Papua New Guinea (song)


"Papua New Guinea" is a 1991 song by the electronic music group Future Sound of London. It was the group's debut single and later appeared on their full-length album Accelerator. The single reached #22 on the UK singles chart. The track has been remixed and released many times since its original release, both legitimately and in bootleg format on CD, Vinyl and Cassette.

The track

The song became a popular rave and club track almost immediately upon its release. The original mix samples the bassline from Meat Beat Manifesto's proto-jungle track "Radio Babylon", the tambourine from Bobby Byrd's "Hot Pants - I'm Coming", vocals of Lisa Gerrard lifted from the Dead Can Dance song "Dawn of the Iconoclast", from their 1987 album Within the Realm of a Dying Sun, and "Shelter Me" by Circuit.
In 2001, a new set of remixes was released by FSOL's label, Jumpin' & Pumpin'. Soon after that, Future Sound of London themselves released Papua New Guinea Translations, which extended the track into a 45-minute-long EP.
The track has been named in several "best songs ever" polls. The single was also included in British music magazine Melody Maker's, end-of-year, best albums / singles retrospective.
"Papua New Guinea" was featured in the 1997 Gregg Araki film Nowhere and in the 1992 film Cool World. In the film, Garry Cobain was credited as "Garry Cockbain", which was the original spelling of his name. A remix of "Papua New Guinea" featured in the 2002 PlayStation 2 game Wipeout Fusion. In the same year, the track was used in a TV spot for Sony Wega Theatre. It is also featured in the soundtrack of EA Sports game, 2010 FIFA World Cup South Africa. It is the opening theme for the football TV programme FutbolCat, on Catalan public sports TV Esport3, and was also featured in the EastEnders special live thirtieth anniversary episode.. The track also featured in the soundtrack for Forza Horizon 3, and in the Rave in the Redwoods zombie map of the first DLC pack for.
PublicationCountryAccoladeYearRank
Melody MakerUnited Kingdom"Singles of the Year"199213
Pitchfork MediaUnited States"The Top 200 Tracks of the 1990s"2010147

Releases

1991/2003 release

The original recording was released twice in 1991 and 2003 on CD and Vinyl and Cassette with time totaling at 13:10. The Dali Mix features elsewhere as 12" Original Mix ergo the "single" version as opposed to the 6:45 long album version. The catalog number is 12 TOT 17 and S12DJ-107 on the 2003 version.
  1. "Papua New Guinea " –
  2. "Papua New Guinea " –
  3. "Papua New Guinea " –

    1992/1996 release

This version was released with a plethora of remixes and was 37:04 in length. The catalog number is CLP 9743-2. It was also released on CD and Vinyl and Cassette.
  1. "Papua New Guinea " – 3:47
  2. "Papua New Guinea " – 9:43 ; 11:24
  3. "Papua New Guinea " – 1:20
  4. "Papua New Guinea " – 5:25
  5. "Papua New Guinea " – 3:48
  6. "Papua New Guinea " – 4:20
  7. "Papua New Guinea " – 4:57
  8. "Papua New Guinea " – 5:04

    "Papua New Guinea 2001"

This release featured new remixes by artists including Satoshi Tomiie. The tracks were featured in numerous dance compilation albums such as the Ministry of Sound and Gatecrasher albums of the time, and the Hybrid mix featured on the Wipeout Fusion soundtrack. The catalog number for this release is CDS TOT 44 and it is 15:15 long.
  1. Papua New Guinea -
  2. Papua New Guinea -
  3. *Edited By - Satoshi Tomiie, Scott Bradford
  4. *Remix - Satoshi Tomiie
  5. Papua New Guinea -
  6. *Edited By - Ralph Tee
  7. *Producer - Hybrid
  8. *Remix - Hybrid
  9. Papua New Guinea -
  10. *Edited By - Ralph Tee
  11. *Producer - Blue States
  12. *Remix - Blue States
  13. Papua New Guinea -
  14. *Producer - Simian
  15. *Remix - Simian

    "Translations"

This version changed the song considerably, and added a string section, sitars and different female vocals. The catalog number is CD TOT 52 and it is 53:38 long.
  1. Translation 1: 12" Original -
  2. Translation 2: Papsico -
  3. Translation 3: The Lovers -
  4. *Guitar - Stinky Rowe*
  5. *Voice - Linda Lewis
  6. Translation 4: Wooden Ships -
  7. *Guitar - Paolo Longheu
  8. Translation 5: The Great Marmalade Mama In The Sky -
  9. Translation 6: Requiem -
  10. Translation 7: Things Change Like The Patterns And Shades That Fall From The Sun
  11. Translation 8: The Big Blue -
  12. *Guitar - Stinky Rowe*

    "Herd & White remixes"

This limited edition release was only released on vinyl and was remixed by the UK's Jason Herd and Jon White. The catalog number is 12 TOT 45 and it is 18:11 long.
  1. Papua New Guinea -
  2. Papua New Guinea -
  3. Papua New Guinea -

    Chart Position