Indigenous R&B boy band B2M are used to people dancing at their concerts, but the enthusiasm of audiences in Taiwan took them by surprise. All seven members of B2M – which stands for Bathurst to Melville – hail from the Tiwi Islands. They have just returned from headlining Taipei’s Pulima indigenous arts festival, where audiences responded to their catchy songs with overwhelming gusto.
Band member Jeffrey Simon says it was “a real eye-opener” connecting with other indigenous people and cultures. The band has toured East Timor, Bali and Shanghai, but this was their first trip to Taiwan.
“When we first went to East Timor we felt the connection to home, when we met other indigenous people, in the way they embraced us and our music. Taiwan was very similar, we found a lot of similarities in our cultures,” Simon tells Guardian Australia.
“Like, they couldn’t talk to their sisters, and we can’t talk to our sisters or mothers-in-law. The way they did their welcome to country with us was very similar ... I think the highlight was when we saw the dancers from a certain tribe from Taiwan and how they passed down their tradition to the young ones.”
B2M’s songs are known for their positive messages around alcohol and drugs, but in Taiwan, the band opted for a set list that was markedly different to what they usually play in Australia, bringing out more traditional chants and more culture, Simon says.
The band got everyone up and dancing at the festival, despite warnings that Taipei crowds might be a little less active, says Louise Partos, executive director of touring agency Artback NT. And there was a great connection with smaller indigenous communities that they visited in the days after the festival, where “people got up and danced straight away”.
“Both B2M and that community performed their welcome songs and dances and thank you songs and dances. It was just beautiful to see how linked those communities were in terms of ceremonial practices and respecting each other,” Partos says. “There was a building of relationships and a recognition of oneness that I hadn’t expected.”
The Taiwan trip inspired B2M’s new venture, Project Songlines, which involves mixing traditional ancient Tiwi chants with those of other indigenous cultures.
“If you bring these two ancient cultures together and mix them into a dance pop R&B mix and make it so catchy, if you’re going to play it in a nightclub, you’ll definitely connect with it,” says Simon. “But it’s got a tribal feel to it so you want to start stomping your feet and dancing.”
In order to use the traditional chants, the band had to seek permission from Tiwi elders. But Simon says “they’re all for it”.
“It’s amazing to see they understand that for our culture to survive in the new world it needs to be recorded and passed down in a different way. And from what we heard in Taiwan it’s very similar there. But they are so into it, and very excited about it.”
B2M’s positive messages around drugs and alcohol are nevertheless very important to them. “It’s such a huge problem, and not just for us,” said Simon. “Hopefully someone can take over or pick up on it, because there needs to be songs about that on mainstream radio.”
The band has a big following, particularly among Indigenous Australian communities, and feels a responsibility to the younger generations.
“We’re all fathers in the band, and kids are our main passion,” says Simon. “Back in 2004 there was time when we almost broke up but the kids are the ones that kept us going. The kids are now over the age of 18 and they’ve been singing our songs since they were like 12 years old.”
The band is “so not into love songs”, he says.
“On mainstream radio there’s a lot of songs about the booty and stuff, which is great, but we understand that as a band we don’t have long. Bands do break up eventually so we try to make as much impact as we can in the time we’ve got.”
