Geoffrey Gurrumul Yunupingu (1970-2017), a Gumatj man from north-east Arnhem Land, was born blind but learned to play guitar, keyboard, drums and didgeridoo as a child. Light spills to the left side of his face, tumbling down his forehead, eyebrow, cheek and lips. An oversized NT flag is draped over a shelf and a couple of swags are thrown on top of a storage cupboard, ready for the next trip to the outback. [33] He released his third studio album, The Gospel Album, on 31 July 2015. In 2009, he was named Best New Independent Artist and the album won both Best Independent Release and Best Independent Blues/Roots Release at the Australian Independent Record (AIR) Awards. Hohnen is in the midst of promoting the documentary, and preparing for the imminent release of Gurrumuls posthumous album, Djarimirri (Child of the Rainbow), which was four years in the making. Blind from birth, the proud Yolngu man spoke through his music. The award commenced in 2005. And I think Yolngu don't want him forgotten, that's what they said to us. We have an encyclopedia of stories ready to tell people, if they want to listen. [8] He was the most commercially successful Aboriginal Australian musician at the time of his death. Remote indigenous patients are often traumatised or sink into depression as a result of the illness and the distances they must travel away from their families to receive treatment. When Gurrumul arrives home after long periods away from touring and recording, we see a great deal of affection upon his return. The Helpmann Awards is an awards show, celebrating live entertainment and performing arts in Australia, presented by industry group Live Performance Australia since 2001. He found purpose and meaning through songs inspired by his community and country in North East Arnhem Land. We know it happens right around Australia We need to have that discussion about how we can improve care for indigenous Australians so they receive the same level of care as non-indigenous Australians, Lawton said. He performed with Yothu Yindi from 1985 to 1992, when he formed the Saltwater Band. "He was extremely ill.", Williams, who had known the singer for years before beginning work on the documentary, seems a little haunted, as if Gurrumul knew his time had come. That is for other Yolu. Although a few of his songs are written and sung in English, he does not speak the language. A new documentary and posthumous album dispel the myths surrounding a beloved Australian Indigenous artist. He is from the Gumatj clan of the Yolngu and his mother from the Galpu nation. ", His niece, Miriam Yirrininba Dhurrkay, says Gurrumul's life and music are still inspiring Yolngu people. By subscribing, you agree to SBSs terms of service and privacy policy including receiving email updates from SBS. In touching and heartbreaking sequences Gurrumul learns of loved ones passing away, and we see the funeral ceremonies that he travels back home for. Word had been going around all day and the rumours were true people really were moved to tears. Believing that this inspiring, amazing man would be an ideal subject for a portrait, Maestri managed to track Gurrumul down in Darwin with the help of a friend in the music industry only to discover that he was flying to New York the following weekend. Gurrumul was raised on Elcho Island, off the coast of North East Arnhem Land, as a member of the Gumatj clan. This website comprises and contains copyrighted materials and works. He doesnt want to be photographed or talk to anyone. Skinnyfish lost a lot of money on that tour, but their relationship with the artist held and four years later, they were recording again. Guy Maestris portrait of the musician was conceived after the artist saw Gurrumul perform in Sydney on New Years Eve 2008. In todays world where the media and the music industries are centred around hype and fashion, Gurrumul is a unique celebrity who has stood the test of time, one who could change the way you breathe (Brisbane Courier Mail, 2008) and forever altered the way people from around the world interact with Yolngu culture. The purity of the singer's voice tops it off. His eponymous 2008 solo debut album was certified three times platinum in Australia, and made the top 20 in Belgium, Germany and Switzerland upon its European release. "It transcends cultural barriers, because music is an international language. Yunupingu, who was born blind, has an ongoing liver condition due to contracting Hepatitis B from a young age, Skinny Fish Music managing director Mark Grose told the ABC. And when hes invited to sing a duet with Sting on a French TV show, it nearly ends in disaster. Five years in the making, it traces the life of Geoffrey Gurrumul Yunupingu, the Yolngu singer from Elcho Island, off the coast of Arnhem Land, who had taken Australian music by storm. "But I now feel like we did everything possible to live up to the standards that he and his family expected of us. On the day the team is to embark on the US tour, Gurrumul doesnt show up to Darwin airport. were a close unit, It debuted at number 3 on the ARIA Charts. Closing their eyes, and opening their hearts, they will see him," Gurruwiwi says. They talk of their. 