Solomon Islands-based solo artist Chris Kamu'ana Rohoimae has taken out the Pacific Break 2024 with this moving song Naratana manu.
The 28-year-old, who hails from the Malaita Province, beat more than 300 competitors from 18 Pacific Nations and will now join the line-up for WOMADelaide, in March 2025, Australia's largest international festival of music, arts and dance.
His winning track, Naratana manu - "the birds crying" - sees the au po'o panpipe hold court alongside Chris' expansive, melancholic vocals, telling the tale of resilience in Are-Are language.
He said Naratana manu was about navigating the challenges that come about from having the "wrong people as your friend or walking with someone that sees you in a different opposite way".
"But still at the end, you got something that exists and you [are] not gonna just give up on it," he said.
Chris said he was at the hospital with his father when he submitted his entry for Pacific Break.
"I was with my father at the hospital when I did [the] submission," he said.
"I wasn't expecting much from the track, but I did [feel] something about my music, and that's what I believe in. [I] wish he's here with me, he's my mentor and a fan as well (sic)."
He told ABC Pacific: "I want to dedicate this award, he's the one who deserves this … and so it means everything to me and my dad."
Sosefina Fuamoli, a Samoan-Australian music journalist and host of ABC Radio Australia's Sista Sounds and On The Record, and hip-hop musician and radio host of In The Fale, Hau Lātūkefu, were two of the judges for Pacific Break 2024.
Lātūkefu said they knew from the very first note of Naratana manu they were in for something special.
"As the song moves along, Chris' vocals really draw you in with its strong but rough texture only to then spin you into the sounds of the au po'o panpipe," he said.
"There are obvious elements of traditional music in here, but it also feels like this song has a very contemporary sound and could be placed in the next James Bond film as well. Epic."
Fuamoli added the entire Pacific Break finalist pool was "very competitive" with many talented artists from across the region presenting and producing "exciting, diverse and engaging music".
"It never gets easier to judge this competition, but I am very excited to see what Chris Kamu'ana Rohimae will bring to the WOMADelaide stage in March 2025."
Pacific Break 2024 finalists (in alphabetical order):
Bibao (Solomon Islands), All Work Out
Carnie Reimers (Marshall Islands), Stars Collide
Francisco Bhagwan (Fiji), Take Your Time
Kali Tui (Fiji), Nanumi Au
Liz Vamarasi (Fiji), Malele
Microchild (Guam), Canopy
Tarvin Toune (Papua New Guinea), Rosie
Tyron Scott (Papua New Guinea), Adore You
Vanessa Quai (Vanuatu), Hemi Oraet
