Tkud ma Bechil

Posted on by

The Artemis II rocket is on schedule today to send four astronauts to do a drive-by of the moon. Perhaps as they pass by, they will see the Palauans who live there, Tkud and his wife, Remesei, along with their ever-crying child and their favorite lime tree [kerekur]. Here is one telling of their story that was aired in 1969 on the Ngerel Belau radio station:

Cheldecheduch era Tkud me a Remesei, Ngerel Belau – Palauan, August 1969

Cheldecheduch era Tkud me a Remesei, Ngerel Belau – English, August 1969

The first time the Americans landed on the moon, the Didil a Chais newspaper in Palau showed Neil Armstrong being greeted by its Palauan residents:

Image
Cartoon in Didil a Chais, July 28, 1969
Continue reading →

Cecilio B. Cas — Producer of Palauan Music

Posted on by

Modern Palauan music was first recorded in the Philippines in 1983 with the tape Krel-Lang, featuring singers Tresa Rdulaol, Brisia Tangelbad and Sikitong Beltau and sponsored by Moses Uludong. Moses told me that he originally found the recording studio for that tape through a recommendation of a friend of his from the Philippines. The tape was “manufactured” by Anahaw Records in the Philippines, but I don’t have any producing credits for that tape.

Through the 1980s and early 1990s, Palauan musicians continued to travel to the Philippines to record their tapes and many used the musician and producer Cecilio B. Cas to produce their recordings at Cinema Audio Studios and Anahaw Studios, in Metro Manila. Musicians such as Halley Eriich and Tresa Rdulaol did many tapes with “Cas” (as Halley refers to him) and developed an easy working relationship and friendship. Halley described Cas to me as “a very detailed guy.”

As I have been developing a history of Palauan music during the last 30 years of the 20th century for my upcoming book “Adidil eng Kuk Mocha Weekend,” I’ve found myself going down this rabbit hole: who was Cecilio Cas and what was his musical background? This non-Palauan record producer had a profound influence on the sounds that would come to define Palauan popular music of the 1980s and 1990s. So, what was he doing before Tres, Brisia, Sikitong and Halley showed up with demo tapes to make their new recordings? Here is what I’ve discovered, so far, based on his listing in the online database Discogs.

Continue reading →

Aggie Chiang with the Cold, Cold Heart

Posted on by
Image

Today’s song stands apart from other Palauan love songs in that the singer addresses their lover directly by name:  Aggie Chiang, although the name of the woman involves some misdirection.  Halley wrote this song in 1983 when he was playing at a bar in Saipan called the “House of Chiang,” owned by Chiang Alfonso, the brother of Kebekol Alfonso, and a songwriter in his own right.  Halley wrote the song about one of his cousins and that cousin’s wife (whose last name was not Chiang).

Halley Eriich recorded “Aggie Chiang” on his 1984 “Karmaliang” tape. The tape was produced by Rudimch Titiml’s brand-new Belau Music Co. (referred to at that point as BEP:  Belau Entertainment Promotion Company), and released in late October, 1984.

Aggie Chiang, Halley Eriich, 1984

Image

While he wrote this song in Saipan while working there, Halley came back to Palau in 1983 to sing at Rudimch Titiml’s new bar, the Nanyo Ocean. Halley was still singing at the Nanyo Ocean in early October, 1984, when he went off-island to the Philippines to record his tape Karmaliang.  At that point he had been performing professionally for twelve years in Palau, Guam and Saipan.  Halley recalled that he was really nervous the first time he went into the studio.  He told me last summer that while he was comfortable singing in front of large crowds, “when I went into the studio, it was all closed up.  Only me there [in the little room] listening to the music” and it made him nervous. Over the years, Halley got quite comfortable in the studio, recording at least 27 albums over his career.

Halley probably got the melody for Aggie Chiang from Hank William’s country song “A Cold, Cold Heart” from 1951.

Hank Williams, in turn, derived the melody from a 1945 song by T. Texas Tyler called “You’ll Still Be In My Heart.”

Dinah Washington covered “Cold, Cold Heart” in a phenomenal performance, also from 1951.

And then, Tony Bennett, again from 1951.

Back to Aggie Chiang: Here’s an undated version I have by Lisa Sandei and Luis Kaluu. They sing the lyrics slightly out of order from Halley’s original. Lisa’s voice is perfect for this song and she really didn’t need the vocal effects used to harmonize her voice (although they are kind of cool).

Aggie Chiang, Lisa Sandei, Undated

Soul Johannes recorded this on his 2005 CD “Okemii Hilton.” Soul did this recording with Nelson Ngirarois, who was the arranger and played guitar and keyboards (along with Soul).

