Ngarukuruwala: We Sing Songs

Description

Ngarukuruwala: We Sing Songs CD
NB: This CD is second hand, in very good condition

Our first recording, done across 4 days in the old church at Wurrumiyanga (Nguiu), Bathurst Island, in 2008. We had been friends for one year but had only spent about two weeks together on and off, workshopping ideas. Our rough plan was that each song would lead us wherever it took us. The women and the band had great fun re-inventing some of the ladies’ favourite songs – always in Tiwi language, but in different styles, from country to gospel to jazz and back again! Extra instrumentals were added in Sydney and we reckon it encapsulates the informal, honest and essentially collaborative nature of our music. We were thrilled to win Best Traditional Music recording for 2008 at the NT Indigenous Music Awards.

Ngarukuruwala means we sing songs. The Wangatunga Strong Women’s Group don’t really ‘rehearse’ or ‘perform’ – they come together to sing. They don’t really see themselves as a choir. They are a group of women who share a connection through the songs they know, create and sing together nearly everyday. Using Ngarukuruwala as the project name reflects the fact that the Tiwi songs are the starting point of the idea as well as the fact that the aim is to “sing” or make music together. This project aims to add to the body of indigenous Australian song as well as contribute to the sustaining of a fundamentally important part of Australian musical culture.