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CHRISTINE ANU
WAKU- MINARAL A MINALAY
First original album
in 20 years
Out Today
VIA ABC MUSIC
LISTEN TO ALBUM HERE
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“WAKU- MINARAL A MINALAY
A JOURNEY”
mini documentary
WATCH HERE
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Photo credit: Luke Currie-Richardson
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“Waku is a grownup, bilingual album by an artist in full command of her identity and artistry.” The Guardian
“a heady, bilingual brew of sounds old and new” The Australian
“Christine Anu is a pop trailblazer” The Music
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The colours and patterns of Australian music icon Christine Anu’s song lines are woven throughout her latest masterstroke and first original album in 20 years, Waku- Minaral A Minalay out today via ABC Music.
Listen to album HERE
Today Christine shares the stunning visuals and intricate details of the creation and inspiration for the album with the release of the mini documentary ‘Waku-Minaral A Minalay A Journey’
Christine’s songwriter lineage revealed itself, while filming her episode of the documentary series Who Do You Think You Are? (Season 2, episode 4), where Christine poses the question: “Music’s been a part of who I am since I can remember. Do I have singers in my family and who can I trace that back to?”
Throughout the course of this episode, Christine discovers her maternal grandfather Nadi Anu, who died in 1979 when she was 10 years old, was a lauded Songman of the sea from Saibai, a low-lying island of the Torres Strait Islands archipelago. Christine had her answer: music is in her blood.
She had been wanting to get back to singing in her mother tongue, but while holding the book of Nadi’s lyrics – which accompanied Laade’s recordings – Christine just knew she must assume the role of conduit for his words.
An entire album track, My Popu Nadhi Anu, is devoted to honouring Nadi’s life and achievements: “A Saibai leader/ Strong-willed agitator” who fought for equal wages for his people.
Waku is Waku- Minaral A Minalay calling card. Sustained strings and flourishes from traditional percussion instruments underscore the album’s lead single, which is built from a gently swaying beat.
The closing track, Laga Wakemab, revisits vocal melodies from Waku- Minaral A Minalayopener, Melawal. Then this album’s final stitch is a recorded snippet of Christine’s Popu declaring, “That’s all”.
The album was recorded across Cairns, New Zealand, Papua New Guinea, the Torres Strait Islands and the Solomon Islands; an extension of her award-winning, debut record Stylin’ Up, Christine teamed up with long-time musical ally and producer David Bridie.
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“Stylin’ Up needed to marinate for about 20 years to evolve into what I think that Waku- Minaral A Minalay is: its ancestor,” Christine observes. “If you listened to Stylin’ Up before you listened to this album, you would definitely find continuity between the two. This is basically a family reunion of the musicians who played on Stylin’ Up and that’s probably why listeners will hear continuity. But this album’s more atmospheric and emotional in its sound, like a soundtrack.”
Generations of songlines and culture inform Waku- Minaral A Minalay, which can be deeply felt but also visualised. It’s fair to say that Christine has been working on this album for her entire life.
“This album is about reconnecting with my grandfather as a young father back in post-World War II, in the Torres Strait region. So I sing about a time from long ago… Waku- Minaral A Minalaycreates a landscape, a picture, a soundscape of feeling like you were there listening to these songs when they were being made.”
Waku- Minaral A Minalay is, unquestionably, the most important work of Christine’s three-decade career to date. Thanks to his granddaughter, Nadi’s legacy continues.
To celebrate the album, Christine will be performing at Mt Isa Mines Indigenous Rodeo Championships Rock Concert on Thursday Aug 8, Cairns Festival on Friday August 23, and North Australian Festival of Arts on Sunday October 13.
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Listen to WAKU-MINARAL A MINALAY HERE
WAKU-MINARAL A MINALAY
Track Listing:
Gul Melawal
Koey Dhoerim
Waku – Minaral A Minalay
The Coming Monsoon
Nur Nur
Tobacco and Vicks
When It Rains
Aukum of Saibai
My Popu Nadhi Anu
Laga Saibai
Dhibagaw Gabu.
Seseku
The Crab and the Suckerfish (Gapu a Githalay)
Kole Kolele
Adhibuia
Ari Pudhiz
Laga Wakemab
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