Yothu Yindi Biography
Yothu Yindi is the most successful and internationally recognized of Australia's aboriginal bands. Their importance lies in their fusion of traditional music and performance with contemporary rock.
The name of the band translates as "mother and child" and is essentially a kinship term used by the Yolngu people of the Northern Territory's Arnham Land. The group's central figure Mandawuy Yunupingu and clansman Witiyana Marika were originally part of the rock band the Swamp Jockeys with non-aboriginals Cal Williams and Stuart Kellaway. They gathered other aboriginal musicians and dancers to become Yothu Yindi, a troupe initially created to perform at cultural events both in Australia and internationally.
A late 1988 tour supporting Midnight Oil both in Australia and North America brought the band to Sydney where they spent a day recording a demo tape. Mushroom Records released the demo as it was as Yothu Yindi's first album, Homeland Movement. One side comprised Midnight Oil-like politicized rock. The other side of the album concentrated on traditionally based songs like "Djapana (Sunset Dreaming)" written by former teacher Mandawuy Yunupingu.
Mandawuy's family has a long and proud tradition in the struggle for aboriginal land rights and at the beginning of the 1990s there was political talk of the possibility of a symbolic treaty between black and white Australians. In an attempt to keep the idea on the political landscape, Midnight Oil's Peter Garrett and Paul Kelly collaborated with Mandawuy on a song called "Treaty." When it was initially released the song hardly created a ripple, treated as the political statement it was. Melbourne dance remixers Filthy Lucre decided to work their magic on the song, favoring the musical message over the political one. "Treaty'"s success spread to Yothu Yindi's second album, Tribal Voice, which took the band around the world and eventually saw Mandawuy Yunupingu named as 1992 Australian of the Year.
Initially, Mandawuy used his music profile to further the cause of his "other" job, as headmaster of a culturally mixed school in Arnham Land, but he ended up being forced to apply for leave to concentrate on his music career.
Ever since "Treaty," Yothu Yindi has straddled its two musical words, traditional and commercial, with varying success. ~ Ed Nimmervoll, All Music Guide
Popular Biographies:
Los angeles de charly Biography: The 12-member traditional Mexican group Los Angeles de Charly emerged in 1999 after Charly Becies left his previous act, Los Angeles Azules, to assemble his own outfit. Memo Palafox and...
Adriana evans Biography: Alternative R&B singer Adriana Evans was born and raised in San Francisco; her mother, Mary Stallings, was herself a gifted vocalist who sang with Count Basie and Dizzy Gillespie and issued a series...
All out war Biography: All Out War continued to reinforce the sound of New York hardcore by crossing genres of metal and punk that influentially draw from Slayer, Agnostic Front, the Cro-Mags, and Sick of It All. Upon...
Deranged Biography: Beginning with their second demo, 1992's "...the Confessions of a Necrophile," Sweden's Deranged set about making their case as one of the world's sickest, most gore-obsessed death metal outfits....
Cream Biography: Although Cream was only together for a little more than two years, their influence was immense, both during their late-'60s peak and in the years following their breakup. Cream was the first top...
Alexisonfire Biography: When a band names themselves after the world's only lactating contortionist, you know you are in for something different; and as with the original act, you know that some people are going to be...
Steeler Biography: Although many metalheads probably assume that Swedish guitar shredder Yngwie J. Malmsteen's first U.S.-based band was Alcatrazz, he was a brief member of another obscure Los Angeles-based...
Black box Biography: Leaders of the Italian house music movement of the late '80s, Black Box was primarily comprised of club DJ Daniele Davoli, computer whiz Mirko Limoni and classical clarinetist Valeric Semplici, a...