Gurrumul – Djarimirri [Child of the Rainbow] (Skinnyfish Music, 2018)
Djarimirri (Child of the Rainbow) is the final album recorded by Gurrumul Yununpingu (better known as Gurrumul), one of the most important and best-selling Indigenous artists from Australia. He passed away in 2017.
This recording is a fascinating combination of traditional songs and harmonized chants from the Yolngu aboriginal people of northeast Australia (Arnhem Land in the Northern Territory) and European chamber music.
Gurrumul delivered all the vocals in two aboriginal languages: Dhaŋu and Dhuwala. He was joined by a symphonic orchestra with arrangements by Erkki Veltheim with Michael Hohnen and Gurrumul. The cyclical, minimalist symphonic arrangements have similarities to the work of Philip Glass and Kronos Quartet.
The CD version is beautifully-packaged with traditional aboriginal artwork by Barrampani Yununpingu.
Djarimirri is a beautiful-crafted work of contemporary Australian music where Australian aboriginal traditional culture meets modern classical music.
Buy Djarimirri [Child of the Rainbow]
Author: Angel Romero
Angel Romero y Ruiz has dedicated his life to musical exploration. His efforts included the creation of two online portals, worldmusiccentral.org and musicasdelmundo.com. In addition, Angel is the co-founder of the Transglobal World Music Chart, a panel of world music DJs and writers that celebrates global sounds. Furthermore, he delved into the record business, producing world music studio albums and compilations. His works have appeared on Alula Records, Ellipsis Arts, Indígena Records and Music of the World.
