He just wants to play music.. In a cover article Rolling Stone called him 'Australia's most important voice'. His eponymous 2008 solo debut album was certified three times platinum in Australia, and made the top 20 in Belgium, Germany and Switzerland upon its European release. Bankruptcy Abuse Prevention And Consumer Protection Act Of 2005. "A lot of youngsters in the north-east Arnhem Land region, where G comes from, and other youngsters from all around NT, from every Aboriginal community, a lot of youngsters are doing music today. He just says its his role to tell these stories about his culture.. It was a professional partnership which helped to bring Gurrumul's unique interpretation of the 'manikay' (the songlines of his people) to life. The cover of Gurrumuls eponymous studio album (2008). Gurrumul was a self-taught instrumentalist, playing guitar, piano, drums, and didgeridoo. A rare and moving visual of how life and death is honoured in Yolngucommunity. Guy Maestri saw Gurrumul live on New Years Eve last year and says it was truly, an unforgettable experience. The post-pod life looks great on her! 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. 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. [8] As of 2020, it is estimated that Yunupingu has sold half a million records globally. On the other side his neck is cradled by layered fabric, and cut by the line of the cropped image. In 2008, Gurrumul first gained international attention when his self-titled first solo album debuted at #1 on the independent music charts and peaked at #3 on the ARIA charts. The intervention tore up the democratic rights of Aborigines in the territory, quarantined social welfare and pensions, seized indigenous land and imposed repressive controls on indigenous communities. 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. Although his solo career brought him wider acclaim, he was also formerly a member of Yothu Yindi and later of Saltwater Band. "He was special in so many ways, in Western and Yolngu worlds," his niece, Miriam Yirrininba Dhurrkay, tells me. AUSTRALIAN musical great Dr G Yunupingu has died, aged 46, after a long battle with illness, his music label has confirmed. [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)". Guy Maestris portrait of the musician was conceived after the artist saw Gurrumul perform in Sydney on New Years Eve 2008. Add a Comment. 1 on the independent chart. We pay our respect to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander cultures and to Elders past and present. "[37] The album won four ARIA Music Awards at the 2018 ceremony; his daughter Jasmin accepted the award for Best Male Artist on his behalf. The multiple ARIA-Award-winner, whose full name news.com.au has withheld for cultural reasons, died in Royal Darwin Hospital about 5pm on Tuesday. About Geoffrey. It is one of the strongest examples of the worlds oldest continuous culture, and Gurrumul, a Yunupingu from the Gumatj clan, held increasingly important responsibilities. Gurrumuls home community of Galiwinku and the surrounding Arnhem Land is Aboriginal territory and a deeply traditional place of multiple clans and tribes. Yunupingus success is all the more remarkable because he speaks only a few words of English, is said to be acutely shy, and most of his songs are sung in his native language of Yolngu. He sang . Blind from birth and raised in thecommunity of Galiwinku on Elcho Island, Gurrumul was brought up learning the stories and history of his people, through song and dance, the rhythms of life and nature shaping his musical ear and sensibilities. This was deliberate, Hohnen says. Sir Elton John, Sting and Bjrk are among his fans. "Gurrumul" redirects here. He sang stories of his land both in Yolu languages such as Gaalpu, Gumatj or Djambarrpuynu, a dialect related to Gumatj, and in English. Formerly with Yothu Yindi, he is now with Saltwater Band. Three days later, on July 25, 2017, Gurrumul died in Royal Darwin Hospital. Born blind, his powerfully emotive yet fragile voice has affected the public unlike any other Australian artist. Further listening casts new light on what's happening, though. Word had been going around all day and the rumours were true people really were moved to tears. Believing that this inspiring, amazing man would be an ideal subject for a portrait, Maestri managed to track Gurrumul down in Darwin with the help of a friend in the music industry only to discover that he was flying to New York the following weekend. 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. 1 on the iTunes Australia roots music chart in April 2008. ", When we speak, eight months after Gurrumul's death, Hohnen is just pulling himself together after what he describes as a fairly dysfunctional time. As his spokesman and double-bass accompanist Michael Hohnen explained to journalists in 2013, Gurrumul hates the media. working together Were working to restore it. Critics . The important thing was that, in every step of the process, we've made sure that we haven't done anything that doesn't communicate those songs.". 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. SBS acknowledges the Traditional Custodians of Country and their connections and continuous care for the skies, lands and waterways throughout Australia. Deeply embedded in the documentary project, he brought the camera crew along to his fathers funeral. "Dialysis was not something that he enjoyed," Hohnen says. [39], In September 2021, Yunupingu's first anthology was released, entitled The Gurrumul Story. Even in his death, he's transcended genres and cultural barriers. He also forged a successful solo career. The singers friend Michael Hohnen, who produced his album, acts as Yunupingus translator. It was nominated for Australian Independent Record Labels Association and ARIA awards. With a voice that captured the heart of millions across the world, Geoffrey Gurrumul Yunupingu was an enigmatic talent. ", 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. Michael Hohnen with Gurrumul, in a still from the documentary. Gurrumul went home for the funeral and ceremonial sorry business, and to take on the cultural responsibilities that were now his. World-renowned indigenous singer Gurrumul has died after a "long battle with illness" aged 46, his management said Wednesday, as Australians hailed his contributions to music. 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. 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. Half a million copies of Gurrumul have been sold worldwide. 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. The National Portrait Gallery acknowledges the Traditional Custodians of Country throughout Australia and recognises the continuing connection to lands, waters and communities. "Our hope for this film is that the people depicted within it, upon watching it, are filled with pride. The image is made with variously dense, watery and inconsistent brush strokes, creating a allayed three dimensional quality in rich tones of black and gray that construct a voluminous contemplative face. Yunupingu speaks only a few words of English, and is said to be acutely shy. 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. Required fields are marked *. Beautifully narrated by his Aunty,Susan Dhangal Gurruwiwi, we learn that Yunupingu was considered to be a messenger between the Balanda (white) world and Yolngu worlds, that the singer was Djarimirri Child of the Rainbow, and his destiny was to illuminate the divide between his own culture and the modern world. Its a heartbreaking moment in the film. His condition had worsened in recent years, to the extent that Skinnyfish had retired the singer from touring in late 2015. In October 2015, the album won Gurrumul's third ARIA Award for Best World Music Album. He was born blind, Gurrumul is the highest-selling Indigenous musician in Australian history. .mw-parser-output .awards-table td:last-child{text-align:center}, The APRA Awards are presented annually from 1982 by the Australasian Performing Right Association (APRA), "honouring composers and songwriters". 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. I knew if we could capture that spirit across a whole record, there would be something really special, Hohnen told the Guardian in April 2016. "It would just not have been right to put it out. Three days later, on July 25, 2017, Gurrumul died in Royal Darwin Hospital. He first came to prominence as a member of Yolngu band Yothu Yindi in the late 1980s but his 2008 eponymous debut album brought global fame that grew through a series of award-winning recordings and a hectic touring schedule that continued until his 2015 tour of the United States and final studio recording that year. To read more from Good Weekend magazine, visit our page at The Sydney Morning Herald or The Age. Gurrumul (born Geoffrey Gurrumul Yunupingu) was a Gumatj man from Galiwin'ku on Elcho Island in the Northern Territory. 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. That's remarkable for a man who was born blind, is extremely shy and doesn't speak much English. Light spills to the left side of his face, tumbling down his forehead, eyebrow, cheek and lips. This website comprises and contains copyrighted materials and works. Gurrumul performs during a media call for the Sydney festival First Night. [7] He had lived with liver and kidney damage for many years due to hepatitis B which he had contracted in childhood. 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.