Cultural politics and a music recording project: producing Strike Em!: Contemporary voices from the Torres Strait

<p dir="ltr">This article focuses on two primary processes: the role of cultural politics in the production of a Torres Strait Islander community CD; and the role of music producers as cultural brokers using music to mediate between different cultures. It provides background on the positioning of Torres Strait Islanders in Australian society and how their music is situated within the national and transnational marketing genre of 'world music'. The two processes are seen as complex and unpredictable, requiring detailed but often initially ad hoc attention to cultural, commercial and creative concerns. Because the recording project was the first of its kind, cultural protocols and networks with stakeholders had to be developed so it was considered mutually beneficial to all participants.</p>