A buoyant and breezy delight, capturing the vibrant spirit of voyaging, strength and determination, the immersive new single Hote’ Hote’ from Solomon Island-born, Melbourne-based singer, guitarist, panpipe player Charles Maimarosia also imparts a deep connection to culture, effortlessly fusing traditional elements with bright and contemporary production.
Hailing from the Solomon Islands, Charles Maimarosia channels “the deep connection I feel to my ancestors and their experiences when voyaging through the Pacific Islands” throughout his new track, with Hote’ Hote’ transporting you sonically to sunny shores and crystalline blue waters via ethereal instrumentation, warm melodies and Maimarosia’s powerful vocals, sung entirely in the Are’ Are’language. Written by Maimarosia, with Andrew Robinson arranging the music chord progressions, Hote’ Hote’ is a charming meeting point for tradition and engaging songwriting; and it’s one that took on multiple forms before arriving at the end result, as Maimarosia reveals, “Hote’ Hote’is organic, rhythmic, soulful, and deeply rooted in the Are’ Are’ traditional ‘parani o’o’ rhythm, which shares similarities with rhythms found in many other cultures around the world. None of those rhythms would have been realised without Andrew Robinson. He arranged the music chord progressions, and I layered the lyrics on top. If the words didn’t fit perfectly with the chords, we would try different ones until everything sat right, knowing that the words had to align with the context. For me, when I put Are’ Are’lyrics in a song, I always make sure those words are true, make sense to ‘Are’Are’ people, and remain meaningful when translated into other languages, like English or Japanese. We’ve changed this song Hote’ Hote’about three times already, and now we have this amazing version.”
Recorded, mixed and produced by Andrew Robinson, and mastered by Naomune Anzai, Hote’ Hote’features Maimarosia playing acoustic guitar, auu (panpipes) and vocals, with friends also joining proceedings to add some extra sonic sparkle, with Natty Dolaiasi contributing spoken word, Ben Kaumanaki and James Kauhi’ona providing backing vocals, Paul Cartwright on bass, Phil Wales on electric guitar, and David Bridie and Cass Grant, Wantok Musik’s label manager, supported the group of creatives throughout the process. And teaming with the theme of voyaging beating at the core of Hote’ Hote’, the accompanying music video, directed by Marcus Longfoot, also captures Maimarosia’s own personal journey from the Solomon Islands to Melbourne, with real life footage filmed both at home and abroad. “The concept of the video is centred around voyaging in the ocean to the islands, which resonates with my own journey from Pipisu Village to Melbourne,” shares Maimarosia. “I was shooting in the Melbourne city during winter, wearing shorts, which was quite an experience! I never imagined the video clip would turn out so well. The video was directed by Marcus Longfoot, with assistance from his team from RMIT media students: Rachel Kemp and Ruari Walsh. Natty provided spoken word contributions from Lau Malaita Islands, whose people we call ‘masters of the ocean.’ Natty D’s spoken word and footage was filmed in Honiara Solomon Islands, my homeland, by Dream Cast Studios’ Mr Collin Leafasia. Marcus is a talented filmmaker and musician who has worked with Radical Son, another amazing artist from the First Nations community. It was a collaborative effort, and I’m grateful for all the creative minds who helped bring the video to life.”
An award-winning performer and storyteller, Charles Maimarosia is renowned for being a musician of important custom knowledge, and an artist dedicated to cultural preservation. Growing up in the remote Pipisu village of Malaita, Maimarosia developed a profound interest in Are’ Are’ music at a young age after inheriting his first handmade coconut shell ukulele from his father, and witnessing ‘auu rerepi’ panpipe performances and Are’ Are’ drum ensembles as a child. Starting his musical journey performing amongst his community and communicating ancient songs of his ancestors with hand-made pan pipes, Maimarosiahas since gone on to tour the globe for over a decade, including as the frontman, choreographer and songwriter of the acclaimed panpipe orchestra Narasirato, as well as representing Australia and Solomon Islands at the G20 Summit in India, and on stage at the likes of WOMADelaide, the Blue Mountains Music Festival, and the National Folk Festival. Since relocating to Melbourne in 2010 to focus on his solo career and signing to Wantok Musik, Maimarosia has released a debut solo album, 2016’s Are’Are, and received the Music Victoria Diaspora Award in 2022.
With his gaze now set on a follow up album set to release in 2025, Maimarosia is also primed to perform some of his captivating creations live with a string of shows in February (tickets on sale from https://charlesmaimarosia.com.au/), with plenty of new material to dazzle, while also celebrating storytelling and traditional and modern Are’ Are’ music.
“After receiving honest feedback from one of my best friends that my 8 songs were a little short on my first album, I’ve since created an instrumental piece that’s about 8 minutes long,” shares Maimarosia, “and my next album Hote’ Hote’ due to release early 2025 will have 12 songs which I think my audience will enjoy at my next shows and album tour in February 2025. I also always perform an instrumental piece, ‘Forgotten People’, dedicated to people living with disabilities, and one special song called ‘Nanaratana Tetemanu’ is dedicated to members of the LGBTQIA+ community. During a recent performance in Canberra, I was thrilled to see how many people knew my song ‘Meranitoro’ : ‘man from the bush’ by heart—it made me very happy.
“I want my audiences to know that I come from a remote village and that I’ll probably yarn a little bit on stage, share some stories, and make them laugh and reflect on their own life and journey while explaining each song,” adds Maimarosia. “Every time I’m on stage, I think of my mentor, and elder the late Donation Manu, an Are’ Are’ legend, and it reminds me that music is always here with us, before we are born and long after we are gone.”
“I hope that future generations of Are’ Are’ and other cultural people will be inspired by these stories, and that they too will work with others to do the same. I feel a sense of responsibility in bringing this story and emotion to life through music. We all depend on each other to grow, whether in music or in other goals we set our minds to achieve. Cultural preservation is one of my biggest goals, and I’m proud of what I’ve achieved so far with both traditional and modern Are’ Are’ music.
Hote’ Hote’ is out today via Wantok Musik.
CHARLES MAIMAROSIA – UPCOMING SHOWS:
SAT 8 FEB | ODESSA AT LEAVER’S HOTEL, CRESWICK VIC
Tickets available from https://events.humanitix.com/charles-maimarosia-hote-hote-album-launch
SAT 15 FEB | GEORGE LANE, ST KILDA VIC with special guest Pirritu
Tickets available from https://www.trybooking.com/events/landing/1301782
FRI 21 FEB | WAUCHOPE ARTS HALL, WAUCHOPE NSW
Tickets available from in January 2025 from: https://wauchopearts.org.au/
SAT 22 FEB | RED RATTLER, MARRICKVILLE NSW with special guest Zippy Anu
Tickets available from https://events.humanitix.com/charles-maimarosia-hote-hote-album-launch-with-special-guests
SUN 23 FEB | SMITH’S ALTERNATIVE, CANBERRA ACT with special guests Dean Abbott Band
Tickets available from https://www.smithsalternative.com/events/charles-maimarosia-88669
