In this study, I focus on the bamboo panpipe, an indigenous instrument of ’Are’are in the Solomon Islands, as an example of a partially alternative theory of mediation. The ethnographic case describes the participation of a local band playing ’Are’are bamboo panpipes at an international music festival held in Japan. I explore the mutual mediation of alternative forms of music through the acts of performers, producers and engineers at the international music festival. The ethnography describes how the performance of indigenous music becomes possible at global music festivals through the negotiation, trial and compromise of the different actors on stage, backstage and behind the scenes. The mediation requires a broader perspective than that of the music and music industries originating in the Western world and I discuss my observations of how the musicians think and act when mediating their performance of the bamboo panpipes.

This special edition of Perfect Beat focuses on heavy metal, punk and hardcore music, scenes, practices and cultures in Aotearoa/

This issue, titled COVID-19, Music and the Asia-Pacific, is the second of two special issues about the state of music research and industry activity in the Asia-Pacific region during the COVID-19 pandemic.Here, we present perspectives from many authors, musicians, postgraduate students, and academics in the form of what the journal calls a "Riff" article.Riffs are commentary pieces that may include interviews (with musicians, industry figures, and others) as well as critical reflections of an author's experiences, comparative reviews of musical works, co-or multiauthored exchanges, and other topic areas.The Riff format is different from a standard journal article in that it allows flexibility to express an author's deeply personal or nuanced views in a manner that facilitates subsequent scholarly discussions.It is a starting point.This issue presents passionate critiques of, for example, a government's handling of the pandemic and live music venue shutdowns, or personal reflections on the advantages and disadvantages to shifting to online teaching for music performance classes at university.The Riff format is concise but the review process is still rigorous: all papers are subjected to Perfect Beat's double blind peer review.This issue (Volume 21 Issue 2) contains eleven articles that have responded to this theme of COVID-19, Music and the Asia-Pacific.The first nine take us on a journey across Asia during the pandemic, looking at issues ranging from fan-star interaction, viral songs, and indie scenes.The final two articles focus on pedagogical issues and modifications for university teachers in order to engage with their students.We begin the issue with author Hae Joo Kim's article about Korea.'K-pop beyond the lockdown: Fandom, participation, and experiencing community online' examines the flourishing of the K-pop industry during the COVID-19 pandemic and, in particular, the seven-member all-male group BTS and their interactions with fans.Kim points to the use of digital technology and social media while BTS was quarantining together, with a view to cultivating relationships with their fans, who are collectively called ARMY.BTS's content included footage of their mundane lives in lockdown, such as eating, trying on clothes and rehearsing dances, to create a sense of community and closeness between them and their fans.Coupled with a behind-the-scenes creation of a new song, 'Life Goes On', about the pandemic, BTS

This article offers reflections on the impact of COVID-19 on the arts and entertainment industries in Australia, with a specific focus on the music industry. The pandemic has placed added financial and psychological strain on the industry’s workers and performing artists, many of whom were already struggling emotionally with financial instability and job insecurity prior to the pandemic. The federal government’s inadequate financial support for arts workers, and its failure to protect Australia’s cultural and economic assets of live music and entertainment during the pandemic, are discussed. There is a need for a COVID-19 recovery plan that addresses the impacts of the pandemic and pre-existing issues of financial instability as well as the federal government’s undervaluing and underfunding of arts industries in Australia. The article is written from the perspective of the authors’ personal experiences as creative practitioners and researchers in the creative industries, and is based on media articles and research reports published prior to and during the pandemic (2018–2021).

As the first country to experience the outbreak of COVID-19, China’s music industry reacted quickly to the change of the musical context. On 10 March 2020, China’s biggest music company Tencent Music Entertainment Group announced the launch of its music livestreaming concert brand—TME Live. It is understood that through its online live concerts, TME Live uses multi-scenario, innovative performance and digital audio-visual technology to create a panoramic environment for online musical performances, through which TME Live connects musicians and communities of fans. Through this model, Tencent Music Entertainment Group provides musicians with a full range of services, including customized performance styles and an immersive performing experience. Without the impact of Western dominated social media, China’s online music streaming platforms have developed their own biopolitical logics and characteristics in building up online music community and data connectivity. With the case study of TME Live, this article sets out to investigate how China’s major online music streaming platform survives, transforms and adapts in light of the COVID-19 pandemic.

The Seleka art and kava collective is found in the heart of the Kingdom of Tonga’s urban centre and capital. Seleka is a transformed nickname which is a play on the word kasele, meaning toilet or outhouse, an external othering and internal acceptance of divergence within Tongan society. Seleka is a site where urban Tongans paint and drink kava together while listening to rebellious music, incorporating some of the aesthetics and politics of these musical genres into their group. They have a broader musical playlist than most kava clubs in Tonga, which includes punk, rock and metal. This article explores the character of Seleka as a radical critique to Western introduced social constructs such as puritan respectability, which have become part of Tonga’s modern cultural norms. Seleka performs and generates mana (potency/prestige) through noa (profanity/neutralization) by desecrating the ‘sacred’ and recreating a new alternative. This act of rebellion is presented as a contemporary manifestation of an ancient Tongan practice where the ‘profane’ was used to identify and bring balance to the most tapu (‘sacred’/protected).

The re-use of motifs is relatively common as a method of structuring concept albums. These motifs can appear in several different formats, but generally are musical or lyrical references that serve to generate a sense of cohesion across a release. Australian band King Gizzard and the Lizard Wizard have created what is referred to as the ‘Gizzverse‘—a collection of musical, lyrical and extra-musical motifs that are referenced across several releases. Their extensive re-use of motifs, discussed using Gérard Genette’s frameworks for understanding multi-textual references, or transtextuality, creates an interconnected mythology that this article argues ultimately constitutes a kind of uber-concept album.

This article explores how Pacific artists’ notions of cultural authenticity, identity and perceived audience expectation play out in the composition of new transcultural music (i.e. music displaying an amalgamation of both traditional Pacific and contemporary popular music influences). It is grounded in ethnographic fieldwork undertaken in Sydney, Australia over a period of two years. Its central aim is to balance a field of inquiry in which transcultural Pacific music is frequently interpreted as an expression of identity via retrospective musical analysis and reflection. In contrast to these prevailing trends, this article builds a case for real-time investigation into how artists engage and negotiate ideas about cultural authenticity, identity and perceived audience expectation when generating new transcultural works.