Music Northern Territory/Australia/South Korea
Australian Art Orchestra

HAND TO EARTH

More Info

Hand to Earth is a call to open your ears. Eluding genre, traversing continents and cultures and fusing the ancient with the contemporary, this largely improvised collaboration pushes the boundaries of musical forms.

At its heart are Yolŋu manikay (song cycles), a 40,000 plus year-old oral tradition from South East Arnhem Land. These songs exist to cross vast time and space, to continuously make the continuous – known as raki, the spirit that pulls all together, all performers, all listeners.

Hand to Earth developed during an Australia Art Orchestra (AAO) residency in the remote highlands of Tasmania. Yolŋu songman, Daniel Wilfred, and Korean vocalist, Sunny Kim, formed an effortless rapport; their combined vocal approaches expressing a deeply human commonality whilst also invoking raw elemental forces. Trumpeter and composer Peter Knight draws upon his minimalist influence to create a bed of electronic atmospheres that meld beautifully with these contrasting voices. The combination of Aviva Endean and David Wilfred’s evocative sounds will transport you to previously unimagined sonic plains. Hand to Earth is a stunning reminder that the world is a richer place when we sing together.

Download the house program to read on your device.

Reviews
  • A unique and beautifully poised collaboration… I have never quite heard anything like this. It is a diverse gathering which seems unprecedented within Australian music.

    Limelight Magazine
Credits
  • Created by Australian Art Orchestra with Daniel Wilfred, Sunny Kim & Peter Knight

  • Performed by
  • Daniel Wilfred – voice, bilma
  • Sunny Kim – voice, electronics
  • Peter Knight – trumpet, electronics
  • David Yipininy Wilfred – yidaki
  • Aviva Endean – clarinets
  • Photo Emma Luker

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