The Black Orchid Stringband is comprised of West Papuan freedom fighters now living in Melbourne who sing to live and live to sing the songs of freedom.

They were established in 2011 to continue the legacy of great musicologist Arnold Ap, sustain a musical cultural identity and raise awareness about West Papua's struggle for independence.

The ten piece string band includes traditional bass, ukulele, tifa and beautiful three part vocal harmonies - representative of the spirit of national unity in their struggle for freedom. Most of their songs are performed in various West Papuan dialects as well as Tok Pisin (PNG language) and speak of the struggle alongside traditional folklore and creation myths.

We are seeking funds to complete the recording of our debut album, recorded and mixed by Melbourne-based Colombian producer Oscar Jimenez. We began working with Oscar through Multicultural Arts Victoria' Visible Music Mentoring Program. We have since forged a beautiful friendship with Oscar and we love the sound he brings out of the band in the recordings. We are excited to continue to work with him to create this album, which will consist of 9-10 songs.

The album will be accompanied with a beautiful full-colour picture book featuring the artwork of band member Amos Wainggai and Colombian painter Katherine Gailer. In 2006, Amos Wainggai, along with 42 other Papuans crossed the sea on a small motor boat to seek asylum in Australia. Each work will relate to one of the songs, helping to tell the stories embedded within the lyrics, harmonies, melody and bass lines. Our songs have deep meaning and conjure imagery of our precious West Papua, the morning star flag, our Melanesian culture, family, community, the rolling green mountains and rich soils of our homeland and the courage of our freedom fighters. We want to capture this through the work of these talented artists and tell you our stories through song and colour.

Thank you for supporting our project, listening to our stories and helping us raise awareness about the situation of our brothers and sisters in West Papua.

ABOUT WEST PAPUA
The people of West Papua have been suffering under Indonesian occupation since 1963. Over 500,000 civilians have been killed, and thousands more have been raped, tortured and imprisoned. Foreign media and human rights groups are banned from operating in West Papua, so people rarely hear about the situation there.

SBS news report on government attacks on unarmed activists in 2011

Strange Birds in Paradise trailer, exploring human rights abuses in West Papua and the ability of music to rise above tyranny
For more information visit the Free West Papua movement in Australia website

Album production (9-10 tracks recorded and mixed) $2500
Mastering $1500
Artwork & paintings for picture book $3000
Printing album and story book $5000
Marketing and promotion: $1000

The recordings are already underway and the friendships have been forged between BOSB and Oscar Jimenez so getting the right sound for the album is all sorted. It'll just be creating the imagery, a collaboration between Katherine Gailer & Amos Wainggai that will need the most time dedicated towards it. This will be factored into the timeline, we aim to release the album and book in May 2016. Additionally to print the albums and books in colour at a high quality come at quite a cost, hence the need to raise funds. Think of your donation as a pre-sale!

Thank you in advance for your support of this project!