News: Gurrumul Posthumous Album Titled ‘Banbirrngu – The Orchestral Sessions’ Announced for November

These new orchestral recordings revisit some of Gurrumul’s most well-known and beloved songs. The album explores a range of instrumentation from sparse to full orchestral expressions. Each piece exhibits variation, reservation, and strength of purpose. The orchestra brings a unique sentiment to the performances, providing depth, breadth, and a dynamic range that cannot be achieved with an acoustic trio; from subtlety through to grandeur.

Gurrumul’s experience with orchestras spanned over ten years, from an early performance at Carnegie Hall in New York to collaborations with most of the symphony orchestras in Australia. He cherished the rich and complex support an orchestra provided, offering a platform for his distinctive voice, nostalgic and captivating style.

On this album, minimalism serves as a contrast to the full and swirling classical orchestration. It invites the listener into a meditative state, focusing not on the changes but on the absence of “action”. This approach is exemplified in the treatment of “Amazing Grace”, which is delivered with poise and complete reservation.

As a distinctive feature, this album is also mixed in Spatial Audio, the first time for any of Gurrumul’s catalogue. Spatial Audio adds a new dimension to the recordings, offering a unique listening experience.

The first single, “Banbirrngu,” is deeply rooted in ancestral references, encapsulating themes of birth, life, and the cyclical return to the earth. As a whole, the record has unique boasting rights of containing some of the most ancient songlines and references amongst earth’s living cultures.