Sign up to The Irish Times Archive (1859 - 2008)My Account »
Sat 08 Aug 2009Aboriginal islander puts the otherworld to world music
Being blind and not having a left-handed guitar did not prevent Geoffrey Gurrumul Yunupingu getting his music to influential ears, making him a new star of world music
QUEEN ELIZABETH, the Pope, Elton John, Sting, Bjork, Jools Holland and Terry Wogan may not have that much in common but the one thing they share is an appreciation of an Australian Aboriginal musician called Geoffrey Gurrumul Yunupingu. The 39-year-old, who has been blind since birth, is a “sleeper” in the music industry. There was no great fuss surrounding the release of his debut album Gurrumul, but very slowly word-of-mouth has spread about the rare beauty of this music – to the extent that Yunupingu is now cautiously being touted as the next big world music star.
Choose a Subscription type - required
