The Garrangali Band, also known as Garrangali, is an

Aboriginal Australian Aboriginal Australians are the various Indigenous peoples of the Australian mainland and many of its islands, such as Tasmania, Fraser Island, Hinchinbrook Island, the Tiwi Islands, and Groote Eylandt, but excluding the Torres Strait Islands ...

musical group from the tiny homeland community, or outstation, of

Baniyala Bäniyala is a tiny community of Aboriginal Australian people, known as a homeland, situated on Blue Mud Bay in the Gulf of Carpentaria in East Arnhem Land in the Northern Territory of Australia, located from Nhulunbuy. It is home to about 150 Y ...

in East

Arnhem Land Arnhem Land is a historical region of the Northern Territory of Australia, with the term still in use. It is located in the north-eastern corner of the territory and is around from the territory capital, Darwin. In 1623, Dutch East India Compan ...

in the

Northern Territory The Northern Territory (commonly abbreviated as NT; formally the Northern Territory of Australia) is an states and territories of Australia, Australian territory in the central and central northern regions of Australia. The Northern Territory ...

of Australia. Garrangali means "home of the

crocodile Crocodiles (family (biology), family Crocodylidae) or true crocodiles are large semiaquatic reptiles that live throughout the tropics in Africa, Asia, the Americas and Australia. The term crocodile is sometimes used even more loosely to inclu ...

" in the Yolngu language, in which they sing some lyrics. Their musical style has been variously described as

reggae Reggae () is a music genre that originated in Jamaica in the late 1960s. The term also denotes the modern popular music of Jamaica and its diaspora. A 1968 single by Toots and the Maytals, " Do the Reggay" was the first popular song to use ...

saltwater Saline water (more commonly known as salt water) is water that contains a high concentration of dissolved salts (mainly sodium chloride). On the United States Geological Survey (USGS) salinity scale, saline water is saltier than brackish water, ...

reggae and saltwater

ska Ska (; ) is a music genre that originated in Jamaica in the late 1950s and was the precursor to rocksteady and reggae. It combined elements of Caribbean mento and calypso with American jazz and rhythm and blues. Ska is characterized by a walki ...

. The band came on to the scene in 2009, when they were nominated for the Emerging Artist award at the National Indigenous Music Awards 2009. At the ceremony in

2010 File:2010 Events Collage New.png, From top left, clockwise: The 2010 Chile earthquake was one of the strongest recorded in history; The Eruption of Eyjafjallajökull in Iceland disrupts air travel in Europe; A scene from the opening ceremony of ...

they won two categories: album of the year with their debut, ''Crocodile Nest'', and song of the year for "Sea Rights". Their lyrics focus on their land,

Aboriginal culture Australian Aboriginal culture includes a number of practices and ceremonies centered on a belief in the Dreamtime and other Australian Aboriginal religion and mythology, mythology. Reverence and respect for the land and oral traditions are empha ...

and

Indigenous rights Indigenous rights are those rights that exist in recognition of the specific condition of the Indigenous peoples. This includes not only the most basic human rights of physical survival and integrity, but also the rights over their land (includ ...

. The group first performed in Sydney in mid-2010 at the Old Manly Boatshed, Manly. The line-up included

Community Development Employment Projects The Community Development Employment Projects (CDEP) was an initiative by the Australian Government for the employment of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people It provided a flexible basic income support. One way in which the CDEP funds, a ...

(CDEP) participants and/or Yirralka Rangers. In 2018 they performed at the 20th anniversary of the

Garma Festival of Traditional Cultures The Garma Festival of Traditional Cultures (Garma) is Australia's largest Indigenous cultural gathering, taking place over four days each August in northeast Arnhem Land, in the Northern Territory, Australia. Hosted by the Yothu Yindi Foundation, ...

