Gurrumul was a self-taught instrumentalist, playing guitar, piano, drums, and didgeridoo. It debuted at number 3 on the ARIA Charts. The contrast of light and darkened eyes imbues the portrait with mystery.His nostrils are round against the broad space between his nose and slender upper lip. We respectfully advise that this site includes works by, images of, names of, voices of and references to deceased people. His fragile but uniquely emotive high tenor voice and aura-like persona elicit feelings of peace and longing in listeners. This website comprises and contains copyrighted materials and works. 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.". "This album is an orchestral piece, so it's sheet music. Many examples of Gurrumuls remarkable work are available on YouTube. With a voice that captured the heart of millions across the world, Geoffrey Gurrumul Yunupingu was an enigmatic talent. 2018. 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. [7] He had lived with liver and kidney damage for many years due to hepatitis B which he had contracted in childhood. The extraordinary song was inspired by the cries of native bush fowls. His songs covered themes of identity, spirit, connection with the land and its elements across multiple Yolngu languages as well as English. It says, in part, "The family have given permission that, following the final funeral ceremony (which occurred at Galiwin'ku on Elcho Island on November 24 last year), his name and image may once again be used publicly, to ensure that his legacy will continue to inspire both his people and Australians more broadly. ", When we speak, eight months after Gurrumul's death, Hohnen is just pulling himself together after what he describes as a fairly dysfunctional time. Last Friday Shorten and Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull attended the annual four-day Garma Festival in the Northern Territory and held hands with local residents in honour of Gurrumul. Gurrumul: a man with a strong sense of humour, deep ties to his homelands and little taste for the limelight. [35], Yunupingu died at the Royal Darwin Hospital, Northern Territory, at about 5:00pm on 25 July 2017, aged 46. "Spot on.". father Sir Elton John, Sting and Bjrk are among his fans. Aged only 46, he'd succumbed to organ failure relating to the hepatitis B he'd contracted in childhood. Gurrumul first came to the worlds attention when his self-titled debut album Gurrumul was released to international acclaim in 2008. For once, the Balanda world is struggling with its incorporation into Yolngu, rather than the other way round. Where Djarimirri is different, though, is in its minimalism; Hohnen cites the likes of Michael Nyman, Steve Reich, Arvo Prt and Philip Glass as influences. 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. With his extraordinary voice and hauntingly beautiful album, Gurrumul, Indigenous singer Geoffrey Gurrumul Yunupingu has become something of a cultural phenomenon over the last year. Rejecting the life-style and accoutrements usually associated with successful recording artists, he continued living on Elcho Island. 46years (19712017)Geoffrey Gurrumul Yunupingu / Age at death. source: http://www.thearchibaldprize.com.au/winners/archibald, Aboriginal singer beats poverty and prejudice to top Australian charts 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. And when hes invited to sing a duet with Sting on a French TV show, it nearly ends in disaster. He was instrumental in persuading the singer to embark on a solo career and with the appropriate musical setting. However, a very rare exception has been made byGumatj and Glpu clan leaders for this film. being brought to life through the fusion of Gurrumul's voice and guidance in traditional song being fused with the work ofcomposer Erkki Veltheim and the Australian Chamber Orchestra and Sydney Symphony Orchestra. That's remarkable for a man who was born blind, is extremely shy and doesn't speak much English. [26] In 2009 a portrait of Yunupingu by Guy Maestri won Australia's major art prize, the Archibald Prize. Geoffrey Gurrumul Yunupingu (born 1970) is an indigenous Australian musician, who sings in the Yolngu language. "[13] He later sang hymns in the mission choir and also enjoyed Western pop music, particularly Dire Straits, Cliff Richard, and Stevie Wonder. Yunupingu speaks only a few words of English, and is said to be acutely shy. These Yolngu songs, some thought to be more than 4000 years old, were traditionally backed by the yidaki wind instrument in repetitive rhythms, giving the lyrics a foundation on which to build. JustMyTwoCopper. My immediate response was that here, as far as I was concerned, for the first time was an Aboriginal voice of absolutely transcendental beauty, he said. Most of his songs are sung in Galpu, Gumatj or Djambarrpuyngu, which are all languages of the Yolngu people of northeastern Arnhem Land. But the European tour is a success and they sign with a US promoter, promising unlimited opportunities. Anyone will be able to read this, and translate it, and play it. He performed "Sing" live at the Diamond Jubilee Concert on 4 June 2012 together with many of the song's contributing artists. His first album as an acoustic artist, Gurrumul, was released in Australia in 2008 and went double platinum. The concert is the culmination of an ambitious and difficult project, with the musicians hes working with frustrated and exhausted by the process of developing songs in a language they didnt fully know. "The audience requiresa lot of information to make sense of Gurrumuls musical rise because it emerged from a culture thatsso different to that of most people watching the film," Filmmaker Williams says. Interviews and feature reports from NITV. Gurrumul History (I Was Born Blind) Lyrics: I was born blind and I don't 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 . [8], In 2013, Yunupingu joined Delta Goodrem for a special performance of "Bayini" on The Voice Australia. 