Appendix
B - Available Recordings of Yol\u Music
Hard
Tongue Didgeridoo: Exercises in Northeast Arnhem Land Yidaki Style
Unlike previous yidaki teaching materials, this CD does not teach Yol\u songs,
but Yol\u technique, so you can learn the tongue motions with clear instructions
and diagrams and easy to remember repetitive exercises. Once you understand the
tongue motions and how they are communicated, it is much easier to understand,
learn and play Yol\u yidaki music, and to invent new music with a foundation
in the techniques used by the originators of the instrument. |
Djalu'
Gurruwiwi & family - Gawurr Manikay CD / Yidaki Festa 2005 DVD
This DVD is likely the first commercially available product featuring
song and dance from Djalu' and his family, shot at a performance
in Tokyo, Japan in 2005. The CD features the audio from the same
concert plus a bonus track recorded by the Japanese organizer while
on a visit to Djalu's and his brother, singer Gurritjiri's, home
at Gunya\ara'. |

The Yothu Yindi Foundation Contemporary Masters Series
This recent series features 2 teaching cds by Djalu' Gurruwiwi with his son
Larry, 3 cds of Yol\u songs and 1 cd featuring music of neighbouring people
from another cultural group. The teaching cds are obviously of interest, but
it is important to not only hear solo yidaki, but the instrument used in context.
All of these albums were recorded professionally in a studio in Arnhem Land.
Titles include:
-Djalu teaches and plays yidaki (volumes 1 & 2)
-Waluka (featuring Gurritjiri Gurruwiwi singing with his brother Djalu' on yidaki)
-Gobulu (Galarrwuy Yunupi\u singing with Mal\ay Yunupi\u on yidaki)
-Mamba (Ralkurru Marika singing with Mal\ay and Narripapa Yunupi\u on yidaki)
-Nhundhirribala (music from southeast Arnhem Land, with Mungayana Nhundhirribala
singing and Yadu Numamurdirdi on lhambilgbilg/yidaki) |

Yothu Yindi - Homeland
Movement / Tribal Voice / Freedom / Birrku=a: Wild Honey / One Blood
/ Garma
Some didjeridu players out there began playing because of the rock band
Yothu Yindi's use of the instrument, or where influenced by them after beginning
to
play. All of the many yidaki players who have been in the band are extremely
talented, being chosen out of a large network of relations.
The original player is the
best known, but others who have recorded and toured are Makuma Yunupi\u, Bunimbirr
Marika, Yomunu
Yunupi\u, Gapanbulu Yunupi\u, Mal\ay Yunupi\u, Nicky Yunupi\u and Rrawun
Maymuru. All of Yothu Yindi's cd except 'Garma' contain at least 4 traditional
Yol\u songs amidst the rock and pop material.
The first album 'Homeland Movement' contains the most traditional music, all
in
a row without the rock and pop music interspersed (not that we don't recommend
listening to it all!). |
Songs from the Northern Territory
This 5-cd set is an incredible collection recorded by ethnomusicologist Alice
Moyle in the early 1960's. It represents music from all over the Top End of the
Northern Territory, including many Aboriginal groups, so you can hear how didjeridu
styles differ. Fathers, grandfathers, and great-grandfathers of today's Miwatj
and Laynha residents, as well as at least one currently living Yol\u singer,
Galarrwuy Yunupi\u, are featured on volumes 3 and 4. The recording quality is
not as good as modern studio recordings, of course, but it is invaluable to hear
elders in more natural settings. This set was produced by the Australian
Institute of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Studies. It is now out
of print, but copies may still be available from various sources. |

George Rrurrambu Burarrwa\a & Warumpi Band
Go Bush! / Big Name, No Blankets / Too Much Humbug / Nerrbu Message
Warumpi Band earned their place in history be releasing the first
rock single in an Aboriginal language, and its integrated lineup
with Euro-Australian singer-songwriter Neil Murray also served as
an early example of reconciliation through the arts. Frontman George
Rrurrambu is a Gumatj man born at Galiwin'ku in northeast Arnhem
Land. Each recording has folk, rock, and reggae songs in both English
and Aboriginal languages, some with yidaki. Rrurrambu's later solo
album Nerrbu Message is mostly roots reggae in both English and Gumatj
with some yidaki/voice duets and a beautiful rendition of the Warumpi-penned
Australian hit "My Island Home" in Gumatj. The band has split up
and Rrurrambu does not have his own website, but there is plenty
of information, and the CD's are widely available on the internet. |
Saltwater
Band - Gapu Damurru\' / Djarridjarri
This award-winning group from Galiwin'ku is the younger Yol\u group
following in the footsteps of Yothu Yindi. One principal singer-songwriter
is
in
fact Gurrumul Yunupi\u, who was a member of Yothu Yindi for a time.
Following precedent, they sing in a mix of English and Yol\u languages,
and include some traditional yidaki/voice tracks. The band does not
have a website, but there's info and CD sales on the web. |
www.manikay.com
This American website features a database and audio files from many out of print
recordings of Aboriginal music from all over Arnhem Land. This is a wealth
of material that would be very difficult to find elsewhere. |
Skinnyfish
Music - www.skinnyfishmusic.com.au
A good Northern Territory-based website to purchase CD's of both contemporary
and traditional Aboriginal music. Skinnyfish produces recordings and manages bands out of remote outstations, providing many opportunities for Aboriginal People.
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