East Journey is the exciting new music project of award winning Garrangali Band member Rrawum Maymuru, committed to teaching others about Yolngu life, language and culture through music, song and performance.
The groups music is inspired by traditions and legends of North East Arnhem Land and is a mix of traditional Yolngu rhythms with contemporary sound, creating an intense tone of tribal Yidaki and Bilma seamlessly melded with contemporary acoustic, reggae and rock arrangements. The songs of East Journey are sung in Yolngu language and are exclusively about traditional themes, particularly land and sea, and the importance of people living on and looking after their country.
East Journey follows from Garrangali Band’s multi-award winning success at the 2010 indigenous Music Awards. Frontman Rrawum, who lives in Yirrkala, North East Arnhem Land, also performed in groundbreaking band Youth Yindi and collaborated with Gurrumul on his last album.
East Journey‘s other band members also live within the Laynhapuy Homelands in Arnhem Land, NT. They include Wulkuwulku Marawili, also of Garrangali Band fame (backing vocals, harmonies, keyboard), Patrick ‘PJ’ White (lead guitar), Gathapura Mununggurr (drums), Arian Pearson (acoustic guitar), Ngalkanbuy Mununggurr (yidaki) Ben Wheatley (bass guitar) and Ses Frank (rhythm guitar). Rrawun says, “some songs are written about our land and how we live. When people come to our land we can teach people and tell them how to look after the land and to share”.
Go to site: PLANET: East Journey
