iDIDJ Australia Didgeridoo Cultural Hub

Hey Marcuz my man,

I have a feeling we'll be hooking up this year brother. How are you? Are you still living in the worlds didj' capital?
Great to hear from you.

Peace, Zed.

Hey Zed!

yeap, still in BCN, but well, the golden years have gone away for didjeridu here, I'm afraid... Artur moved to Mexico recently (did u know?), Agustina moved to Paris, Marcelo is on and off but don't see him much... I assume John and Suzie are back in the UK... I think american Paul is still here... Victor and I are still here... Si (WildMarmalade) is moving here now too, arriving in four days, so that's good for the scene... but yeah, when you were here this was arguably the world capital for didjeridu, and the best of it was that no one in the rest of the world acknowledged that, ha, ha...!

anyhow, the scene now is too endogamic, too much didjeridu and little music/musical focus, which to me was its strength as a scene in the past... some people are beginning to feel truly interested in trad, although most of the scene says they like it but it is too difficult...

back to the thread and besides all the shit I just threw on my own local scene, I'm sure that having a Masterclass/workshop/lecture/whatever by Djalu here would be a total success when it comes to figures and, of course, something much needed here, since we've never had any yolngu around since Yothu Yindi went to Seville in 1992... It could light on an interest in yolngu culture for the future.

so see you around soon, Zed?
M!

Yes, we'll hook up this year for sure, and it'll be great to see you again. Having Djalu come to Europe again is phenomenal, and I know budget plays a part with some people, and them wanting him to visit their country...
However, for someone of this calibre, and at the age Djalu is too, surpasses all cost. I say that in a respectful way to those on a budget; this could be some peoples only chance...
Getting around Europe is a piece of cake, and can be done on a good cost with careful planning.

Quickly over to your news column on BCN, thanks for the update... those were the days. I'll see Jon and Suzie this year, and pass on your best.
Speak soon, and all the best mate,

Z.

Hey Marcos,

Spain could be a good idea for the reasons you indicated. For me, it would be too cool to be in a place with so many 3-Michellin-Stars eating places and all that culture and history! So at this stage, how about the trip taking in Italy, the UK and Spain? Colin said he's keen to do the UK leg of it. My concern though, to say it upfront, is Djalu's age and health... I want to make it as easy as possible for him and to ensure he gets enough rest in between gigs.

Guan

Well then, just stop at Nice on the French Riviera, it'll be closer to Italy than Spain

hey!

good! well, dunno if the 3 star restaurants will fit in the budget, but yeah, they'll in any case contribute to give some glamour to the context "around" us...
there are many good places to eat for little money in Spain, as I know there are in Italy and I pressume there might be in France, although I was never lucky to land on them... you'll have to excuse me, brits, but can't say the same about the UK, he, he... joking!...or maybe not...

well, I honestly don't want to interfere in other people's wills, all I'm trying to do is to find good/the best conditions here for hosting such a unique visit (despite it takes place somewhere else), which I still haven't got although have the feeling it might be possible this year. I totally support the idea of it having to be the easiest as possible, and I'll obviously be really happy if it can take place here in Spain, since there are many people who still knows nothing about the original players of this instrument and I know as a fact that Djalu and family know little or nothing about Spain, which I'd love to change.

Coincidences of life, I had a phonecall today from the cultural attaché at the australian embassy, offering me some money they have left unspent for cultural events, in case I was preparing something (I'm supposed to organise an art exhibition at a good venue here before the end of 2009)...shame they have to spend that cash before the end of july... i thought "well, u can buy me a dishwasher" but inmediately realised it wasn't about that... it wasn't enough money to start something from scratch neither... But it could perhaps cover airfares from Italy/UK to Spain... I'll see what I can do about that...

ok, let's keep in touch!

do you have rough dates for this, Guan? I understood october'09, is that right?

cheers!
M

Hi Marcos,

Yes, October 2009 it is! I reckon 1 month on tour is ideal, with plenty of days off for Djalu and Dopiya to rest, and to explore and discover the hidden Europe.

At the moment I reckon the tour is a goer, still need to talk to Djalu and Dhangal some more tomorrow but right now it is promising.

Everyone else who is interested in having Djalu in your country, it isn't enough to say "We want him!". You need to do the work to make it a reality... at this stage all I have to go by are the best offers and the best plans put forward to me, and then it is a matter of choosing what will work best. Get planning!

Guan

Hi Guan

what sort of thing (never having arranged anything such as this) would we need to take into consideration and what is Djalu willing to/able to do I assume some kind of performance and or workshops. and what sort of costs/expences will need to be taken into account from your end?

Hi Guys

Just wondered if there was any further news on the European tour?

hey!

back again from a few reset days in hospital... not many new posts since March 23rd!

anyhow, Guan, I ask you the same as Stockie. It would be very useful for me to know roughly about dates, week earlier week later, about length of stay and about what kind of events would we be talking about. A workshop/masterclass by Djalu is rather easy to organise and apparently easy to find participants for.

But there could be other events like a performance/lecture, for instance or any other thing that I can't think of at the moment. Have you thought about that in particular? Is there any other thing we could consider "ready to go" or intended to be prepared in order to be given or performed while in Europe? I'd prefer to hear from your side what you're keen to offer instead of asking around my side what they're interested in contracting... What'ya reckon?

And then, give me a rough idea of the figures we'd be talking about for each one of the events. Once with that, and stablishing a length of stay of around 1 week-10 days (I propose), I could start looking for all the other things like acco, on site transportation, meals, etc, etc... as much as i can get...

see yas!
M

It did go all quiet for a couple of days...
I haven't experienced so much anticipation since 1971.

Been away guys, sorry about that. Djalu's a bit ill so not sure at the moment, will wait and see...

Guan

Hi Guan,

Sorry to hear about Djalu's health. I hope he recovers soon!

When there is more news about this tour, let me know. I'll be happy to post it in the Netherlands. There will probably be a few people over here who want to meet Djalu (again). And if the dates allow me, I might schedule my holidays around his tour

Cheers!
Roland

Is there any further news with regards to a / the possible European tour?
Sincerely hope that Djalu's health is okay.

Peace,
Zed.

Finally some news

The Italy trip is going ahead, but there has been a change in date. Djalu will now be in Italy from the 4th-14th November 2009 though that can be extended. The other parts of the Europe have not been worked out yet but hopefully that will happen soon.

Sorry for the slowness in getting this news out, there's been lots happening and I needed to make sure Djalu is up for the long travel.

Guan