MEDIA RELEASE
A 19-TRACK COMPILATION ALBUM BY 16 TIMORESE WOMEN
Wantok Musik Foundation announce the release of Feto Nia Lian, Feto Nia Istoria – Her Voice, Her Story, an 19-track compilation album by 16 Timorese women. These works reflect the depth, diversity and emotional power of Timorese women’s voices; from dance tracks to ancestral chants, from
intimate ballads to songs of resistance and remembrance.
Feto Nia Lian, Feto Nia Istoria marks a major step forward in Timor-Leste’s music and cultural storytelling, ensuring women’s voices are heard, celebrated and carried into the future. Each song authentically articulates these women’s experiences, vocalising powerful acts of transformation, resilience and leadership across past and present.
Wantok Musik Foundation brought together an incredible team to create this album, including sound engineers and producers; First Nations songstress Candice Lorre (Jawoyn and Torres Strait Island and Beatrice Lewis (Haiku Hands, Kardajala Kirridarra); artistic director Dr David Bride; and local producer Lena Caminha. Established Timorese artists Jovie Guterres, Malena de Jesus, and Etson Caminha provided additional artistic support. Timor-Leste film director Mana Bety Reis filmed a number of clips for the album and also a very moving and uplifting documentary about the project.
Candice Lorrae shares: “Being part of Feto Nia Lian has been an incredibly emotional experience for me. As a First Nations woman from Australia, I felt a deep connection to these women and their stories – to the injustice their people have endured, but also to the strength of the matriarchs who stood before them. These songs are powerful: there is protest and a determination to be seen and heard, but there is also gentleness, healing and hope. To stand alongside them as a producer, creating a space where women could come together, tell their stories and use music to lift one another up has been a privilege. These songs acknowledge what has happened, but they also look forward – towards a stronger, more equal future where women’s voices are heard, valued and protected.”
Beatrice Lewis shares: “There is something very strong about the stories each women had to tell through their songs on this album. Every song had something important to communicate. There was so much intention and feeling that went into every word, chord, harmony and backing vocal. This was a very purposeful album from the inception of the songs to the recording process which consisted of studios full of other women supporting each other”.
The songs from this album include stories of women who survived the war, women’s leadership in Timor’s cultural life, and the profound bravery and sacrifices made by women during the twenty-five-year occupation. The artists were able to write with the support and influence of Pirilampu and ACBit elders and many songs drew on ancestral Timorese musical tradition. They want to contribute to the future of Timor-Leste’s cultural landscape by sharing experiences from this historic period as well as the present-day realities of life in Timor.
The album features standout contributions. Here, a few of the artists share about their songs:
Michelle Tassy and Mevia Tong — ‘Naroman’: “‘Naroman’ means Bright. This piece is born from the stories of Pirilampu (the Women Survivors). As the new generation, we carry their memories in our voices, turning their pain, strength, and resilience into music. Through this music, we hope the world will see them, hear them, and finally give them the recognition they have long deserved.”
Cecilia Barreto — ‘Inalou’: “’Inalou’ is a song created to honor the courageous women of Timor-Leste who stepped forward fearlessly for the cause of Timor-Leste’s independence.
“For me, the Feto Nia Lian project serves as a bridge between the past and the future; through it, I have been able to meet some of the courageous women of the past and hear firsthand the truly tragic and dark stories behind our independence. I am deeply grateful for this project.”
Feto Nia Lian, Feto Nia Istoria places an important stake in the ground, sharing the stories of Timorese women so they won’t be forgotten and to empower the next generation of women. The album will be available through Wantok Musik Bandcamp from September 18th. Following release of the album, a documentary shot by Mana Bety Reis about the making of the album will be formally launched in Dili in Oct and Melbourne and Sydney in November.
There are now three major Hamoris Lian Timor albums being released: IzuPi; Lolobremu; and Feto Nia, Lian Feto Nia Istoria. To recognise this historical moment in Timorese music and to share the music of these incredible artists, Wantok Musik Foundation are presenting a live concert series in in Dili, Melbourne and Sydney.
David Bridie: ‘Writing and record songs gives you a voice. And it so important in this world to have a voice. None more important than for women in Timor Leste.’
###
ENDS
MEDIA CONTACT
Petrina Togi-Sa’ena
ptogi-sa’ena@wantokmusik.org
Look out for further releases from Timor-Leste, available from September 18th through Wantok Musik Bandcamp
About Wantok Musik Foundation
Wantok Musik Foundation is an Australian-based not-for-profit organisation that has worked for more than two decades with artists, musicians and communities across the Pacific and Timor-Leste to record, release and amplify unique stories, music and traditional sounds. The Foundation uses music and the arts as a vehicle for cultural expression and social change. It provides creative opportunities to artists by giving them access to recording, production and performance platforms both regionally and internationally.
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