iDIDJ Australia Didgeridoo Cultural Hub

[Yirrkala Arts]

As some of you know, I'm now the coordinator of a multimedia archive and production centre in Yirrkala called the Mulka Project. Mulka has many meanings, from "public ceremony place" to a verb for "to hold" to connotations of carefully handling something with dry hands, as spoken by Dr. Gawirrin Gumana AO at our opening ceremony in August. We're meant to be the holding place for documentation of local Yolngu culture. There are two Yolngu co-directors, currently three young trainees and some secondary students involved, and we're recruiting.

Mulka started from the community art centre but is a separate non-commercial division, funded by small government grants and some larger philanthropic organizations. We've secured funding for wages, office expenses and the like for a while, but need funding towards specific projects and just generally to keep us going for longer as we don't have much hope of generating our own income from this. It's the sort of thing that urgently needs doing but doesn't fit into a capitalist economy very well!

Some people already know that I've so far had two trips to small outstation communities to record the best of the current singers and yidaki players of each clan. Seems to me that this is something that yidaki players who want to directly help the community somehow could donate to in exchange for some sort of product, direct relationship... something like that.

The first idea that came to my mind would be a fund towards one particular CD. So forum members could put in for, say the Madarrpa clan CD which will feature Djambawa Marawili, a great leader who appears several times on the Yidakiwuy Dhawu Miwatjngurunydja website. You'd be helping fund the employment of the people who are learning recording skills, the expenses of the trip to the remote outstation of Yilpara and the cost of manufacturing a CD that could then generate some income for the artists, then you'd all get copies and the group as a whole would have a credit in the CD, maybe some extra materials in thanks?

Or beyond that my wife and I thought maybe some sort of subscription service... rather than a physical CD, you pay into the fund and get access to a website with sounds from the recordings, video clips, information on the songs and artists involved. That's committing to us doing a lot of work to make you happy, though!

Any thoughts? I'd of course love to hear other ideas of how to provide meaningful support to an Arnhem Land community, maybe one that's not so lucky to have such a great thing as the Mulka Project already!

-Randy

[flyangler18]

Yes! Now this is just the sort of project and philanthropic arm that really gets to the heart of the matter- in ways that move beyond support through the sale of arts and crafts from the communities. A subscription type solution sounds intriguing, though I can see the logistics will take some time to iron out. I'll have to have a good think about ideas for communities without art centres.....

Of course any help that I can offer, let me know and I'd be happy to discuss.

_________________
www.jdidj.com

[kdidj]

This is a very interesting proposal Randy. I would prefer the release of a CD for each of the selected outstations/areas as it's good to have a tangible record of the project rather than a more esoteric website (in my opionion).

I look forward to discussing this and would be happy to help out.

Kyle

_________________
www.kdidj.com
www.myspace.com/kylemaplesden

[SeriousChris]

I like it! I'm a bit old fashioned in this respect and like Kyle, would prefer a CD per outstation instead of single bits and pieces stored somewhere electronically, as I think a CD is still something like a "Gesamtkunstwerk" with a composition and a dramaturgy, something that can provide a more complete picture if you like.

_________________
Serious Sticks

[flyangler18]

Quote:

as I think a CD is still something like a "Gesamtkunstwerk" with a composition and a dramaturgy, something that can provide a more complete picture if you like.

I like the way you think, Christian. You're forcing me to brush up on mein Deutsch! And nice Wagnerian reference!

Beyond the tangibility of a physical CD, there is the completeness offered in CD in relation to the whole performance/recording and gives it context to a specific moment. In more practical terms, this is valuable for differentiating one outstation's repetoire from another, allowing us to discuss the specifics of place.

_________________
www.jdidj.com

[SeriousChris]

flyangler18 wrote:

I like the way you think, Christian. You're forcing me to brush up on mein Deutsch! And nice Wagnerian reference!.

Well, in everyday German, the term has lost its Wagnerian reference ages ago. These days, it just means "a piece of art in more than one respect" or "the full package"

_________________
Serious Sticks

[IPlayDidgeridoo]

Great idea.

Lets do it!!!!

Søren Dahl

_________________
Real men play the DIDGERIDOO

[Clay]

I like the idea of a CD, but can definitely see the benefit of having access to other media outlets at a subscription fee directed to helping the project and/or the communities. Or both! Please keep us informed, Randy.

[mahoran]

The idea of CD appeals to me too as it would be a nice way of preserving and passing on the knowledge to the others to come in thecommunities.

_________________
no matter how thin you chop, it has always two faces!!!

[martin]

Dear Randy,
yes. This indeed sounds like a great possibility.
The idea that one can contribute, albeit in a specific field but in a constructive way, is very appealing and positive.
If such enables also the emplyoment of people who can obtain vital skills of recording, filming, editing and production
then that is excellent.
please let us know how this develops, or indeed if any help or otherwise would be needed.

