Gurrumuls home community of Galiwinku and the surrounding Arnhem Land is Aboriginal territory and a deeply traditional place of multiple clans and tribes. From a Darwin beach, Gurrumul chatted with Hohnen and Williams as they played him one of the final pieces of music for the documentary. That killed me, near the end of the film, when his uncle says that he exceeded all our expectations.. He sits in the centre of the studio in front of a computer screen and two large speakers and flicks through the songs, which were recorded in Sydney and bring western classical elements to traditional Yolngu music. Gurrumul performed for HRH Queen Elizabeth II, past-US President Barack Obama, Crown Prince Frederick and Princess Mary of Denmark, in addition to being one of only two Australian performers at the Queens Diamond Jubilee Concert at Buckingham Palace, confirming this multi ARIA award-winning musicians place as an international star who had transcended cultural boundaries while staying true to his culture. They talk of their. Through the film we get a glimpse of just how special and integral the bond between Gurrumul and Hohnen was, with the latter often being known as the spokesperson for the acutely shy performer both on stage and in interviews. Critics have heaped praise on the singer , describing his voice as having transcendental beauty. The very nature of these traditional songs and the yidaki patterns do have a lot of repetition in them, but also a lot of variation within that repetition, which combines really well with the small orchestra.". I worked on it for over a month, mostly while listening to his music. Hohnen and Gurrumul laugh as announcers and TV hosts mispronounce his name, and cackle as Guy Maestri wins the Archibald prize for his portrait of Gurrumul and reads aloud a message from the singer: I didnt win this money, so please dont call me asking for some of it.. [33] He released his third studio album, The Gospel Album, on 31 July 2015. I always said he balanced the two worlds better than most people. "Yeah. Gurrumul documentary to debut at Berlin film festival watch the trailer. When asked what he would do with any money he makes, he suggested it will go to his mother and aunts, following the Aboriginal tradition of sharing wealth. "It transcends cultural barriers, because music is an international language. [8] On his death he was described as an important figure in fostering racial harmony and as a voice of Indigenous Australians. What Williams has been able to achieve here is quite remarkable, to be able to capture these very intimate moments within the community speaks to the level of trust and respect between the community and the film-makers, and also an acknowledgement of the status of Gurrumul. Aged only 46, he'd succumbed to organ failure relating to the hepatitis B he'd contracted in childhood. With a voice that captured the heart of millions across the world, Geoffrey Gurrumul Yunupingu was an enigmatic talent. He doesnt want to be photographed or talk to anyone. ", Australasian Mechanical Copyright Owners Society, "2009 Helpmann Awards Nominees & Winners", "Gurrumul Is The 2022 NIMA Hall Of Fame Inductee", Video of Geoffrey Gurrumul Yunupingu performing, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Geoffrey_Gurrumul_Yunupingu&oldid=1141636930, CS1 maint: bot: original URL status unknown, Articles with dead external links from August 2012, Short description is different from Wikidata, All Wikipedia articles written in Australian English, Pages using infobox musical artist with associated acts, Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License 3.0. This was the final okay from Gurrumul, who as a co-producer had been involved in most aspects of the film. By the time Skinnyfish came to release the eponymous Gurrumul in 2008, a year before Saltwater's final album, the man and his music were match fit. Please try again later. In October 2015, the album won Gurrumul's third ARIA Award for Best World Music Album. People forget he was in Yothu Yindi and Saltwater. In what has already made history by being the first album sung entirely in language to top the charts on it's release, we see the final musical masterpiece, the posthumously released. In July last year, filmmaker Paul Williams, sound engineer Pip Atherstone-Reid and Michael Hohnen, creative director of Darwin record label Skinnyfish