Geoffrey Gurrumul Yunupingu
“Gurrumul”
Geoffrey Gurrumul Yunupingu is from the Gumatj nation of North East Arnhemland and has been blind since birth. He is a multi instrumentalist, former keyboard player and guitarist in Yothu Yindi, now with the popular Saltwater Band where he clearly has a key role in shaping the Saltwater sound.
Gurrumul is Yunupingu’s first solo album and it demonstrates his astonishing talent as a singer, songwriter and musician.
The lyrics are mostly sung in Yunupingu’s own language and he plays a normal tuned guitar upside down (which means he plays everything backwards); he is supported by Michael Hohnen on double bass. The music has a sparseness and yet it also has an unbelievable richness and depth that underlies Yunupingu’s exceptional voice.
The songs are about the land, family and spirituality, giving them a significant cultural potency. The album was recorded in Melbourne, then mixed and mastered in Darwin; it is a very sophisticated and well finished product.
In my view, it is the best new Australian album I have heard in a long while. A great deal of credit must go to Skinny Fish Music which has worked tirelessly to bring the music of Aboriginal Australia to a wider audience.
A world traveler, Yunupingu has already played for the Queen, who sat just metres close by as he performed. Who knows where this album might take him?
Skinny Fish MusicFebruary 2008