2018. We pay our respect to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander cultures and to Elders past and present. The cover of Gurrumuls eponymous studio album (2008). I made sure to read the lyrics and understand the meaning of each song. "Our hope for this film is that the people depicted within it, upon watching it, are filled with pride. On Easter Sunday in 2016, he suffered internal bleeding and was taken to Royal Darwin Hospital by Skinnyfish Music managing director Mark Grose and Yunupingus private nurse. The National Portrait Gallery respects the artistic and intellectual property rights of others. Geoffrey Gurrumul Yunupingu's legacy: why his music didn't stop. While this rise might have seemed meteoric, Gurrumul paid his dues in a slow build that began with culture-bridging group Yothu Yindi in the late 1980s. In a cover article Rolling Stone called him 'Australia's most important voice'. The collar on his right covers the neck and makes the jaw line directly. 46years (19712017)Geoffrey Gurrumul Yunupingu / Age at death. In July last year, filmmaker Paul Williams, sound engineer Pip Atherstone-Reid and Michael Hohnen, creative director of Darwin record label Skinnyfish Music, were in an editing room at Windmill studios in Collingwood, Melbourne. Which is better guitar tricks or JamPlay. "A lot of youngsters in the north-east Arnhem Land region, where G comes from, and other youngsters from all around NT, from every Aboriginal community, a lot of youngsters are doing music today. Its a really bad business model in lots of ways, but you have to give in to that world. Aborigines in Australia remain a disadvantaged minority with high levels of ill-health, unemployment and poverty. For once, the Balanda world is struggling with its incorporation into Yolngu, rather than the other way round. It is one of the strongest examples of the worlds oldest continuous culture, and Gurrumul, a Yunupingu from the Gumatj clan, held increasingly important responsibilities. It is made with oil on linen, surrounded by a simple two-centimetre-wide black frame. "Dialysis was not something that he enjoyed," Hohnen says. [10], The first of four sons born to Ganyinurra (Daisy), of the Gumal clan, and Nyambi "Terry" Yunupingu, a Gumatj clansman,[11] Yunupingu was born blind in Galiwin'ku, Elcho Island, in 1971,[12] situated off the coast of Arnhem Land in northern Australia, about 530 kilometres (330mi) east of Darwin. Gurrumul History (I Was Born Blind) Lyrics: I was born blind and I don't know why / God knows why because he love me so / As I grew up, my spirit knew / Then I learnt to read the world of . ominis gaunt why is he blind. Avoiding the use of a deceased person's first name is part of grieving practice amongst many Australian Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities. He was one of only two Australian performers at the Queens Diamond Jubilee Concert at Buckingham Palace. As Gurrumul lives an exciting life as a successful musician, performing for people like Barack Obama and even Queen Elizabeth II, he also experiencesintense homesickness and the need to continue to learn and immerse himself in his family and traditional life. He hates the exposure and the attention. The first of six children, Gurrumul began his professional musical career in his late teens as a member of the popular Yothu Yindi rock band. Gurrumuls second studio album, Rrakala (2011).Credit:Courtesy of ABC. He is making it easier for the world to understand. Yunupingus songs are attracting people who do not normally listen to Aboriginal music and he received standing ovations after two recent performances at the Sydney Opera House. His fragile but uniquely emotive high tenor voice and aura-like persona elicit feelings of peace and longing in listeners. The Most Beautiful Song Ever Written (Australian Aboriginal), This song is called Wiyathul and its by a blind aboriginal man called Geoffrey Gurrumul Yunupingu. [39], In September 2021, Yunupingu's first anthology was released, entitled The Gurrumul Story. Grose publicly protested the hospital delays. Where Djarimirri is different, though, is in its minimalism; Hohnen cites the likes of Michael Nyman, Steve Reich, Arvo Prt and Philip Glass as influences. Gurrumul is the highest-selling Indigenous musician in Australian history. Meibomianitis is inflammation of the meibomian glands, a group of oil-releasing (sebaceous) glands in the eyelids. He had also, with Hohnen and composer Erkki Veltheim, created or reworked about 50 pieces of music specifically for the documentary. There are public aspects of Gurrumuls short life that arent explored by the documentary his long-running health issues, and the high levels of poverty in remote Indigenous communities such as Galiwinku. Gurrumul performs during a media call for the Sydney festival First Night. While Gurrumul's premature death came as a shock to many of his fans around the world, the 46-year-old had waged a protracted struggle with kidney and liver disease for many years. The Bangladesh Environmental Lawyers Association (Bengali: ), or BELA (), is a nonprofit legal organization established in 1992 to assist efforts to protect the environment. Directed by Paul Williams, Gurrumul's uncle, Djunga Djunga Yunupingu, and aunt, Gurruwiwi are the only narrators of the film, but it also features his parents and friends. LipiScan is a non-invasive procedure that helps our doctors see and analyze the health of your Meibomian glands. More importantly, I got a sense of his presence and this determined the nature of the portrait: quiet and strong. This was deliberate, Hohnen says. Aged only 46, hed succumbed to organ failure relating to the