Geoffrey gurrumul yunupingu gurrumul lyrics and tracklist. Aboriginal singer gurrumul sings live on stage in darwin. Gurrumul is remembered today as one of the most important figures in australian music history, blind from birth and emerging from the remote. Robert hillman joined mornings to discuss his book gurrumul.
Gurrumul is a portrait of an artist on the brink of global reverence, and the struggles he and those closest to him faced in balancing that which mattered most to him and keeping the show on the road. In recent years there has been much media focus on the poor conditions in aboriginal communities, but there is something to be said for aboriginals peoples approach to what the rest of us think of as disability. This article is about an aboriginal australian person who has recently died. Geoffrey gurrumul yunupingu was a charting, awardwinning singer, songwriter, and multiinstrumentalist from australia. Celebrated by audiences at home and abroad, indigenous artist geoffrey gurrumul yunupingu was one of the most important and acclaimed. At the time of his passing he was the bestknown aboriginal musician in australias history, with multiplatinum album success as proof. It follows in the footsteps of the multi aria award winning double platinum debut album released in february 2008 and which has gone on to sell half a.
Gurrumuls music, like all honest creative work, transcended language and cultural barriers, making him the highest selling aboriginal singersongwriter in australian history. Geoffrey gurrumul yunupingu, worldrenowned aboriginal. Geoffrey gurrumul yunupingu listen and stream free. Stream adfree or purchase cds and mp3s now on amazon. Moving, mesmerising and genuinely from the heart, the extraordinary new australian documentary holds a mirror to the unique life and music of the late indigenous singersongwriter gurrumul yunupingu. His music is a lasting testament to his amazing talent and his worldwide contributions to keeping his culture alive. The book includes interviews with family and friends, song lyrics and exclusive photographs. Mgm distribution, umg on behalf of skinnyfish music. His singing voice has drawn great attention and acclaim with his music. Most of his songs are sung in galpu, gumatj or djambarrpuyngu, which are all languages of the yolngu people of northeastern arnhem land. Geoffrey gurrumul yunupingu listen and stream free music, albums, new releases, photos, videos.
Those who practise avoidance of naming the dead are advised that this article may include the full name, voice, images of this person. Gurrumul s selftitled debut album topped australias independent music charts earlier this year. Geoffrey gurrumul yunupingu music, videos, stats, and photos. Celebrated by audiences at home and abroad, indigenous artist geoffrey gurrumul. His first album as an acoustic artist, gurrumul, was released in australia in 2008 and went double platinum. Well perhaps not finallyi couldnt resist adding this beautiful example of geoffrey gurrumul yunupingu singing in yol. For students who have not heard gurrumul singing, there are several sites. Gurrumul, the astonishingly talented blind australian aboriginal singer, has sadly passed away at the very young age of 46 years. This unique indigenous man is one of the most inspiring music stories of our generation. And as for the solo success of the year, it was, without question, geoffrey gurrumul yunupingu, a blind aboriginal singer who comes from the remote territory of northeast arnhem land in australia, and sings mostly in the dialects of the gumatj clan.
Get all the lyrics to songs on gurrumul and join the genius community of music scholars to learn the meaning behind the lyrics. The late geoffrey gurrumul yunupingu, the blind yolngu orpheus who can see with his heart. New documentary on the late aboriginal musician gurrumul at the. Indigenous australian music, postminimalism, singer songwriter. So ive bring back classic albums posttag for gurrumul by geoffrey gurrumul yunupingu but as noted just above, i did try to leave. Geoffrey gurrumul yunupingu 22 january 1971 25 july 2017, also referred to since his. Paul kelly, kev carmody remember gough in song duration. Apr 23, 20 but that will not be quite the same, for i am listening to the cd that comes with this gorgeous book by robert hillman, and every track seems more haunting than the last it is, the blurb tells me, an exclusive cd of remixed songs from his bestselling albums gurrumul and rrakala featuring rare remixes of the. Geoffrey gurrumul yunupingus profile including the latest music, albums, songs, music videos and more updates. An unbelievable voice that will make you feel transported out of this world.