Aggie Chiang, Soul Johannes, Undated

Sorry, I Really Must Go

Posted on by
Yoichi K. Rengiil as Master of Ceremonies at the Palau Community Center, 1973 or 74
Yoichi K. Rengiil as Master of Ceremonies at the Palau Community Center, 1973 or 74

This week we lost another insightful voice in Palauan music: Mengesebuuch Yoichi K. Rengiil passed away at the age of 84 in Guam. Yoichi, both a singer and composer, was born in 1941 and grew up in Ngeremlengui.  In the early 1950s, he moved to Koror to attend the Palau Intermediate School and then left for Guam in 1956 to attend high school and start college.  He returned to Palau in 1963 and taught social studies at the Palau High School.  In the 1960s, he teamed up with Aichi Ngirchokebai, Hidebo Sugiyama and Julie Tatengelel to perform at Aichi’s theater in Koror and at village bais on Babeldaob.  He left Palau again in 1967 to complete his college education at the University of Guam and then obtained a Masters in Education Administration at UH Manoa in 1973.  Yoichi was an active member of the Modekngei, serving as the Principal at the Belau Modekngei School in the 1970s. His professional resume is deep, and I will leave it to others to remember that part of his life, but in this post I would like to acknowledge his contribution to Palauan music.

Yoichi and I met regularly via Zoom over the past five years to discuss Palauan music, language and stories and he was an important mentor to me in understanding the meaning behind the rich musical legacy of Palauan music. From our discussions, I learned of seven songs that he composed between 1963 and 1987:

  • Did er a Sechou, 1963 or 64
  • Oh! Somebody Me Keleng Saingo, 1968
  • Sayonara, But I Love You, 1968 or 69
  • Chellelengem ma Klungiolem, 1969 or 70
  • Decheruk er a Capitol Hill, late 1960s (co-wrote with John Skebong)
  • Merat el Kerrekar, 1970
  • Ng Di Kmedu e ng mo Ngemeded, 1986 or 87
Continue reading →

Altang Chetikom

Posted on by

Perhaps, You Have Come to Dislike Me

This song was composed by Brisia Tangelbad in 1983. Five song books list this with the name “Altang Chetikom,” but the song is titled “Dikea Tmilem” on the 1983 Krel-Lang tape, on which Brisia is singing. Two songbooks have the delecherul as Japanese. Felix Okabe believes that the melody is actually from a Chamolinian group from Saipan, probably Larry Saralu. Felix remembered hearing the melody to this song on a cassette tape player in the dorms at the University of Guam in about 1971 or 1972.

The first recording we know of, is the band that took the name “Krel-Lang” after the cicada (kerellang). Kre-Lang consisted of Tresa Rdulaol, Brisia Tangelbad and Sikitong Beltau. They only made one tape under that name, produced by Moses Uludong: “Belau er Kid [Our Palau]” in 1983. It was the first recording project to be done in the Phillipines.

Image

Felix remembers that the singers who went to the Philippines to record were not familiar with a recording studio or how to work with the studio musicians. When they arrived at the studio, the backup music was already done and the musicians had left. In many cases it wasn’t quite phrased the way the Palauans were used to singing the song, so the Palauan singers had to cut some of the words to fit the music that was already recorded.

Here is Brisia is singing her song on that recording:

Dikea Tmilem, Brisia Tangelbad and Kre-Lang, 1983

Continue reading →

Mechikung e Albino

Posted on by

AlbinoIt is the end of an era. With the passing this week of Albino Aichi, we have lost the last of Aichi Ngirchokebai’s sons who provided backup to the better-known singers during the electric-band phase of Palauan music history. Albino, the youngest, was born in 1960 into a very musical family, and by the late 1960s, when he was just in third grade, you could find him sitting behind the drum set at the Blue Lagoon bar, setting the beat for his brother Dennis, sister Julie, Ngiraklang, Sydney (bass), Johnny B, Singeru Sugiyama or Halley Eriich, depending on the band configuration.

Albino had been drawn to drumming by watching Tico Wong, the drummer for The Verticals band, a Guam-based Palauan electric band who came to play in Palau in 1968, including a performance at the Civic Center. The Verticals also included its leader and lead guitarist, Rogers (Radis) Renguul, Akira Wong (rhythm guitar), Wes Wong (bass) and Felix Okabe (singer). Later, Makoto and Radis’ brother, Lawrence Renguul, joined them. Listen to their instrumental version of Yoichi K. Rengiil’s “Oh! Somebody me Keleng Saingo,” especially the drum part, to hear what Albino found so attractive.

Oh! Somebody me Keleng Saingo (Instrumental), The Verticals Band, 1968?

Continue reading →

Adidil er a Klechibelau, 2nd Edition

Posted on by
Image

I am pleased to release the Second Edition of Adidil er a Klechibelau — Songs of Palau, 1915-1970 as a downloadable PDF book. To download the book, click on the “Continue Reading” link below, and then find the download button.

