Some of Queensland’s best Indigenous sounds will be featured at the Australasian World Music Expo (AWME) in Melbourne 19-22 November 2009

Indigenous music made in Queensland--music inspired by our unique Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander cultures--proved to be a big hit at the 2009 AWME with showcases by the following artists:

Zennith

Emerging from the deep scrub of Bulwai country in Kuranda, near Cairns in far north Queensland, Zennith has made a name for themselves with their high energy shows, mixing hard-edged, bottom-heavy reggae with ska and urban rhymes.

Zennith is four Kuranda musicians: Aden Brim (songwriter/lead singer), Robert Donahue (guitar), Isaac Crowley (bass) and Lindsay Snider (drums), with backing by Astro Brim (percussion and vocals), and Willie Brim (keys and vocals). They describe their sound as “skankin’ rainforest reggae fused with funky hip hop”. Needless to say, they are musical local heroes in north Queensland.

Finalists in Queensland’s Q-Song Music Awards for new talent, the group released a self-funded eight track EP titled I Like It in 2007. Recorded at Pegasus Studios in Cairns with Torres Strait producer Wil Kepa at the helm, the debut release has been well received. The band has toured Australia supporting Boney M, Katchafire, The Black-Seeds, Koolism and Ash Grunwald.

Zennith
W: www.myspace.com/zennithboyz E: zennithboyz@gmail.com
Ms Karen Kaye  M: 0415 493 413
Mr Aden Brim PO Box 661, Kuranda QLD 4887

Badu Island Dancers

Performing in the Kala Lagaw Ya language, the Badu Island Dancers from Torres Strait in Australia’s far north present secular and sacred music and dance which is deeply connected to the environment, culture and society of their island home.

Lead by artistic directors Manuel Nomoa, Barry Nona, Denna Nona and Josephine Tipoti, the group consider themselves “the custodians of the Badulgal culture which is held in music and dance”.

“Every dance has a story behind it,” says Manuel Nomo. “And every dancer has a part in telling that story ... whether it is a war dance, a sea dance or a story of love.”

The group of eight dancers and two production assistants has performed at numerous local events in the Torres Strait, and toured Western Australia and Queensland, including performances at Brisbane’s Gallery of Modern Art (GOMA), Sea World Theme Park, the inaugural Dreaming Indigenous Festival at Woodford, and Judith Wright Centre for Contemporary Arts in Brisbane.

Badu Island Dancers
Coordinator:  Manuel Nomoa
T: +61 (0)7 4069 4114 M: 0429 694 514
E: manuel@badu.qld.gov.au

Queensland Indigenous artists you also need to know about …

The Mornington Island Dancers

Formed 35 years ago by elders of the Lardil people of far north Queensland, this special touring company is one of the oldest performing professional dance troupes in the country.

Originally called Aborigines Woomera, the group of traditional song men and dancers from Mornington Island are known locally for their powerful theatrical performances, spectacular head-dresses and dynamic body painting. The group gained international attention following their appearance at the opening of Sydney Opera House in 1973.

Since then, the Mornington Island Dancers have built a solid international reputation and toured extensively, appearing at cultural events and major arts festivals in Australia, New Zealand, Britain, Europe, Papua New Guinea and the United States.

Mornington Island Dancers
Manager: Jeremy Geia.
M: 0414 353 322 T: +61 (0) 7 4745 7360 F: +61 (0) 7 4745 7254
E: admin@woomerami.org  W: www.woomerami.org/dancers/history.htm
Post Office Gununa, Mornington Island, Qld 4871

Tjupurru

Tjupurru combines traditional Indigenous music with cutting-edge technology to serve up what he describes as 21st century ‘didjetronica’.

Brisbane-based didgeridoo (aka – didjeridu or didge) performer Tjupurru is a proud descendant of the Djabera Djabera tribe of the West Australian Kimberley. Born in Port Moresby, Papua New Guinea and settling in Cairns, Tjupurru began playing didge through a vacuum cleaner pipe at boarding school. His real love affair with the instrument came when he discovered the music of iconic Australian act Gondwanaland and its pre-eminent didge player Charlie McMahon.