Music, were in an editing room at Windmill studios in Collingwood, Melbourne. [55], The ARIA Music Awards is an annual awards ceremony that recognises excellence, innovation, and achievement across all genres of Australian music. He is from the Gumatj clan of the Yolngu and his mother from the Galpu nation. Geoffrey Gurrumul, at only 46-years-old, tragically passed away after a long battle with illness. [5][8][15][16] His first solo album, Gurrumul, was released in 2008, debuting at No. Singer-songwriter Geoffrey Gurrumul Yunupingu will release his eponymous solo debut album Gurrumul via Dramatico Entertainment on June 15. Like every other federal Labor MP, both men supported the Liberal-National coalition governments Northern Territory intervention in mid-2007a reactionary social assault launched under the bogus pretext of protecting Aboriginal children from sexual abuse. 3 on the ARIA Charts. He was placed on kidney dialysis in mid-2016, but Gurrumul, who'd been admitted to the intensive care unit at Royal Darwin Hospital seven times in the year leading up to his death, had started to refuse treatment. Both men were ministers in the Rudd and Gillard Labor governments from December 2007 to September 2013. The album is an ambitious project which continues Gurrumuls habit of marrying together the two worlds he lived in. A year later he began to play a guitar; despite being a left-hander, he played a right-handed guitar, holding it upside down, which he would continue to do throughout his career. The money he made was largely shared with his family, following the Aboriginal tradition of sharing wealth. Geoffrey Gurrumul Yunupingu (19702017), a Gumatj man from north-east Arnhem Land, was born blind but learned to play guitar, keyboard, drums and didgeridoo as a child. Completed early in 2017, the album was slated for release in the middle of last year. We know it happens right around Australia We need to have that discussion about how we can improve care for indigenous Australians so they receive the same level of care as non-indigenous Australians, Lawton said. The concert was co-presented by music producer Quincy Jones, who has called Gurrumul "unbelievable". Sir Elton John, Sting and Bjrk are among his fans. A multi-instrumentalist, he played drums, keyboards, guitar (a right-hand-strung guitar played left-handed) and didgeridoo, but it was the clarity of his singing voice that attracted rave reviews. Geoffrey Gurrumul Yunupingu, 38, from Elcho Island in Arnhem Land, northern Australia, has been hailed as one of the brightest talents ever to emerge from the countrys indigenous population, with his debut solo album reaching number one in the countrys independent music charts and his recent concerts selling out. The Most Beautiful Song Ever Written (Australian Aboriginal), This song is called Wiyathul and its by a blind aboriginal man called Geoffrey Gurrumul Yunupingu. We pay our respect to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander cultures and to Elders past and present. If he can do it, why can't we do it, you know?". To read more from Good Weekend magazine, visit our page at The Sydney Morning Herald or The Age. were a close unit, Five years in the making, it traces the life of Geoffrey Gurrumul Yunupingu, the Yolngu singer from Elcho Island, off the coast of Arnhem Land, who had taken Australian music by storm. "This album is an orchestral piece, so it's sheet music. Sir Elton John, Sting and Bjrk are among his fans. "Gurrumul had hundreds of songs in his head," says Hohnen. , carries the legacy of this celebrated and important voice, and offers a rare insight into the life of the shy musician beyond the stage and the spotlight. Eight hours later he was admitted into intensive care. SharkDog333 2 hr. "He was special in so many ways, in Western and Yolngu worlds," his niece, Miriam Yirrininba Dhurrkay, tells me. His first album as an acoustic artist, Gurrumul, was released in Australia in 2008 and went double platinum. Although a few of his songs are written and sung in English, he does not speak the language. "One world is Balanda, the other world is Yolngu," as Gurrumul describes it. Gurrumul's songs speak of identity, spirit, connection with the land, the elements and the ancestral beings to whom he is related. sfn error: no target: CITEREFHillman2014 (, Australian Independent Record (AIR) Awards, Australasian