May 01, 2015 gurrumul, an aboriginal singersongwriter, sang about tradition and relationships in a concert at subculture in the east village. Aug 09, 2017 gurrumuls music, like all honest creative work, transcended language and cultural barriers, making him the highest selling aboriginal singersongwriter in australian history. Geoffrey gurrumul yunupingu is within the scope of wikiproject australia, which aims to improve wikipedia s coverage of australia and australiarelated topics. It also won two arias the australian grammy best world music album.
Gurrumul s music, like all honest creative work, transcended language and cultural barriers, making him the highest selling aboriginal singer songwriter in australian history. Geoffrey gurrumul yunupingu 22 january 1971 25 july 2017, also referred to since his death as dr g yunupingu, was an indigenous australian musician. Find geoffrey gurrumul yunupingu bio, music, credits. His solo excursions highlight his amazing talent as a singer songwritermusician and his beautiful voice singing the songs of his gumatj country. From concert halls to recording studios and into aboriginal heartlands, thi. Moving, mesmerising and genuinely from the heart, the extraordinary new australian documentary holds a mirror to the unique life and music of the late indigenous singer songwriter gurrumul yunupingu. Why gurrumul is australias most important documentary nitv. From concert halls to recording studios and into aboriginal heartlands, this is the story of australias geoffrey gurrumul yunupingu. Gurrumul, geoffrey gurrumul yunupingu rrakala amazon.
Geoffrey gurrumul yunupingus final album djarimirri child of the rainbow, released posthumously last week, becomes the first in an australian indigenous language to. A multiinstrumentalist, he played drums, keyboards, guitar a righthandstrung guitar played lefthanded and didgeridoo, but it was the clarity of his singing voice that attracted rave. On november 23, 2012 the album was certified silver in the united kingdom for sales of 60,000 copies. Gurrumuls selftitled debut album topped australias independent music charts earlier this year. It follows in the footsteps of the multi aria award winning double platinum debut album released in february 2008 and which has gone on to sell half a million copies worldwide. Indigenous australian music, postminimalism, singersongwriter. Gurrumul, geoffrey gurrumul yunupingu, craig pilkington. Apr 21, 2018 local indigenous artist geoffrey gurrumul. Geoffrey gurrumul yunupingu simple english wikipedia, the.
Gurrumul bio highlights impact of aboriginal musicians. Mar 30, 2015 geoffery gurrumul yunupingu is the blind indigenous singer best known in australia for his unique voice, aria nominations, two number three albums and stunning archibald prizewinning portrait. Hes also a 46yearold yolngu man from australias far north, a member of one the countrys most. Geoffrey gurrumul yunupingu gurrumul history i was born blind. Gurrumuls producer, collaborator and friend michael hohnen talks about the aboriginal and blindfrombirth musician who was described by. Jan 05, 2019 geoffrey gurrumul yunupingu is the lead singer of the saltwater band and the former keyboard player and guitarist of yothu yindi. I was born blind and i dont know why god knows why because he love me so as i grew up, my spirit knew then i learnt to read the world of. Geoffrey gurrumul yunupingu is a blind aboriginal singersongwriter and guitarist from the gumatj clan of the yolngu people of australias north east arnhem land. But that will not be quite the same, for i am listening to the cd that comes with this gorgeous book by robert hillman, and every track seems more haunting than the last it is, the blurb tells me, an exclusive cd of remixed songs from his bestselling albums gurrumul and. Central to gurrumul s career was michael hohnen, a musician and producer who established skinnyfish records and was the first to encourage the shy singer to step out from the saltwater band to.
