Take a trip to the birthplace of the didjeridu in the far north of Australia's Northery Territory, accompanied by a dreamlike sonic tapestry of didjeridu rhythms, percussion, electronics, and ambient natural sounds.

5 MP3 Songs in this album (57:24) !
Related styles: World: World Fusion, New Age: Ambient, Mood: Dreamy

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Details:
Let didjeriduist Phil Clark transport your mind to far off vistas in the far north of Australia. Combining the sounds of the didj with synthesizers, signal processing, and ambient natural sound in a series of four seamlessly-connected musical vignettes, Phil explores themes connected to the didjeridu and the culture of the Yolngu Aboriginal people of Northeast Arnhem Land, the custodians of one of the oldest and most complex didjeridu traditions found on the island continent:

1. Tongues of Flame - Some of the first sounds of the didjeridu came from Northeast Arnhem Land in Northern Australia; also called Miwatj, the land of the sunrise. The place where the Gumatj, Madarrpa, and Gupapuyngu clans of the Yirritja people saw the first light: the tongues of flame carried by Baru, the great ancestral crocodile.

2. Sugarbag and the Honey Man - Not all didjeridus have beeswax mouthpieces, but all of them have a connection to bees and wild honey. Many are made from the stringybark tree that houses nests of Australia's stingless 'sugarbag' bees. The honey from these bees is greatly prized by the Dhuwa people, especially the Marrakulu and Rirratjingu clans, who hunt and eat it in honor of their ancestor Wuyal, the Honey Man.

3. West Wind Blows - The Galpu clan of the Dhuwa people has a strong connection to the didjeridu. They trace this connection back to a special didjeridu that was used long ago in a competition among the Dhuwa clans, in which Galpu ancestors triumphed by playing that didjeridu so loud that it echoed in far off places and called up the West Wind.

4. Colors of Our Flags - Hundreds of years before the first Europeans came to Australia, Aboriginal people on north coast had frequent contact with fishermen from the Indonesian island of Macassar. The Yirritja clans of Arnhem Land would trade with the Macassan fishermen to obtain cloth for clothes and flags frequently used in ceremony, as well as other useful goods like tobacco and steel. Left to shred in the wind like Tibetan prayer flags, each Yirritja clan has its own individual solid-colored flag, or Galiku.

10 of all proceeds from the sales of these recordings will be donated to non-profit and charitable initiatives that benefit Aboriginal people living in Northern Australia, including: The Mulka Project, Aboriginal Resource Development Services, and Miwatj Health.

Please note: These recordings should not be misconstrued as traditional Australian Aboriginal music. They are original compositions based on the artist's experiences of his travels in Northeast Arnhem Land.