Performing Right Association, Honorary awards: Geoffrey Gurrumul Yunupingu, "Dr G Yunupingu: Australia's most prominent Indigenous musician dies aged 46", "Dr G. Yunupingu, Australian Aboriginal Singer, Dies at 46", "Dr G. Yunupingu: An exquisite singer who 'spoke to the soul', "Decca Australia signs Gurrumul, new releases in pipeline", "Australian indigenous singer Dr G. Yunupingu dies", "Case Study: Inspiring Stories Geoffrey Gurrumul Yunupingu", "Aboriginal musician astonishes Australian audiences", "Geoffrey Gurrumul Yunupingu's legacy: why his music didn't stop", "Aboriginal singer beats poverty and prejudice to top Australian charts", "Gurrumul interview: the mystical heart of Australia", Australian Independent Record Labels Association Ltd (AIR), 2012, "7 Great Performances from the History of the ARIA Awards Music Reads", "Delta to sing Gurrumul's indigenous anthem Bayini on The Voice tonight", "Courtney Barnett, Hermitude, Tame Impala Lead 2015 ARIA Award Nominations", "Gurrumul review stirring and soulful ode to Australia's most important voice", "50 Greatest Australian Artists of All Time number 33: Geoffrey Gurrumul Yunupingu", "Uperoleia gurrumuli Catullo and Keogh, 2021 | Amphibian Species of the World", "ARIA Charts Accreditations 2011 Albums", "ARIA Charts Accreditations 2012 Albums", Australian Recording Industry Association, Australian Independent Record Labels Association, "AIR Awards:2019 AIR Awards Winners Announced! [14] He left school at the age of 12, having attended his local school, Shepherdson College, along with a brief stint at an institute in the Victorian city of Geelong for instruction in Braille, which did not interest him. Formerly a member of Yothu Yindi and Saltwater Band, Geoffrey Gurrumul Yunupingu, who was blind from birth and passed away last year at age 46, released his first solo album in 2008. Sydney Morning Herald reviewer Bruce Elder recalled the first time he heard the young singer. "Yep, spot on," Gurrumul told the three in Melbourne. [30][8] In 2012, Yunupingu was conferred with an Honorary Doctorate of Music by the University of Sydney. A new documentary and posthumous album dispel the myths surrounding a beloved Australian Indigenous artist. "But I now feel like we did everything possible to live up to the standards that he and his family expected of us. One baroque-style track has overlapping melodies that mirror the communal expression of Yolngu ceremonial songs. A rare and moving visual of how life and death is honoured in Yolngucommunity. [63] Note: 2020 and 2021 were cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The wall above a shelf of Skinnyfish CDs is lined with art from the Tiwi Islands and a portrait of Gurrumul. Gurrumul was Skinnyfish Music's most successful artist and his success enabled the label to expand and focus on other acts like Lonely Boys, Manuel Dhurrkay and Mambali. His angelic voice connected with fans the world over, including such notable names as Elton John, will.I.am, Sting, Gary Barlow, Quincy Jones and Stevie Wonder. With Manuel Dhurrkay he also fronted Saltwater Band, the group putting out three records in a decade from 1999. Hohnen is in the midst of promoting the documentary, and preparing for the imminent release of Gurrumuls posthumous album, Djarimirri (Child of the Rainbow), which was four years in the making. Gurrumul's collaborator and companion Michael Hohnen says Kylie Minogue introduced the blind singer to the Queen. It's not lost on anyone involved with the making of the record how sad it is that its main player won't be here to enjoy its launch. [36] A documentary film titled Gurrumul was also released, which Luke Buckmaster reviewed, stating that "For Gurrumul fans, the film is obviously a must-see. Hohnen, who was the singers guide and spokesman, talks to the Guardian in the Skinnyfish Music offices in suburban Darwin. Half a million copies of Gurrumul have been sold worldwide. The National Portrait Gallery acknowledges the Traditional Custodians of Country throughout Australia and recognises the continuing connection to lands, waters and communities. He recently won two coveted ARIA Awards among others and was named NT Australian of the Year for 2008. I think there was a big education for him as well with that film, of hearing the respect, and what his uncle would say about him, Hohnen says, his voice catching. I