The Australian Music Prize (AMP) is an annual award of $30,000 given to an Australian band or solo artist in recognition of the merit of an album released during the year of award. Gurrumul performed for HRH Queen Elizabeth II, past-US President Barack Obama, Crown Prince Frederick and Princess Mary of Denmark, in addition to being one of only two Australian performers at the Queens Diamond Jubilee Concert at Buckingham Palace, confirming this multi ARIA award-winning musicians place as an international star who had transcended cultural boundaries while staying true to his culture. A gifted Aboriginal singer who was born blind and brought up in poverty has taken Australia by storm, topping the mainstream music charts and earning plaudits for his sublime voice. His angelic voice connected with fans the world over, including such notable names as Elton John, will.I.am, Sting, Gary Barlow, Quincy Jones and Stevie Wonder. Blind from birth, the proud Yolngu man spoke through his music. He just wants to play music.. The important thing was that, in every step of the process, we've made sure that we haven't done anything that doesn't communicate those songs.". In 2014 they finally returned to the US, playing smaller shows with less pressure, but during this tour Gurrumuls father died, just a few years after his mother. Born blind, Geoffrey Gurrumul Yunupingu was the lead singer of the Saltwater Band and the keyboard player and guitarist of Yothu Yindi. Gurrumul was born and raised in Galiwinku, a small community of about 2,200 people on remote Elcho Island, which is about 560 kilometres, or a two-hour flight, northeast of Darwin, the Northern Territory capital. On Easter Sunday in 2016, he suffered internal bleeding and was taken to Royal Darwin Hospital by Skinnyfish Music managing director Mark Grose and Yunupingus private nurse. Gurrumul was a founding member of the band Yothu Yindi. Closing their eyes, and opening their hearts, they will see him," Gurruwiwi says. Gurrumul would go on to perform for Barack Obama and Queen Elizabeth II, among others. [8][28] At the ARIA Music Awards of 2011, he won Best World Music Album and performed "Warwu" featuring Missy Higgins on piano. There's a depth to it all, and the drone of the strings and the popping of horns add their own weight to what is, within each song, a slow-building story. It was nominated for Australian Independent Record Labels Association and ARIA awards. With a voice that captured the heart of millions across the world, Geoffrey Gurrumul Yunupingu was an enigmatic talent. "It was like he was becoming a shadow of his former self," Hohnen recalls. Its a clash of cultures, its a clash of world views, says Skinnyfish Music director and cofounder, Mark Grose. The use of images of works of art reproduced on this website and all other content may be restricted under the Australian Copyright Act 1968 (Cth). Skinnyfish lost a lot of money on that tour, but their relationship with the artist held and four years later, they were recording again. While Gurrumul never made a public comment or any overt references in his songs to the decades of social neglect and repression of Australias indigenous population, his songs and compelling voice gave forceful and poignant expression not just to the decades of suffering but a powerful longing for a better life.
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