.. Retrieved 4 November 2020. On 26 January 2020 (

Australia Day Australia Day is the official national day of Australia. Observed annually on 26 January, it marks the 1788 landing of the First Fleet at Sydney Cove and raising of the Union Flag by Arthur Phillip following days of exploration of Port Ja ...

) the band performed at the

Art Gallery of South Australia The Art Gallery of South Australia (AGSA), established as the National Gallery of South Australia in 1881, is located in Adelaide. It is the most significant visual arts museum in the Australian state of South Australia. It has a collection of ...

as part of one of the

Tarnanthi Tarnanthi (pronounced tar-nan-dee) is a Festival of Contemporary Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Art held in Adelaide, South Australia, annually. Presented by the Art Gallery of South Australia (AGSA) in association with the South Austral ...

exhibition's Sunday Sessions, along with

Electric Fields Electric Fields are an Aboriginal Australian electronic music duo made up of vocalist Zaachariaha Fielding and keyboard player and producer Michael Ross. Electric Fields combine modern electric-soul music with Aboriginal culture and sing in Pi ...

. In August of that year they released a new song, "One Voice", and prepared for their second album, of the same name. The new tracks display the

yidaki The didgeridoo (; also spelt didjeridu, among other variants) is a wind instrument, played with vibrating lips to produce a continuous drone while using a special breathing technique called circular breathing. The didgeridoo was developed by ...

and

clapsticks Clapsticks, also spelt clap sticks and also known as bilma, bimli, clappers, musicstick or just stick, are a traditional Australian Aboriginal instrument. They serve to maintain rhythm in voice chants, often as part of an Aboriginal ceremony ...

(both traditional Aboriginal instruments), and their

manikay Indigenous music of Australia comprises the music of the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples of Australia, intersecting with their cultural and ceremonial observances, through the millennia of their individual and collective historie ...

, which are their clan

songline A songline, also called dreaming track, is one of the paths across the land (or sometimes the sky) within the animist belief systems of the Aboriginal cultures of Australia which mark the route followed by localised "creator-beings" in the Dre ...

s. "One Voice" is a celebration of the Yolngu people's lifestyle in the

Blue Mud Bay Blue Mud Bay is a large, shallow, partly enclosed bay on the eastern coast of Arnhem Land, in the Northern Territory of Australia, facing Groote Eylandt on the western side of the Gulf of Carpentaria. It lies east-south-east of Darwin in the ...

area. In October 2020 Garrangali Band toured Arnhem Land, performing at outstations and larger communities of

Maningrida Maningrida, also known as Manayingkarírra and Manawukan, is an Aboriginal community in the heart of the Arnhem Land region of Australia's Northern Territory. Maningrida is east of Darwin, and north east of Jabiru. It is on the North Central ...

and

Ramingining Ramingining is an Aboriginal Australian community of mainly Yolngu people in the Northern Territory, Australia, east of Darwin. It is on the edge of the Arafura Swamp in Arnhem Land. Wulkabimirri is a tiny outstation (homeland) nearby, and Mu ...

, with their final performance of the tour at

Yirrkala Yirrkala is a small community in East Arnhem Region, Northern Territory, Australia, southeast of the large mining town of Nhulunbuy, Northern Territory, Nhulunbuy, on the Gove Peninsula in Arnhem Land. Its population comprises predominantly ...

. They reached West Arnhem Land and travelled on the outward leg of the tour. there are 12 members in the band, including keyboards player Makungun Brendan Marika, from Yirrikala, his son Sean Marika on drums, and

lead singer The lead vocalist in popular music is typically the member of a group or band whose voice is the most prominent melody in a performance where multiple voices may be heard. The lead singer sets their voice against the accompaniment parts of the ...

Mudiny Nicholas Guyula. The band is managed by Ahva Paul Hayes but operates independently, not being tied to a company.

Members

As of June 2010: * Mundymudiny Dhamarrandji: – vocals * Yiniwuy Marawili: – traditional vocals * Wulkuwulku Marawili: – backing vocals * