If you’re like me, you’ll have walked into a record store and bought an album based purely on the name or the artwork. Looking through the list of albums to review for Goldenplec, my eye kept being drawn to a certain ‘Geoffrey Gurrumul Yunupingu’ and his album ‘Rrakala’.
After signing up to check it out, I did a bit of research. I found out Geoffrey was ‘an Indigenous Australian musician’ who sings in a language called Yolngu. Indeed, Rrakala is a sub-group of people within an aboriginal clan. He plays guitar, keyboard, drums and didgeridoo as well as singing in his native tongue. Oh yeah, and he’s blind.
Already impressed , I started listening to the album. Being a fan of fast, heavy music this was a welcome change. Every song on the album is slow, melodic and calming. After a few listens the fact the lyrics aren’t English fades into insignificance and you find yourself humming along to the catchy melodies.
The opening track, ‘Gopuru’ is the début single of this album and according to his website “describes the rhythms of a totemic fish as it swims through the sea.” Beautiful.
Halfway through the album things get a bit more upbeat with ‘Ya Yawirriny’ before the return of the usual rhythmic, slow, melodic songs. In ‘Warwu’, probably the standout track on the album for me, Geoffrey shows off his talents behind a piano and the result is absolutely beautiful. This album transcends language, culture and musical tastes. In fact, Rrakala has already achieved GOLD status and he has played Sydney Opera House.
This album is well worth a listen. Not only for the beautiful songs but also the back story of the man who wrote them makes this an inspirational listen.