through Europe and North America; in 2022 Charles received the MAV Diaspora award at the Music Victoria Awards and in January 2023 performed in Honiara as part of the Australian High Commission/ Wantok Musik concerts.

Ahead of his appearance at River Folk Festival next weekend (1-3 December), nestled in the picturesque surrounds of Warburton in Victoria's Yarra Valley and featuring the likes of The Maes, John Flanagan, Gusto Gusto, The Good Behaviours and others, here Charles lists some of his favourite Oceanic artists, perfect to add to your next playlist.

1: George Telek

George Telek is one of the best musicians ever. He's a legend in his home country of Papua New Guinea and all over the Pacific. I saw George play for the first time in Honiara (the capital city of Solomon Islands). It was amazing; 20,000 people dancing and singing Telek's lyrics.

It's a memory that will remain with me for ever. I was at high school at the time and I had no idea that one day in the future I'd be Telek's support band, opening shows for him all over Australia.

2: Tio

I first met ni-Vanuatu artist Tio in Melbourne when both of us performed at Federation Square. I was blown away to hear his amazing vocals and violin, he is a very talented musician.

We spoke in Pijin language after the show and exchanged phone numbers and we've been good friends ever since. He sang backing vocals on my song 'Haiamasina', which was a real honour.

3: Jerome Kavanagh

Jerome Kavanagh, from Aotearoa New Zealand, is another one of my favourite artists. He is a Grammy Award-winning Māori Taonga Puoro composer. Each instrument that Jerome plays has story. Each story talks about our spiritual connections with nature and when people hear the sound of each instrument, they seem to relate to it in a deeper level.

I met Jerome four years ago, we performed together on some of biggest stages in Europe. He has also helped me a lot personally. In 2020, there was a great tragedy in my country, when 27 people lost their lives in a boat accident between Guadalcanal and Malaita Island. Most of them were my relatives.

The search team could not find a single body and we thought we wouldn't be able to do a proper burial for them. I sent a message to Jerome, asking him to play his music as a tribute to my people and early in the morning the next day 11 bodies were found.

4: Pascal Oritaimae

Pascal Oritaimae is my best mate, my cousin brother, my traditional and modern music teacher. His middle name is Maimarosia and we're both descended from the same grandfather. We could sit all day talking about music, singing chants together from his village (Hauporo).

Sometimes he plays his 'Siva Pacifica' album, a wonderful work by himself and Australian producer Anthony Copping. The album came out in 1997, selling over 100,000 copies.

Pascal tours overseas all the time, and every time he arrives after a long trip in Australia or Europe, I always paddle my canoe to his place (which about 50kms away) to hear stories about his tours.

He and Anthony recently made a documentary called 'Last Voice From Heaven', which showcases some of our old Are'are music legends, both men and women, and everyone in that documentary is blood-related to me on either my father's side or my mother's side. I learnt a lot about Are'are music from that documentary.

5: David Bridie

Last, but not least, is our musical hero in Melanesia, David Bridie. We love him to the core. He's well known for his work with My Friend The Chocolate Cake and Not Drawning Waving, but David has also done many music collaborations with Melanesians artists over more than 30 years. He visits us in both the good times and the hardest times of our lives.

David and George Telek played beautiful songs during the Bougainville Crisis and they came to us in the Solomon Islands to play music during the ethnic tensions and conflict in my country.

At the beginning of this year, David and I played together at a big concert in the Solomon Islands capital city and everyone in town still talks about it. David Bridie is a true legend.



The River Folk Festival takes place at various locations in Warburton (Yarra Valley) 1-3 December.

The River Folk Festival 2023 Line-up

The Maes
Charles Maimarosia
John Flanagan
Gusto Gusto
The Good Behaviours
Mickey & Michelle
Great Aunt
Jo Davie
Emily-Rose Sarkova
Saije
Apolline
Isabel Rumble

The River Folk Festival 2023 is made possible by the generous support of Yarra Ranges Council, the Community Bank Warburton and Yarra Junction, and numerous Yarra Valley local business sponsors.