A Platform for Ethnically and Culturally Inspired Music
About "LISTWAR ZANSET - Small Island Big Song ft. Emlyn & Putad"
"Our voices silenced, our songs and languages banned, the land lost its custodians."

'Listwar Zanset' draws from the heart of Emlyn, a song inspired from the story of maroon slaves of Mauritius; the untold heroes of the slavery on her island. When slaves were brought to work in the cane fields, their singing was silenced, in turn their culture disconnected. Emlyn hums in solidarity with her ancestors, building to an overwhelming crescendo… meeting Putad from the Amis people of Taiwan, the two together reclaiming their identity, that was hidden and repressed by colonization and slavery.

Selina Leem joins them sharing the core focus of the song, “their people displaced, their land taken, my land, drowning” highlighting the affect of the sea levels rising, forcing her people to leave their ancestral land.

'Listwar Zanset' unites the Indo-Pacific, a vast regions sharing similar pasts, histories and current climate consequences.


LISTWAR ZANSET is a collaboration of -

MAURITIUS
Emlyn - Lead Vocals, Ravanne, Triangle, Kalimba, Percussions,
Kokol - Ravanne
Kan Chan Kin - Ravanne

TAIWAN
Putad of Outlet Drift - Lead Vocals
戴曉君 Sauljaljui - Moon Lute

MARSHALL ISLANDS
Selina Leem - Spoken word

MADAGASCAR
Tarika Sammy - Vocals, Valiha

TAHITI & FRANCE
Luc Totterwitz - Electric Guitar

PAPUA NEW GUINEA & AUSTRALIA
Airileke - Kundu & Warup drums

AUSTRALIA
Tim Cole - Korg MS20

Music Video director Kan Chan Kin
Videographers Kan Chan Kin, Ajay Boodhoo, Tim Cole
Drone Kan Chan Kin, Cameron Hanson

Music Producer & Mixer - Tim Cole
Recording - Tim Cole, Kan Chan Kin, ​Tafita, Luc Totterwitz, Andrew Reissiger
Project producer - BaoBao Chen


_____LYRICS _____

Emlyn - Originally in Creole Mauritian

Sometimes I wander
How it was back then
In chains for days and nights
We will remember all the braves that wanted to be
They fought for us to be free today
Wanting to be free
They fought for us to be free today

Putad - Originally in Amis of Taiwan

Such a beautiful place. They took it away.
“What are you saying?” “I don’t understand” Learn our language.
Even at the end we have nothing left
I believe the land and ocean will protect us
We are going to be part of Kawas

Selina Leem - Originally in Marshallese & English

The ancestors
Our islands/lands
Land
Their people displaced,
Their lands taken,
My lands, drowning


Supported by
Taiwan Creative Content Agency
Australia Council for the Arts

'OUR ISLAND' album out 31 Dec' 2021
www.smallislandbigsong.com