How do dancing bodies influence the music composed for them? Does the gestural repertoire of the on-screen performer impact the musical performance of the playback singer? How might a focus on dance provide new models for theorizing the Hindi film song-and-dance sequence? Through a focus on the dancing body, this article calls for a reconsideration of the process of ‘song picturization,’ a term commonly used in the Bombay film industry to reference the practice of recording the song first and then “adding” visuals to it. Through this comparison, this article examines the broader sociocultural processes that underpin the operation of the recording industry in Port Moresby, and explores PNG popular music’s capacity to reflect and embody indigenous knowledge. These insights demonstrate how perceptions concerning place and cultural identity were both exploited or neglected by Spaida Trakzin its attempt to connect these albums with local consumers. The label’s perspective on the relative success versus failure of both albums (in terms of sales) informs the analysis and was attained through participant observations at the record company’s offices and complemented by a series of interviews with its staff. Both albums were released in 2009 by a newly established record label called Spaida Trakz. Specifically, the linguistic and musical content of two contrasting albums, Gera Verere by the band Waterfall Tunes and Cool as Ice by soloist Flora Suve, are compared in the way they were constructed, promoted and marketed.

This article examines the production and reception of local popular music in Papua New Guinea (PNG) and draws on ethnographic research undertaken in recording studios in Port Moresby, a major centre for music production in Melanesia.

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