Jozef Imrich, name worthy of Kafka, has his finger on the pulse of any irony of interest and shares his findings to keep you in-the-know with the savviest trend setters and infomaniacs.
''I want to stay as close to the edge as I can without going over. Out on the edge you see all kinds of things you can't see from the center.''
-Kurt Vonnegut
To eyewitness Gurrumul sing live is (was) an unforgettable experience - malchkeons were truly moved to tears. And tonight at the documentary screening same emotional outburst took place inside and even at the set of traffic lights outside the cinema where two girls were comforting a friend who was still sobbing ... It's hard to describe what makes Gurrumul's songs so heart-wrenchingly beautiful. Perhaps it was the footage of toddlers with tapping sticks mimicking their elders, or an old man chanting ecstatically with eyes closed, or the simple melodies unfolding so slowly it made your breathing slow down. Something in this man's spirit connected - as he has all over the world - to the people and the land in every corner of this divided world. His dignity and innocence are best epitomised in lyrics from Gurrumul History: "I was born blind, I don't know why/ God knows why, He loves me so." 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 destruction
United we stand, divided we fall Together we'll stand, in solidarity
Ŋarranydja dhuwala Batumaŋ ŋarranydja dhuwala Djarrami ŋarranydja dhuwala Djeŋarra' ŋarranydja dhuwala Gurrumulŋa M, m
I heard my mama and my papa Crying their hearts in confusion How can I walk? Straight and tall In society please hold my hand
Trying to bridge and build Yolŋu culture I've been to New York, I've been to LA I've been to London ŋarranydja Gurrumul
United we stand, divided we fall Together we'll stand, in solidarity
The soulful, high tenor voice of the singer and guitarist Dr G Yunupingu, who has died aged 46, brought him international celebrity, even though he mostly sang in the Australian Aboriginal languages of Gumatj, Galpu and Djambarrpuynu. He performed at concert halls around the world, sang for the Queen and for Barack Obama, and was hailed by Rolling Stone magazine as “Australia’s most important voice”. His bestselling albums achieved triple platinum status.
Yunupingu showed his unique appeal at his debut solo London concert in May 2009, when he was still little known in the UK. He sat motionless throughout, singing and playing the acoustic guitar, backed by a string quartet and the double bass work of his friend, producer and manager Michael Hohnen. He said nothing, apart from a final “Thank you”, but dominated the hall with his gently powerful and heartfelt singing. His melodies werestraightforward, powerful and accessible, with their blend of folk, soul and gospel influences, along with a dash of reggae, and his poetic lyrics dealt with nature or his ancestors.
He started the performance with Wiyathul, a song that explaining the importance of the orange-footed scrubfowl to the Gumatj nation, and ended with a highly personal song in English, I Was Born Blind. Afterwards, he sat in the dressing room, still not speaking. “He won’t talk,” explained Hohnen, “but I can feel that he’s happy.” It was clear that he would become a world music celebrity.
Yunupingu was born blind, in Galiwin’ku on Elcho Island, off the coast of Arnhem Land in the Northern Territory, and was a member of the Gumatj clan of the Yolngu people. The first of four sons born to Ganyinurra (Daisy) and Nyambi (Terry) Yunupingu, he became fascinated by music as a child. Following local custom, his aunts Dorothy, Anne and Susan all played a major role in looking after him, and sang him hymns they had learned at the local Methodist mission.
Later, Yunupingu joined the mission choir, and began singing standard hymns – Amazing Grace, The Old Rugged Cross or To Be a Pilgrim. He was a fan of western pop, particularly the songs of Dire Straits, Cliff Richard and Stevie Wonder, but these were matched against other, more ancient influences – the beliefs, customs and songs of his people. In later life his often spiritual compositions would blend western musical influences with lyrics that dealt with clan traditions and beliefs.
Gurrumul was born blind, but it didn’t hold him back: as a young boy, he would ride his bike down Elcho’s famously steep hill, with family members lining the road yelling: “Go left! Right! Watch the pot holes!”
Writing of Gurrumul’s performance with Sting in France 2010, Robert Hillman said: “The Gumatj language, the sacred repository of a culture and history older by far than that of France or any country in Europe, older than the entirety of Western civilisation, [was] about to be plaited with the younger, mongrel language of English.”
But mixed up with Hillman’s sublime observations of language and culture are light-hearted sketches of Gurrumul, down-to-earth, irreverent, utterly uninterested in fame.
Geoffrey Gurrumul Yunupingu, also referred to since his death as Dr G Yunupingu, was an Indigenous Australian musician. Dr G Yunupingu
Gurrumul is a film for everyone, just as his music is: it is a film about triumph over adversity and the existence of hope in tragedy. It provides a glimpse of how respect for Indigenous culture may lead to a renewed relationship between the non-Indigenous and Indigenous Australians, something which can only come from a true recognition, understanding and valuing of Indigenous people and culture.
A still of Gurrumul from the new documentary. Photo: Madman Entertainment
It depicted the extraordinary creative life of Geoffrey GurrumulYunupingu, who had released three solo albums before he died at the age of 46 from liver and kidney diseases less than a month earlier. Gurrumul (2017) - Rotten Tomatoes