Tjupurru and McMahon became friends and today Tjupurru plays a unique slide didgeridoo invented by Charlie. Nicknamed the Didjeribone, the award-winning instrument is a cross between a didgeridoo and a trombone and is able to slide seamlessly across different notes and scales.

Tjupurru uses advanced electronics to create sounds that he controls through a device called the Face Bass, a seismic sensor tucked inside his mouth which amplifies any sound – be it swallowing, humming or simply breathing. With the aid of these effects, Tjupurru performs as a one-man band.

Tjupurra
Top Shelf Bookings
T: +61 (0) 2 9518 8411
Jordan Verzar
M: 0408 962 319
E:  jordan@topshelf.com.au W: http://www.tjupurru.com

Seaman Dan

Henry ‘Seaman’ Dan is an award-winning Torres Strait Islander singer-songwriter with a national and international reputation.

Born on Thursday Island in 1929, Seaman Dan spent his early days working in the pearling industry as a boat captain and diver gathering pearl and trochus shells in the Coral, Arafura and Timor Seas.

His work took him from the Torres Strait to Broome, Darwin and Papua New Guinea and it was through exposure to these different cultures and traditions that Seaman Dan found his own voice.

“You hear songs from all over the world,” says Seaman Dan of his time on the pearling luggers. “You listen to all these elderly people as they sing – and you add bits and pieces to your own songs as you go.”

Seaman Dan's first recording, Follow the Sun, was released in 2000, followed by Steady, Steady (2002), Perfect Pearl (2003) and Island Way (2005).  Today, at 79 years of age, Seaman Dan continues to write songs about life, love and work in tropical Australia and together with Steve Gilbert, Mat Harrison and Karl Neuenfeldt, Seaman Dan performs at concerts, festivals and cultural programs around the country.

Seaman Dan
Henry (Seaman) Dan
PO Box 154, Thursday Island QLD Australia 4875
Artist Contact: Karl Neuenfeldt
M: 0417 194 050
E: k.neuenfeldt@cqu.edu.au W: www.seamandan.com.au

Banawurun

Driven by Trevelyn Brady’s powerful voice, Banawurun play an infectious mix of highly danceable dub, rock, reggae, soul, blues and funk. Guaranteed to get your body pumping, standing still at a Banawurun gig is not an option.

When the band takes to the stage, it is the charismatic duo of Troy and Trevelyn Brady who command immediate attention, but Myka Wallace (drums), Josef Muller (bass) and Sol Carroll (guitar) are given plenty of room to show off their considerable skills.

Myka Wallace was classically trained at the Queensland Conservatorium Griffith University and Sol Carroll and Josef Muller are established names within the industry.

Described by one US pundit as "funky outback Motown" the all original Banawurun repertoire is the work of Troy Brady, an Aboriginal man from the Kuku Yalanji and Birri Gubba clans of North Queensland.

Troy was a finalist in the 2006 Australasian Performing Right Association (APRA) Professional Development Awards and attended the 2006 MUSEXPO in Los Angeles where the band was selected to play at the prestigious Viper Room.

The group went on to win Band of the Year in the 2006 Deadly Awards and released their first EP Insanity in 2007.

Banawurun
Josef Muller
M: 0432 607 712 T: +61 (0)7 3372 1816
E: banawurun@gmail.com W: www.myspace.com/banawurun

Georgia Corowa

Born in Maryborough and raised in Bowen, Queensland Indigenous soul singer and song writer Georgia Corowa has garnered plenty of attention since joining Brisbane’s Aboriginal Centre for the Performing Arts (ACPA) in 2005.

Describing her sound as ‘laidback Australian soul’, Georgia, 24, is already proving she’s got what it takes to cut it in the music industry. A one-woman creative tour de force, Georgia not only writes her own music, but sings, dances, acts and plays guitar and piano.

Listing India Arie, Erykah Badu, Sade, Lauryn Hill, Jill Scott, Amos Lee, John Mayer and Diesel amongst her favourite artists, Corowa admits to a passion for Latin rhythms, funky bass-lines and hot congas.

Her acclaimed performance at the Women In Voice concerts in 2008 in Brisbane topped a stellar year for the artist and her role in ACPA’s Reflections won her widespread critical acclaim.

Georgia Corowa
Bain Stewart
Bungabura Productions
M: 0401 733 085
E: bain@bungabura.com