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Release Date: 26-10-98
Label: Celestial Harmonies
Catalog Number: 17071-2
Barcode: 13711707120
Musical Style: World
Just as the mythology of the Australian people and their continent was personified through the complex Aboriginal creation stories called The Dreamtime, the land also gave rise to a rich musical culture unlike any other. Australia: Sounds of the Earth captures the primordial hums and rhythms that have emerged from and moved across this continent in the four directions, like the winds themselves since The Dreamtime began. This recording features the didgeridoo, an Aboriginal wind instrument of remarkable flexibility and power, in traditional and innovative formats. Virtuoso solos by Aboriginal artist, David Hudson, are complemented by performances of up to four didgeridoo players accompanied by drums and electronics. Tracing the development of an indigenous music firmly rooted in patterns of existence dictated by the rhythms of the land, Australia: Sounds of the Earth embraces Australia's musical past and present. The riveting performance of cellist Sarah Hopkins, acknowledges the debt 20th century composers owe to the influence of Aboriginal music. By utilizing a combination of bowing techniques and overtone singing, the Australian cellist emulates sounds of the didgeridoo. Producer, Steve Roach, blends the recordings from the outback with their haunting modern echoes by creating evocative soundscapes and the illusion of a journey through time and space to the origins of these primal sounds.
| 1 | Red Dust and Sweat | 10:40 |
| 2 | Call to Kuranda | 03:12 |
| 3 | Ancient Voice | 03:06 |
| 4 | Atmosphere for Dreaming | 07:47 |
| 5 | 1. Darktime 2. Initiation | 07:09 |
| 6 | Origin | 04:46 |
| 7 | Spirits | 03:16 |
| 8 | Hunter | 03:00 |
| 9 | Awakening the Earth | 14:06 |
| 10 | The Land Sound - Dreaming Place | 05:14 |
Steve Roach is recognized worldwide as one of the leading innovators in contemporary electronic music. His range of musical expression runs the gamut from the introspective soundscapes of Structures from Silence and Quiet Music (Complete Edition) to the explosive sequencer music of Empetus. Roach masterfully combined these two aspects of his style on the double album Dreamtime Return , considered by many critics to be a landmark in the new music genre.
Australian Aboriginal artist David Hudson is a world-renowned pioneer of the art of the didjeridu. A member of the Tjapukai tribe in Kuranda, northern Queensland, he mastered the didjeridu and interpretive dances of his tribe at an early age. Armed with a profound understanding of the didjeridu, he possesses an exceptional talent of spontaneously creating/performing multi-leveled compositions, as evidenced in his first solo recording, the highly acclaimed Woolunda: Ten Solos for Didgeridoo. It is regarded by many experts as a ground-breaking experiment in the creative possibilities of the didjeridu. Known primarily for his traditional styles and use of the traditional technique of circular breathing, Hudson is credited for taking the art form to a new level through an innovative combination of extended techniques and modern compositional ideas. So much so, his inventive use of voice, space and explosive blasts of sound have sometimes more in common with 20th century avant-garde music than ancestral Aboriginal music. Teamed with longtime collaborator and producer Steve Roach, the two have written an array of seamlessly organic compositions, creating Hudson's most subterranean and textural release to date. Hudson features various self-made didjeridus, click sticks and boomerang clapsticks. Roach accompanies with assorted percussion and rocks and provides a constant flow of dreamtime soundworlds.
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