Australia

We travel to Australia to meet the indigenous Aboriginal culture. Australian Indigenous people are faced with the fragmentation of their culture at a rate unprecedented in modern times, with disturbingly low outcomes in health, education, employment, and other community indicators. Travel with us to the Outback where we will embrace this culture, discover what the soul is to them and how they express themselves through their music.

Mowanjum Aboriginal Festival
In the culture of the Worora, Ngarinyin, and Wunumbul tribes, which make up the Mowanjum community outside Derby, Western Australia, the Wandjina is the supreme spirit being…The tribes came together early this century at the Kunmunya Presbyterian mission and the government settlement at Munja. Since 1950, they have endured many forced moves, first to Wotjulum, then to the old Mowanjum site and, finally, to the present day Mowanjum site about 15 kilometers outside Derby.

Ara Irititja Project
Ara Irititja means ‘stories from a long time ago’ in the language of Anangu (Pitjantjatjara and Yankunytjatjara people) of Central Australia. The aim of Ara Irititja is to bring back home materials of cultural and historical significance to Anangu. These include photographs, films, sound recordings and documents. Ara Irititja has designed a purpose-built computer archive that digitally stores repatriated materials and other contemporary items. Anangu are passionate about protecting their archival past, accessing it today and securing it for future generations.

We will work with the Ara Irititja organization to help share their heritage and story through this episode. Top learn more go to their website:
www.irititja.com

Indigenous Culture: Aboriginal Culture
Festival: Mowamjun Aboriginal Festival & others
Environmental Threat: Aboriginal Culture
Projects: Wind & Solar Energy, Housing Development, Rural Education, Childhood Music Education
Music: Remote live recordings & collaborations with local musicians
From Indigenous musicians in the bush to artists like Frank Yamma we will attempt to discover the soul of the music of this region and tie it to the soulful blues of the World.

Details: Frank Yamma
Frank is a singer and songwriter from Central Australia and is a Pitjantjatjara man who speaks 5 languages and sings in both Pitjantjatjara and English. He is the son of Issac Yamma, an early proponent of singing Western style songs in traditional language.

Frank’s style of music is Indigenous Roots (World Music) and he writes about his country and his people. He has performed in bands Ulpanyali Band, Digital Dreaming, Terrasphere, Piranpa (‘skinny white lizards’ in Pitjantjatjara) and his father’s Pitjantjatjara Country Band. His currently performs mainly solo or accompanied by David Bridie on piano and Helen Mountford on cello.

Frank Yamma & Piranpa won a Deadly in 1999 for their album Playing with Fire. In 2005, with David Bridie , he won AGSC Screen Music Award for Best Original Song Composed for a Feature Film, Telemovie, TV Series or Mini-SeriesYamma recorded a set for Triple J Live at the Wireless that was broadcast on 19 February 2001. He has had multiple live performances broadcast on Radio National Live on Stage series. He was a featured artist of the ABC TV show Sending a message: Naidoc concert.

Action
We will seek out Frank Yamma, work with him in the studio, coordinate footage of him and JeConte traveling through Australia, and throughout Australia, all coupled with performance footage from the album project, recordings with local indigenous aboriginal musicians and local music festivals.