WOMAD

Saltwater Band

From Australia

In 1998 eight young, talented musicians set out on the road to become recording artists. The Saltwater band from Elcho Island off the northeast Arnhemland coast set their sights on releasing their debut album. Northeast Arnhemland already had a strong reputation for producing exceptional musicians and bands, such as the legendary SoftSands band, who were probably the first NT band to tour overseas; then came the lead singer of the Warumpi Band, George Rrurrambu and of course Yothu Yindi. Members of the Saltwater band had direct connections with all of those bands, with Geoffrey Gurrumul Yunupingu (Saltwater’s enigmatic singer/songwriter and guitarist) having been a member of Yothu Yindi in the period that, that band created their most successful album, Tribal Voice. Manuel Dhurrkay and Geoffrey Gurrumul Yunupingu are the heart and soul of the Saltwater Band. Manuel and Geoffrey complement each other well with Manuel creating and delivering the more pop orientated songs and Geoffrey re-interpreting and presenting traditional songs of the Gumatj clan in classical ballad format. The release of the band’s first album saw it reach unprecedented heights in sales across Northern Australia. It would have made the ARIA charts if those sales were through traditional music stores, instead of through the community store and art centres which serve as retail outlets for much of the Indigenous music across Northern Australia. In 2004 Saltwater released their second album Djarridjarri/Blue Flag. Again, this album created a bench mark for the band, and it achieved some outstanding reviews and is selling very strongly. Djarridjarri/Blue Flag was nominated for an ARIA in the World Music category and won album of the year at the 2004 Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Art and Music Awards in Sydney (the Deadlies). Saltwater are hindered in their careers due to their isolation from the major music markets of Australia. Never the less, they are determined to create quality albums that have the potential to carve out a place for the band in the national music scene.