Musical milestones in popular music: Mobility between the Popular music and the Traditional/Cultural fields.
Tahitian musicians easily adapt what they hear to their own musical repertoire (Yves Roche and Heitapu Chang, pers.comm., 25 September 2013), including jazz, American and French popular songs (from which the valse tahitienne [Tahitian waltz] genre emerged), blues-rock (leading to the “jeck” style in the 1960s) and rhythms derived from Latin music such as the bolero and the bossa nova, which infused in ʻukulele strumming. Coincidently with the adaptation of non-Polynesian musical genres during the twentieth century, Tahitian musicians have introduced Western musical instruments such as electric keyboards, beatboxes, and the electric guitar which Polynesians like playing with many effects, such as the echo (“Echoplex”).
From these influences, Tahitians have composed their own repertoire, where the poetry, the emotional load and the lyrics phraseology prevail over musical originality. Literary arts, including ʻōrero, have had a deep influence
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The group was created in 2007 by two tattoo artists brothers of mixed Pāʻumotu, Anglo-Saxon and Tahitian origins. They began playing guitar and ukulele as many young people did in the bringues. The group includes two popaʻā18 teachers from the Conservatoire Artistique on the violoncello and the drums. The Facebook page of the group states: “Tikahiri has broken all conventions and expectations for South Pacific music by combining modern rock and goth with a distinctive Polynesian spin that echoes the battle cry of warriors past. The band’s sound is a sonic paradox, testifying to its goth and metal heritage but rising up with melody. With its dark roots, it’s no surprise that Tikahiri means ‘blood’ in