Australian Didjeridu Master Ganga Giri Makes Tribal Music for the Modern Tribe
…with a little help from Vancouver Island’s Sean Sirbassa Hill
Ganga Giri in concert:
September 30th – Spirit Bar Nelson
October 2nd – The Waverly Hotel, Cumberland
October 3rd – Tofino Legion, Tofino
October 4th – Beaver Point Hall, Saltspring Island
October 6th – The Venue, Vancouver
October 7th – Sugar Nightclub, Victoria
Australian didjeridu innovator Ganga Giri (pr. GUNG-ga GEE-ree) mixes red natural elements with fat tribal beats and dirty funky bass lines to create a unique deep earth dance experience. Explosive and pulsating, at times ambient and flowing, the music is a pumping percussive multi-layered experience of complex grooves and raw, deep natural sound.
Ganga has recorded with Peter Gabriel, played prestigious festivals like WOMAD and Glastonbury, performed at the 2000 Olympics, and built a following here in B.C., where he has twice played the main stage at the Vancouver Folk Music Festival.
Next month, he returns to Vancouver to perform music from his brand new album, Good Voodoo.
Good Voodoo, which features bass and keyboard contributions from Saltspring Island’s Sean Sirbassa Hill (of Interchill Records), sees Ganga abandoning DJ accompaniment in favour of live instruments and diversifying the styles of dance music he incorporates into his mix – with reggae, dub and dancehall being prominent. The album also features a lot more vocals than previous records, with vocal duties split between Ganga, French Guyanan singer Jornick, and Australian Aboriginal singer and dancer Gumaroy.
Both vocalists will appear with Ganga on the B.C. tour, and they in turn will be accompanied by Yeshe (Pr. Yeh-shay) on melodic world instruments, Dan on drums and samples and Mike Wolfchuck on percussion. The tour marks the first time Ganga will play non-festival dates in B.C. with his full ensemble.
The Ganga Giri story began one night around twenty years ago when the then drummer and percussionist had a powerful dream about playing didj. Though Ganga’s father is of Aboriginal heritage, his family hails from the Australian South, a long way from the relatively small northern region where the didj originates. At the time Ganga picked it up, the instrument was even more obscure than it is now, meaning finding a teacher wasn’t easy. Nonetheless, Ganga persevered, mastering circular breathing and gradually learning to adapt drum and percussion rhythms for his new instrument. He also began to view contemporary dance music as a modern day form of tribal expression and set out to merge the tribal rhythms of the ancient world with those of the modern one.
Ganga’s ensemble has released eight albums and established a touring presence through Europe, Australia and New Zealand. They’ve also appeared at Burning Man and performed for the Sultan of Brunei.
Ironically, their first visit to Canada, five years ago, was not to perform but to visit Harry Manx, an old friend of one of the band-members. Once settled in at Harry’s Saltspring Island home, however, they decided to put on a spontaneous concert at the local theatre and play the afternoon market to promote it. When they sold out of their last box of CDs before they were even done at the market, they decided it was time to further explore their connection with West Coast audiences. They have returned to B.C. every year since, playing not just the Folk Fest and regional music venues, but also more novel events like the Shambhala Festival.
Returning once again to release Good Voodoo, Ganga Giri and crew are now hoping to bring their profile with the larger public into line with the sizeable grassroots following they’ve established on previous trips. Their infectious global dance music has proven time and time again to be a perfect match for the globally conscious, folk-fest-going West Coast set.