1. Lighthearted yarn on all things NBA and NBL, Join Narelda Jacobs and John Paul Janke to get unique Indigenous perspectives and cutting-edge analysis of the biggest stories of the week. [32] "Bayini" became the first track by an indigenous musician to reach the top five of the Australian charts. He recently won two coveted ARIA Awards among others and was named NT Australian of the Year for 2008. And hes making it new. AUSTRALIAN musical great Dr G Yunupingu has died, aged 46, after a long battle with illness, his music label has confirmed. "Gurrumul" redirects here. The National Portrait Gallery is an Australian Government Agency, The National Portrait Gallery respects the artistic and intellectual property rights of others. Thank you for registering! When he was four years old, he taught himself how to play a toy piano and an accordion. 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. The painting itself is one hundred ninety-eight centimetres by hundred and sixty seven centimetres. Born blind, Gurrumul sings in his tribal Gumatj dialect, spoken by no more than 3,000 people. That is for other Yolu. Deeply embedded in the documentary project, he brought the camera crew along to his fathers funeral. In fact, the documentary is the closest any journalism has come to explaining the challenge of living in two cultures which both demanded so much from Gurrumul. ", Three days later, on July 25, 2017, Gurrumul died in Royal Darwin Hospital. Formerly with Yothu Yindi, he is now with Saltwater Band. Our ProgramsFAQCurrent AppealsTerms & ConditionsPrivacy Policy, Established 2013A Company Limited by GuaranteeCharity ABN 25163166283Public Benevolent Institution (PBI)Endorsed as a Deductible Gift Recipient (DGR)Charity Street Address: L1 66 Smith St Darwin 0800. 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 develop his own unique style of playing and performing. He was born blind. Its a really bad business model in lots of ways, but you have to give in to that world. He is making it easier for the world to understand. We use cookies to ensure that we give you the best experience on our website. Blind from birth, the proud Yolngu man spoke through his music. [63] Note: 2020 and 2021 were cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic. He just wants to play music.. They talk of their surprise and sorrow when they realised Gurrumul was blind, and their fears he would always have to stay close to home. Hohnen said his friend was different to other Aboriginal singers because he has no political agenda. 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. [8] He received tributes from the Australian prime minister, Malcolm Turnbull, fellow musician Peter Garrett, and Anna Reid, the dean of the Sydney Conservatorium of Music. Aborigines, for example, are 10 times more likely to contract kidney disease than Australias non-indigenous population, while in remote communities the figure is between 30 and 50 times the national average. "Yep, spot on," Gurrumul told the three in Melbourne. Critics heaped praise on the singer, describing his voice as having "transcendental beauty". As Gurrumul lives an exciting life as a successful musician, performing for people like Barack Obama and even Queen Elizabeth II, he also experiencesintense homesickness and the need to continue to learn and immerse himself in his family and traditional life. He was born on Elcho Island, off the coast of Arnhem Land, Northern Australia about 350 miles from Darwin. Gurrumul would go on to perform for Barack Obama and Queen Elizabeth II, among others. "It would just not have been right to put it out. But I can play and sing and tell people things through my songs. The J Awards are an annual series of Australian music awards that were established by the Australian Broadcasting Corporation's youth-focused radio station Triple J. If interested in music and guitars, then you are in the right place and will learn a lot. Critics have heaped praise on the singer and described his voice as having transcendental beauty. Yunupingu, who has never learned Braille and does not have a guide dog or use a stick, has told interviewers he has little use for money. Gurrumul's songs speak of identity, spirit, connection with the land, the elements and the ancestral beings to whom he is related. ", The Gospel Album (2015).Credit:Courtesy of ABC. 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. Gurrumul shot to prominence in 2008 with the release of his debut album Gurrumul, which was nominated for four ARIAs and won two. Born blind, Geoffrey Gurrumul Yunupingu was the lead singer of the Saltwater Band and the keyboard player and guitarist of Yothu Yindi. Gurrumul (born Geoffrey Gurrumul Yunupingu) was a Gumatj man from Galiwin'ku on Elcho Island in the Northern Territory. 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. "But it's hard when someone's as famous as this. "We held it for a year," Hohnen confirms. Source: Supplied. One baroque-style track has overlapping melodies that mirror the communal expression of Yolngu ceremonial songs. 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. For his part, Gurrumul didnt want to miss learning dhawu the traditional stories that hes expected to care for. Simply so, what causes gurrumul blindness? "Bayini" by Geoffrey Gurrumul Yunupingu (Rrawun D Maymuru), Michael Hohnen and Geoffrey Gurrumul Yunupingu for, Ted Howard, Robin Mai & Matthew Cunliffe for, Helpmann Award for Best Australian Contemporary Concert, "Gathu Mawula" (featuring Blue King Brown), Label: Dramatico / Skinnyfish Music (0063), Label: Universal / Skinnyfish Music (3764720), Formats: CD, LP, CD + DVD, streaming, digital download, This page was last edited on 26 February 2023, at 01:35. 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. I made sure to read the lyrics and understand the meaning of each song. 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. He left the group in 1995 to live full-time on Elcho Island and later co-founded and co-led the Saltwater Band, which was active from 1999 to 2009. Living a traditional Yolngu life, his breakthrough album 'Gurrumul . His first solo album, Gurrumul, debuted at #21 on the ARIA Charts and #1 on the independent chart. Yunupingus songs are attracting people who do not normally listen to Aboriginal music and he received standing ovations after two recent performances at the Sydney Opera House. Even in his death, he's transcended genres and cultural barriers. Click the link to confirm your email address. Works of art from the collection are reproduced as per the, Let me know when this portraits on display.
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