Geoffrey gurrumul yunupingu bapa posted on october 6, 2010 by australianlanguages kirsten. While traditional aboriginal music tends to be loud and percussive. The track gurrumul history i was born blind also won a deadly for single of the year. He was born on elcho island, off the coast of arnhem land, northern australia about 350 miles from darwin. Central to gurrumuls career was michael hohnen, a musician and producer who established skinnyfish records and was the first to encourage the shy singer to step out from the saltwater band to. Geoffrey gurrumul yunupingu born blind aboriginal singer. Yunupingu, geoffrey gurrumul 19712017 worldcat identities. Geoffrey gurrumul yunupingu, a blind aboriginal musician renowned for singing in his native yolngu language with a heartrending voice, died july 25 in darwin, australia. Geoffrey gurrumul yunupingu born 1970 is an indigenous australian musician, who sings in the yolngu language. Singing in his native yolngu tongue, gurrumul yunupingu uses his selftitled debut he had previously been part of the massively successful yothu yindi to showcase a vocal talent rarely heard in any culture, but especially surprising against the backdrop of the usually repetitive, frenetic australian aboriginal forms. G eoffrey gurrumul yunupingu is a multiaward winning singer who has toured the world. Blind from birth, geoffrey gurrumul yunupingu is a powerhouse of musical creativity. Indigenous singing legend dr g yunupingu has died just 46.
Geoffrey gurrumul yunupingu listen and stream free music. Geoffrey gurrumul yunupingu music, videos, stats, and. Check out geoffrey gurrumul yunupingu on amazon music. He becomes the first indigenous singer to sing in his native language to reach no. Apr 14, 2016 g eoffrey gurrumul yunupingu is a multiaward winning singer who has toured the world. Geoffrey gurrumul yunupingu is the lead singer of the saltwater band and the former keyboard player and guitarist of yothu yindi. On stage with accoustic guitar, drums and upright bass allows for his voice to be centre stage. Part road trip, part biography, robert hillmans account of gurrumuls life and music offers rare insights into the sources of his inspiration. With geoffrey gurrumul yunupingu, mark grose, michael hohnen, sting.
Gurrumul grew up on elcho island, in the community of galiwinku. His solo excursions highlight his amazing talent as a singersongwritermusician and his beautiful voice singing the songs of his gumatj country. He is from the gumatj clan of the yolngu and his mother from the galpu nation. Geoffrey gurrumul yunupingu 22 january 1971 25 july 2017, often known simply as gurrumul, was an indigenous australian musician. Mar 28, 2009 geoffrey gurrumul yunupingu born 1970 is an indigenous australian musician, who sings in the yolngu language.
Jul 26, 2017 geoffrey gurrumul yunupingu, an aboriginal australian singer whose soulful voice and prodigious guitar playing took him from the remote island of his birth to concert halls around the world, died. The album reached 3x platinum sales in excess of 210,000. Geoffrey gurrumul yunupingu was born blind and grew up in an indigenous culture with a rich oral history on elcho island off the north coast of. A blind aboriginal singer has been making waves down under. Geoffrey gurrumul yunupingu, an aboriginal australian singer whose soulful voice and prodigious guitar playing took him from the remote island of. Gurrumuls musical exceptional skills on drums, keyboards, guitar and digeridoo were largely selftaught, despite being born blind. In october 2010, it was listed in the top 30 in the book, 100 best australian albums. Oct 06, 2010 geoffrey gurrumul yunupingu bapa posted on october 6, 2010 by australianlanguages kirsten.
The book this unique indigenous man is one of the most inspiring music stories of our generation. Geoffery gurrumul yunupingu is the blind indigenous singer best known in australia for his unique voice, aria nominations, two number three. Yunupingu shot to fame on the strength of his haunting. Gurrumul, an aboriginal singersongwriter, sang about tradition and relationships in a concert at subculture in the east village. Geoffrey gurrumul yunupingu, hauntingly beautiful song in his native tongue, you dont need a translation when the music touches your heart grief have taken hold of me for my father when the sun. Singer and guitarist whose soulful voice and songs blending western musical styles and australian indigenous culture made him a world music celebrity published. Gurrumul yunupingu album is first in indigenous language to. Music profile for geoffrey gurrumul yunupingu, born 22 january 1971. Award accepted by jasmine yunupingu on behalf of artist of the year gurrumul yunupingu geoffrey gurrumul yunupingu is a gumatj man from galiwinku on elcho island in the northern territory. If gurrumuls life and music comprise an invitation to his country, his culture and their unexplained mysteries, this book is a gracious act of acceptance. Gurrumul hospital row highlights indigenous health obstacles. If you would like to participate, visit the project page. He became the highestselling aboriginal artist in history, selling more than half a million copies of his albums, singing in yolngu and some english.