Gurrumul

Gurrumul (a native of Australia's Arnhem Land) is a singer-songwriter that has released another captivating musical gift with his second album, Rrakala. His instrumentation is simple and mostly performed by him. The melodies and arrangements have a Western folk song-style to them and a touch of gospel. "Gopuru" opens the album with two piano notes floating through a rudimentary chord progression and when his singing begins, the harmony that follows is modest but captivating. The next 11 songs also feature this attractive, melancholic yearning. It almost feels like the music transports you to another sense of awareness, and rightly so, as these songs are spiritual hymns about identity, something forged by connecting with the land and with Gorrumul's ancestral beings. In "Wulminda," he expresses this idea, singing in his native language with his transcendental voice.