usually work in a very liberal, gestural way but this time I built up the image quietly and slowly with many glazes in an attempt to capture the beautiful quality of his skin. "Michael had this concept of combining the more traditional songs and chanting and yidaki patterns, with this kind of contemporary minimalist orchestral tradition," explains Erkki Veltheim, the Melbourne-based composer and violinist who arranged the album. AUSTRALIAN musical great Dr G Yunupingu has died, aged 46, after a long battle with illness, his music label has confirmed. Meibomianitis is inflammation of the meibomian glands, a group of oil-releasing (sebaceous) glands in the eyelids. Please check your spam folder for the email, if it does not arrive, click this link Emails will be sent by or on behalf of Universal Music Group 2220 Colorado, Sign up to receive email updates and offers from Gurrumul. source: http://www.thearchibaldprize.com.au/winners/archibald, Aboriginal singer beats poverty and prejudice to top Australian charts Gurrumul would go on to perform for Barack Obama and Queen Elizabeth II, among others. The studio is a converted garage, littered with the signs of the musical and cultural worlds it works in. Dr G Yunupingu (1970-2017), a man of the Gumatj clan of north-east Arnhem Land, learned to play guitar, keyboard, drums and didgeridoo as a child. The use of images of works of art reproduced on this website and all other content may be restricted under the Australian Copyright Act 1968 (Cth). For further information please contact NPG Copyright. he says. Cut off at the forehead, his peaked hairline just appears that the top. The music kind of suits that being on the edge of two worlds and the feeling of how its not completely comfortable, says Hohnen. Most of his songs are sung in Galpu, Gumatj or Djambarrpuyngu, which are all languages of the Yolngu people of northeastern Arnhem Land. The extraordinary song was inspired by the cries of native bush fowls. I made sure to read the lyrics and understand the meaning of each song. The breakup of indigenous communities continued and the regressive attacks on social welfare recipients used in the Northern Territory were expanded to selected non-indigenous communities across Australia (see: The Aboriginal intervention in Australia: Four years on). "This last record is testament to him transcending genre and transcending what's expected of an Indigenous artist," he says. LipiScan is a non-invasive procedure that helps our doctors see and analyze the health of your Meibomian glands. The film features two funerals one for each of Gurrumuls parents and perhaps as a final mark of respect, it doesnt go for a third. In 2009, he was named Best New Independent Artist and the album won both Best Independent Release and Best Independent Blues/Roots Release at the Australian Independent Record (AIR) Awards. [8] Yunupingu's friend Michael Hohnen produced the album and was his translator, collaborator and confidant. [8], In 2015, Yunupingu toured the US. While this rise might have seemed meteoric, Gurrumul paid his dues in a slow build that began with culture-bridging group Yothu Yindi in the late 1980s. Geoffrey Gurrumul Yunupingu Born Blind Aboriginal Singer, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Geoffrey_Gurrumul_Yunupingu, http://www.thearchibaldprize.com.au/winners/archibald, http://www.guardian.co.uk/music/2008/jul/17/australia.culture. A press release from Skinnyfish Music, Gurrumuls record label, described the 46-year-old as one of the most important figures in Australian music history. Numerous tributes have been made by musicians and others across the country and internationally. He was the most commercially successful Aboriginal Australian musician at the time of his death. His gentle lament-like songs were mainly performed in Gumatj, Galpu or Djambarrpuynulanguages of the Yolngu people of north-eastern Arnhem Landwith references to sacred bush animals, the sea and the seasons, tribal ancestors, funeral songs, love for his parents and reverence for the land. Gurrumul was no stranger to orchestral work, having released a live album in 2013 with the Sydney Symphony. "Our hope for this film is that the people depicted within it, upon watching it, are filled with pride. Gurrumuls death at such an early age is another tragic confirmation of the huge social gapin health as well as