Deep Forest – Sweet Lullaby

The Round The World Mix sounds like it's in mono, but by doing a null test, you can hear that some of the rhythm parts (the hi hats, the whistle, a bit of the bass drum, and a few more) are on a stereo field.

Only one comment to make, the "Round the world Remix" is a beautiful piece of deep house music.

An obscure lullaby from the Solomon Islands becomes a hit in the West
The Rorogwela melody, sung by Afunakwa from the Solomon Islands, was heard by a two-man band called Deep Forest, in France. They sampled the song, using Afunakwa’s voice, and called the track Sweet Lullaby.
You’ll hear that they’ve added an electronic dance beat, and surround her voice with jungle-like noises. Each verse adds new layers to the texture, creating a dreamy and uplifting effect far from the original. This recording sold about 4 million copies, making the band lots of money.

The track was so popular it was later used in adverts for lots of different products, including Neutrogena, Coca-cola, Porsche, Sony and the Body Shop – more royalties for the band no doubt! Should Afunakwa have been given some of this money?

Bizarrely, the Deep Forest album seems to suggest that Rorogwela was actually the music of an African Pygmy tribe. They begin the whole disc, with a collage of synthesised, misty jungle noises and the words Deep in the jungle live some little men and women. They are your past and maybe your future….Afunakwa would probably have been very surprised to see how far her song had travelled, but it’s quite possible she never found out.
Afunakwa’s Rorogwela melody was to travel still further. Due to Deep Forest’s massive sales around the world, the tune became known in Norway. Jan Garbarek is a very well known Norwegian saxophone player, who is most famous for his far-out jazz playing.Inspired by Afunakwa’s melody, but misunderstanding its origins, Garbarek released a track called Pygmy Lullaby on ECM’s ‘Visible World’
Garbarek takes the tune on the saxophone, in a smooth jazz style – all the pitches are cleaned up, and the rhythms are pressed into a constant beat. He also puts harmonies underneath the melody – in a style similar to a protestant hymn.

Stephen Feld, a researcher, has traced the journey of Rorogwela and tried to find out how the music could be transformed in such a way. The original scholar who recorded Rorogwela claims he never gave permission for the recording to be used. It seems that because the song is classed as Oral Tradition, anyone can take it and change it however they like without paying.

When we think of how inspiring and communicative music can be, there is something wonderful about it being for free. At the same time, if Afunakwa had been a rich Westerner, and written her tune down, Deep Forest, all those commercial companies, and Jan Garbarek, would have been obliged to recognize her contribution, and would have paid royalties for it. Norway does actually have a policy of paying a percentage of profits from the use of World Musics into a development fund, but specific groups or people are not directly rewarded for their work. It seems a pity that those who need it most, receive the least for their art!