Maria Wenda is a West Papuan singer-songwriter and the lead singer of The Lani Singers. Her work is rooted in the traditional folk songs and sacred rituals of the Lani people of West Papua, carried forward as a living expression of cultural identity and resistance.
Maria and her husband Benny Wenda fled political persecution and oppression in their occupied homeland and now live in exile in the United Kingdom. Music has remained a central thread of continuity and testimony throughout their lives in displacement. As part of the Lani Singers, Maria has released two albums on Dancing Turtle Records, preserving and sharing ancestral songs shaped by ceremony, landscape and collective memory.
Maria also features on “Dub No Frontiers”, a release bringing together female artists working across dub and sound system traditions. The album was released through On-U Sound in collaboration with Real World Records and curated by producer Adrian Sherwood. It features artists from across global scenes including Rita Morar, Kerieva, Saba Tewelde, Yehaiyahan and Temi Oyedelete.
Her voice has also reached wider collaborative contexts. She appeared on “Keleketla!” Keleketla!, a cross-continental project initiated by Coldcut alongside South African musicians including Sibusile Xaba and Yugen Blakrok. The project expanded to include contributions from Afrobeat pioneer Tony Allen, Dele Sosimi and The Watts Prophets.
Through her work with The Lani Singers and beyond, Maria Wenda continues to carry forward the musical heritage of West Papua while engaging in collaborations that connect indigenous voices to global experimental and contemporary music contexts.