employment, education, housing and other basic indicesbetween indigenous and non-indigenous Australians. By subscribing, you agree to SBSs terms of service and privacy policy including receiving email updates from SBS. BAPA. Earnings from his music sales went to his parentsDaisy Gurruwiwi and Terry Yunupinguand their extended family, his daughter Jasmine and her mother, and were also used to establish a charitable foundation for indigenous youth. Gurrumul rarely said anything during his concerts and gave no interviews. The album debuted at #1 on the ARIA charts, won multiple ARIA awards and the Australian Music Prize. Directed by Paul Williams, Gurrumuls uncle, Djunga Djunga Yunupingu, and aunt, Gurruwiwi are the only narrators of the film, but it also features his parents and friends. He said it would be wrong to call the singer an overnight success since he had played for many years with the well-known Yothu Yindi band before forming his own Saltwater Band and then striking out on his own. Avoiding the use of a deceased person's first name is part of grieving practice amongst many Australian Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities. He was one of only two Australian performers at the Queens Diamond Jubilee Concert at Buckingham Palace. Donated through the Australian Government's Cultural Gifts Program. Asked to comment, Northern Territory Health Minister John Elferink arrogantly dismissed the accusation, rejected calls for an investigation and then provocatively accused Skinnyfish Music of staging a publicity stunt to promote a new album by the singer. We just tried to make that record, which had that mood, to try to seep into peoples consciences and hearts and minds without actually having the listener have any responsibility to listen and work out what someones saying.. In todays world where the media and the music industries are centred around hype and fashion, Gurrumul is a unique celebrity who has stood the test of time, one who could change the way you breathe (Brisbane Courier Mail, 2008) and forever altered the way people from around the world interact with Yolngu culture. He says the Queen remembered Gurrumul from their last meeting, saying: "Yes, I've met this man before." But Hohnen says Gurrumul was more excited at the chance to meet American music legend Stevie Wonder. On the day the team is to embark on the US tour, Gurrumul doesnt show up to Darwin airport. Grose publicly protested the hospital delays. [17] Gurrumul peaked at No. (age35in2009), Geoffrey Gurrumul Yunupingu 1 in the mainstream iTunes charts.Gurrumul peaked at #4 on the ARIA Charts. Blind from birth and raised in the community of Galiwin'ku on Elcho Island, Gurrumul was brought up learning the stories and history of his people, through song and dance, the rhythms of life . There's a depth to it all, and the drone of the strings and the popping of horns add their own weight to what is, within each song, a slow-building story. Gurrumul's face centrally occupies the frame, leaving minimal room for background detail, indistinct light grey brushstrokes behind his neck and face. Preceding the release of Williams' documentary by two weeks (the film opens on April 25), Djarimirri stands as the singer's final gift to the world, one last reminder that his rise to fame was more than deserved. His condition had worsened in recent years, to the extent that Skinnyfish had retired the singer from touring in late 2015. Works of art from the collection are reproduced as per the, Let me know when this portraits on display. [27], He was again awarded the Australian Independent Record (AIR) Award for Best Independent Blues and Roots Album in 2011 for his album Rrakala. And you don't really have any options it's dialysis or nothing.". Gurrumul has performed for Her Majesty the Queen of England, US President Barack Obama, Prince Charles, Prince William and Kate Middleton, and Crown Prince Frederik and Princess Mary of Denmark. "Dialysis was not something that he enjoyed," Hohnen says. Following a long battle with illness, Gurrumul passed away in 2017 at Royal Darwin Hospital at the age of 46. Its a clash of cultures, its a clash of world views, says Skinnyfish Music director and cofounder, Mark Grose. In 2014 they finally returned to the US, playing smaller shows with less pressure, but during this tour Gurrumuls father died, just a few years after his