hepatitis B hed contracted in childhood. His condition had worsened in recent years, to the extent that Skinnyfish had retired the singer from touring in late 2015. Djarimirri (Child of the Rainbow) has been more than six years in the making and involves the singer, in Hohnen's words, delving "deeper into the cultural elements of his music". Blind from birth, he found purpose and meaning through songs and music inspired by his community and country on Elcho Island in far North East Arnhem Land. [24] He also won three Deadlys, winning for Artist of the Year, Album of the Year for Gurrumul and Single of the Year for "Gurrumul History (I Was Born Blind)". It was nominated for Australian Independent Record Labels Association and ARIA awards. People forget he was in Yothu Yindi and Saltwater. All of the songs ended up in major keys, a coincidence which to Hohnen's mind gives it a happy vibe. I think it's more that they're really proud. On multiple screens in front of them were edits of Williams's documentary, Gurrumul. document.getElementById( "ak_js_1" ).setAttribute( "value", ( new Date() ).getTime() ); It could be that you are wondering whether you are in the right place. Gurrumul was not an enigma, the film reveals, but rather a man with a strong sense of humour, deep ties to his homelands, and little taste for the limelight as he travelled around Europe, the US and Australia. He also won three Deadlys, winning for Artist of the Year, Album of the Year for Gurrumul and Single of the Year for Gurrumul History (I Was Born Blind). Gurrumul's face centrally occupies the frame, leaving minimal room for background detail, indistinct light grey brushstrokes behind his neck and face. 3 on the ARIA Charts. The money he made was largely shared with his family, following the Aboriginal tradition of sharing wealth. To see without seeing? Bapa means father and it is a beautiful song written by Geoffrey Gurrumul Yunupingu, in the language of his tribe, Yolnu Matha. However, a very rare exception has been made byGumatj and Glpu clan leaders for this film. [17] Gurrumul peaked at No. Yesterday, a posthumous album was added to his canon. Requests for a reproduction of a work of art or other content can be made through a Reproduction request. But I can play and sing and tell people things through my songs. He was left handed, taught himself guitar with a right handed guitar that was given to him by read more Gurrumul performed for HRH Queen Elizabeth II, past-US President Barack Obama, Crown Prince Frederick and Princess Mary of Denmark, in addition to being one of only two Australian performers at the Queens Diamond Jubilee Concert at Buckingham Palace, confirming this multi ARIA award-winning musicians place as an international star who had transcended cultural boundaries while staying true to his culture. For further information please contact NPG Copyright. Following a long battle with illness, Gurrumul passed away in 2017 at Royal Darwin Hospital at the age of 46. The extraordinary song was inspired by the cries of native bush fowls. On his left upper forehead, a circular shape of white untouched canvas indicates the light source. He left the group in 1995 to live full-time on Elcho Island and later co-founded and co-led the Saltwater Band, which was active from 1999 to 2009. It's not lost on anyone involved with the making of the record how sad it is that its main player won't be here to enjoy its launch. The album reached Triple Platinum in Australia and Gurrumuls voice connected with listeners such as Elton John, will.I.am and Sting. [14] He left school at the age of 12, having attended his local school, Shepherdson College, along with a brief stint at an institute in the Victorian city of Geelong for instruction in Braille, which did not interest him. We Yolngu live by our own unique balance of life,culture and land and we care for our country and our people.. It was his heart, having battled on through the liver and kidney damage caused by his hepatitis B, that eventually gave out. We have sent a confirmation email to {USEREMAIL}. "The audience requiresa lot of information to make sense of Gurrumuls musical rise because it emerged from a culture thatsso different to that of most people watching the film," Filmmaker Williams says. So by the time he was Gurrumul, he was ready.". Gurrumul was a founding member of the band Yothu Yindi. He performed with Yothu Yindi from 1985 to 1992, when he formed the Saltwater Band. How do you play C minor pentatonic scale on guitar? For other uses, see, Posthumous releases and recognition (2018present). Singer-songwriter Geoffrey Gurrumul Yunupingu will release his eponymous solo debut album Gurrumul via Dramatico Entertainment on June 15. The image is made with variously dense, watery and inconsistent brush strokes, creating a allayed three dimensional quality in rich tones of black and gray that construct a voluminous contemplative face. It is like a celebration.'. That's remarkable for a man who was born blind, is extremely shy and doesn't speak much English. He was blind from birth and contracted Hepatitis B at the age of three. He says the Queen remembered Gurrumul from their last meeting, saying: "Yes, I've met this man before." But Hohnen says Gurrumul was more excited at the chance to meet American music legend Stevie Wonder. Gurrumul (born Geoffrey Gurrumul Yunupingu) was a Gumatj man from Galiwin'ku on Elcho Island in the Northern Territory.