Geoffrey Gurrumul - Bapa

Gurrumul returns to Britain on his European tour to play at London's Shepherd's Bush Empire on November 8th 2009.

"...the greatest voice this continent has ever recorded..." Sydney Morning Herald

Gurrumul's sound is as fragile as gossamer yet as robust as time itself. His tenor voice resonates with emotion as he tells stories of his land, his ancestry and his culture with the simplest of musical accompaniments. An unlikely superstar, Gurrumul has become just that. Quietly, and with little fanfare, Gurrumul and his poetic songs, which he sings in Yolngu dialects, have connected with listeners around the world. No one expected it, least of all the intensely shy 39 year old from east Arnhem Land in the Northern Territory of Australia.

Citing his favourite singers as Neil Diamond and Elvis Presley and favourite groups as The Eagles and Dire Straits Gurrumul learnt to play guitar as a young boy. Because there were no left-handed guitars in the area he played a normally strung right-handed guitar upside down and continues to do so. He played for eight years in the internationally successful Yothu Yindi but found that his blindness made the constant travel exhausting and returned to Elcho Island where he formed The Saltwater Band. Meeting Michael Hohnen, a classically trained bassist, was the catalyst for Gurrumul to record a solo album on which, opting for the less is more approach, Gurrumul's extraordinary voice is the main instrument with the sparse backing of his guitar occasionally joined by Hohnen on bass.
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