Welcome to another Pleasant Sunday Afternoon.
Gurrumul is a Yolngu man from Elcho Island. If Elcho Island sounds familiar it is because I have shown videos of young Yolgnu men dancing to Zorba the Greek.
“His beautiful voice will never leave you as he sings the songs of his Gumatj country (PDF). His solo performances are a rare treat and should not be missed”
Gurrumul was a member of the ARIA award winning Yothu Yindi band until 2002 and as well as a solo career is a member of the Saltwater Band
I Was Born Blind/ Gurrumul History
This song is in English
Djarimirri
This is sung in Yolngu. But you don’t need words with this.
here is a brief video biography of Geoffrey Gurrumul Yunupingu. Watch until the end for another beautiful piece of music.
For those who had forgotten where he came from here is Yothu Yindi and “Treaty” which won an Aria award and was a hit in Australia. A lot of whitefellas danced around to this not realising it was a song of indigenous dispossession.
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Thank you for the great post, music, videos and links. Totally new for me, on the other side of the world. Keeping up with your blog and SandnSurf’s blog has been intellectually enriching, especially regarding the indigenous culture of Australia.
Fantastic compilation. Appreciate learning more about Australian culture and community you live in. Great work