Martin

_________________
http://www.fluiditj.com

[Yirrkala Arts]

I've been busy but keeping this idea in the back of my head. If people want to do this, I think the conservative way to start would be to pick one CD to support. We're planning at least a dozen releases, but if just one was stamped 'funded by worldwide didjeridu players who congregate at ididj' I think that'd be great. And it would help get us moving on this!

I think in Oz, it'll be close to $1000 to get 500 copies made and delivered to us. If we could only gather that much, we could already use it to manufacture a CD of one of the two recordings we've already made. Both communities have connections to the outside yidaki world.

One was Dhalinybuy, home of heaps of yidaki makers and players many of you would know like Ngongu, Mirrwatnga, Yali, Yarrngu, Gurraramawuy, etc. etc. Mirrwatnga plays on the CD. Malalakpuy sings - he's made and painted a few yidaki in his day. We recorded 3 generations of singers there, and have clearance to use a 1952 recording of the senior man with HIS father, so it'd be a 4 generation Wangurri clan CD. Which is cool.

Second was Gurrumuru, where we recorded well known yidaki maker Burrngupurrngu Wunungmurra's two brothers singing, with his son on yidaki. That might be a nice connection for some of you who have his yidaki.

We still need to finish mixing, master, and design booklets, which will include the first ever complete liner notes about the songs written by Yolngu themselves taking their time consulting with each other about what goes in there. If yidaki players could fund the manufacture of one (or both) of those, that'd be a lovely return gesture from you guys to the artists, both to give them that product they'll be proud of and because it means without any investment, there can be immediate financial return from sales.

The other option if people are feeling more expansive would be to pick one clan and support a project from start to finish. That'd include among other bits along the way the CD cost, mastering (which I need to get costs on as I've never had it done on a CD like this with lots of short tracks that sound similar), food and drink for the artists and staff, and transport for staff and maybe artists to the location. Usually this would just be fuel for our vehicle, but if it's a more remote outstation that we'd want to record during the wet season (to really get the feel by singing the songs at the right time, and record the sound of the environment of the season that matches the songs), we'd need to charter planes. That'd be the biggest chunk, maybe $1300 or more for a round trip to one of the more remote homelands. I'm still thinking Yilpara - charter a flight to go overnight and record the songs of the lightning snake during the wet season lightning storms... on second thought, that sounds like a sketchy flight in a little prop plane! So in that case I'm guessing about $2500 for a closer homeland, $4000 or so for a more remote one that requires a flight.

There's plenty of other communities. The only other one that comes to mind with a specific yidaki connection would be to support a Djapu clan CD that would most likely feature Milkay's brothers and possibly his "son" Warpurpur on yidaki. So that could be a sort of tribute from you all at the same time.

If we went with the more expansive plan, I'd say you'd all definitely deserve extra special personal rewards from the community, which I'm sure the Yolngu would be very creative about!

Or of course if we did gather as much as $4000, it could fund the manufacturing of 4 whole different CDs, which would be great as well. Oh - we also need a good clip-on yidaki mic which would be used on every recording from here on out! If it's not one thing, it's another!

As I feel odd about this public plea for money, I'll just state again that this is a non-profit community enterprise. I'm the only white guy involved. As a division of an Aboriginal community council, this is a bona fide non-profit, all donations tax deductible.

So how do y'all feel about it now? Which option sounds good to you?

[kdidj]

I'd be willing to support the greater venture in the limited capacity that I can (baby on the way), although starting off with the supporting of one CD seems the more logical approach after which we can build the reserves to fund the follow-up projects.

Please keep me, and us, informed.

Kyle

_________________
www.kdidj.com
www.myspace.com/kylemaplesden

[stockie]

Hi Randin

Id be willing to support in whatever capacity I can.

However here is a suggestion for you as It costs around $1000 to get 500 copies of a CD done why not look at the cost options for the long term of buying a CD/DVD stack duplicator that can burn 8 or so coppies at a time if you are looking at doing several recorded projects over a long term might it be worth introducing this as part of the multi media center, it keeps it in the control of Yirrkala and all involved, you can do as many or as little copies as you require and not got stock hanging around etc and if someone say over here orders 12 coppies you can do them in one go etc.

Just a thought and as the media itself can be very cheap to buy if you go for budjet media (talking pence/cense) or a little more for better quality TDK etc it may be worth it.

I use one of these bits of kit on a weekly basis and are gen quiet reliable

[flyangler18]

I can offer my support in any way that I can-and take this as my offer of commitment. Focusing on a single CD is the way to go, to ensure that something comes to fruition. Please keep me informed- I'd love to be a part of such an exciting project!

Jason

_________________
www.jdidj.com

[martin]

You have my support too Randy,
and would agree with others in saying that one could get the ball rolling with one of the cd projects that you mention, they both sound eminently worthwhile.
And then build from there.

Best, Maritn

_________________
http://www.fluiditj.com