mother. [24] He also won three Deadlys, winning for Artist of the Year, Album of the Year for Gurrumul and Single of the Year for "Gurrumul History (I Was Born Blind)". Largely self-taught, he plays drums, keyboards, guitar and didgeridoo, but it is his clarity of voice that has attracted rave reviews. "He was extremely ill.", Williams, who had known the singer for years before beginning work on the documentary, seems a little haunted, as if Gurrumul knew his time had come. He was best known as a singer. He was blind from birth and contracted Hepatitis B at the age of three. ", Explains Hohnen, "In most situations when an Aboriginal person up here passes away, the name gets changed, and the music and imagery gets stopped," explains Hohnen. [8][9] Although his solo career brought him wider acclaim, he was also formerly a member of Yothu Yindi and later of Saltwater Band. And I think Yolngu don't want him forgotten, that's what they said to us. It was nominated for Australian Independent Record Labels Association and ARIA awards. He performed with Yothu Yindi from 1985 to 1992, when he formed the Saltwater Band. Geoffrey Gurrumul Yunupingu (22 January 1971 - 25 July 2017), commonly known as Gurrumul and also referred to since his death as Dr G. Yunupingu, was an Aboriginal Australian musician of the Yolu peoples. The National Portrait Gallery acknowledges the Traditional Custodians of Country throughout Australia and recognises the continuing connection to lands, waters and communities. In 2008 Yunupingu was nominated for four ARIA awards, winning the awards for Best World Music Album and Best Independent Release. "It would just not have been right to put it out. The Guardian, Thursday 17 July 2008. Yesterday, a posthumous album was added to his canon. He also forged a successful solo career. "He wasn't writing a lot of new, contemporary style songs but he probably knew 400 or 500 songs, traditionally.". It is difficult to adequately describe the complex and heart-rending qualities of Gurrumuls voice but his rendition of Wiyathul with the Errki String Quartet at the Enmore Theatre in Sydney in 2008 is an important example of its alluring character. These glands have tiny openings to release oils onto the surface of the cornea. "People forget he was in Yothu Yindi and Saltwater. [35], Yunupingu died at the Royal Darwin Hospital, Northern Territory, at about 5:00pm on 25 July 2017, aged 46. His condition had worsened in recent years, to the extent that Skinnyfish had retired the singer from touring in late 2015. Geoffrey Gurrumul Yunupingu (22 January 1971 25 July 2017), commonly known as Gurrumul and also referred to since his death as Dr G. Yunupingu,[note 1][5][6][7] was an Aboriginal Australian musician[8] of the Yolu peoples. A multi-instrumentalist, he played drums, keyboards, guitar (a right-hand-strung guitar played left-handed) and didgeridoo, but it was the clarity of his singing voice that attracted rave . He found purpose and meaning through songs inspired by his community and country in North East Arnhem Land. In a culture where the names and images of those that have passed over are retired, a generous allowance from Gurrumul's family has made thisstrict protocol permissible, where themusician's important role in lifecontinuesbeyond, as a bridge between two cultures. Its an observation wryly made midway through a new documentary on the life and career of the late singer, a blind Gumatj man from Arnhem Land in Australias remote north.One of the most famous Indigenous performers in modern Australian history, he left much behind when he died last year musically, personally and culturally. Geoffrey Gurrumul Yunupingus friend Michael Hohnen produced the album and acts as his translator. [32] "Bayini" became the first track by an indigenous musician to reach the top five of the Australian charts. Geoffrey Gurrumul Yunupingu was born blind in 1971 as a member of the Gumatj clan and a speaker of the indigenous Yolu . source: http://www.guardian.co.uk/music/2008/jul/17/australia.culture, Your email address will not be published. Gurrumul shot to prominence in 2008 with the release of his debut album Gurrumul, which was nominated for four ARIAs and won two. The Bangladesh Environmental Lawyers Association (Bengali: ), or BELA (), is a nonprofit legal organization established in 1992 to assist efforts to protect the environment.
