26/06/2023
FROM GORDONS HIGH SCHOOL TO SEPIK KUNAI- THE STORY OF A LOCAL ARTIST AND A JOURNO
Two High school friends have combined their talents to produce a song about the untapped economic potential of the Sepik plains.
Music award winner Heich Sibela (Harold Gibson) and Senior Journalist Clifford Faiparik combined their music and writing talents to produce the Sepik Kunai song.
Both were classmates at Gordons High School from 1983 doing grade 7 to Grade 10 in 1986.
“Although we both left High School in 1986 to pursue our own interests, we still meet randomly to just have general discussion on almost anything that crosses our minds,” Mr Faiparik says.
“And it was during one of our casual discussion two months ago that I told Sibela of my trip to Kiniambo village in the Sepik Plains in East Sepik Province 12 years ago. Which I did an updated feature story in the Weekender magazine titled " Revisiting the Plains" (click the link to read more on this story: https://www.thenational.com.pg/revisiting-the-plains/)
“Sibela was so interested and he asked me to write a song about the Sepik plains and give it to him. So, I used my journalism and creative writing skills to write a poem about Sepik plains. Because when I was at the University of Papua New Guinea 23 years ago, I majored in Journalism studies and minor in Literature studies. And in literature, I took creative writing courses where we write poems and short fiction stories”.
“So, using my journalism and creative writing skills I wrote a poem about Sepik plains which the Sepik kunai song is all about and gave it to him. And as a sensational musician who had won Yumi FM awards for the longest charting song in 2013 for his song Satisfy me, and another Yumi FM award in 2015 for best collaboration on his song Sailor boy , he used his musical talent to produce the Sepik Kunai song in the MMM Bitz studio near YWCA Hostel at Two Mile Hill in Port Moresby“.
“And that’s how the Sepik Kunai song was produced last month. Basically, the song is about the Sepik plains of its location between the Sepik River and the Prince Alexander Mountain range. Sepik plain is so huge and covers the Angoram, Yangoru-Sausia, Maprik and the Wosera -Gawi electorates. It has a huge potential of economic activities in livestock, rice, oil plan and wheat production,” said Faiparik.
Caption: (L) Senior Journalist Clifford Faiparik and (R) Heich Sibela- 2013/2015 Winner of Yumi FM Music Awards for his hit songs "Satisfy Me" and "Sailor Boy"