This songbook tells the story of the development of a new musical form in 20th-century Palau and provides the lyrics, translation and musical transcription for many of these songs:

In about 1915, the people of the island nation of Palau in the Western Pacific Ocean began to create a body of songs set to melodies that they heard from their non-Palauan co-workers and neighbors and the popular music of their Japanese and American occupiers/colonists. These songs express in the Palauan language the heartbreak of past love affairs, praise and thanks to neighboring villages and the beauty of the singer’s home village. These are Palauan poetry. Adidil er a Klechibelau is a collection of the lyrics and music for 151 songs composed from 1915 to 1970 in the Palauan language, a history of that musical development, and an analysis of the themes and musical structures of those songs.

Continue reading →

Adidil er a Klechibelau

Posted on by

I am pleased to announce the publication of Adidil er a Klechibelau — Songs of Palau, 1915-1970. This songbook tells the story of the development of a new musical form in 20th-century Palau and provides the lyrics, translation and musical transcription for many of these songs:

In about 1915, the people of the island nation of Palau in the Western Pacific Ocean began to create a body of songs set to melodies that they heard from their non-Palauan co-workers and neighbors and the popular music of their Japanese and American occupiers/colonists. These songs express in the Palauan language the heartbreak of past love affairs, praise and thanks to neighboring villages and the beauty of the singer’s home village. These are Palauan poetry. Adidil er a Klechibelau is a collection of the lyrics and music for 151 songs composed from 1915 to 1970 in the Palauan language, a history of that musical development, and an analysis of the themes and musical structures of those songs.

The 422-page book will be available for purchase at the Belau National Museum starting in November, 2022, or, for readers in the US, by ordering from ngirchoureng@gmail.com. I will be selling the book for $30.00 each, to cover printing and shipping costs.

Image

The source recordings and image-snips of the Palauan lyrics can be found by clicking on this link. It has been my privilege to be able to explore these wonderful songs and to share with others this bridge into the lives of the people of Palau.

Bechesiil a Telbiled

Posted on by

ImageJulie Tatengelel Aichi is known for singing several classic songs including today’s song, Bechesiil a Telbiled. This song was likely composed by Dudiu Tutii, as it carries several of his calling cards, including using the initials of the subjects of the song in the lyric. Of course, we don’t know who JLA and JFR were and Dudiu sometimes played tricks with rearranging the initials of the song subjects, just to keep their identity hidden. Yoichi K. Rengiil remembers hearing Julie sing this song when she, Aichi Ngirchokebai, Hidebo Sugiyama and Yoichi were performing in Ngeremlengui in the mid-1960s.

The first recording of the song that we have is from a Ngerel Belau recording made sometime in the 60s where Julie is backed up by a guitar and mandolin duo termed the Voice of Palau band. One of these is likely Hidebo Sugiyama. The guitar playing does not sound to me like Aichi and Hidebo could play both the mandolin and guitar, so I don’t know who is who. Unfortunately, the reel to reel tape from which I digitized this recording must have had a break that was spliced, as the first two lines are cut out.

Bechesiil a Telbiled, Julie Tatengelel Aichi, 1960s

Continue reading →

The Mandolin Players of Palau

Posted on by

Image

Palauan mandolin players, 1930-38

I recently received some old photographs from Birgit Abels that she found in the Liebenzell mission archives in Germany.  These photos depict protestant missionaries with groups of young Palauans with guitars and mandolins.  I have cropped these photos to just focus on the mandolin players, as I am curious to know who they might have been.  The first photo was taken sometime in the period of 1930 – 38, based on the presence in the photo of a missionary who was in Palau during that period.  These boys look to me to be about 12 to 15 years old, which would put their birth years in the early 1920s, about the same age as Ymesei Ezekiel, who was born in 1921.  I was told by his niece, Krete Williams, that Ymesei could play many instruments, including the mandolin, and so maybe one of these boys is a young Ymesei Ezekiel.  The boy in the center has been identified by Yoichi Rengiil as his uncle, Tatsuo Adachi (1920 – 1980), who would later become the first principal of Koror Elementary School [1] and a statistical clerk in the TT government.

Image

Mandolin Players in Ngiwal, 1939

The next photo was taken in 1939 in Ngiwal and shows two mandolin players.  To my eyes, the two boys in 1939 are different from the three boys in the earlier photo.  Again, these boys look to me to be of high-school age, which might put their birth year in the mid-1920s.

The Ngerel Belau radio tapes, recorded in the 1960s, included the playing of several different mandolin players.  As I currently understand it, the musicians playing mandolin on those recordings included Neterio Henry, Hosei Faustino and Kyoshi Ngirangol (Angaur), Yaoch Iechad (Airai, but also recorded with the Paradise Club in Kayangel), Tadao Tadong (Kayangel), Tem Obakerbau and Jose (Aimeliik), and Ngirasob (from Ngermid).

Continue reading →