Abstract:

Tabaran, the album produced by the Australian band Not Drowning, Waving (NDW) in collaboration with musicians from Rabaul, Papua New Guinea, not only had a long gestation period for a popular music album - being first envisaged in
1986, recorded in 1988, released in 1990 and promoted in 1991 -but has also provoked an extended critical response. Well received and widely covered by reviewers on first Australian release, the album was effectively re-promoted in early 1993 through the broadcast of Tabaran, an hour-long documentary directed by Mark Worth, on Australia's SBS TV and the publication of two lengthy analyses of the album published in the previous issue of this journal (vl n2). This article looks at the reception and influence of the documentary.

Author: Philip Hayward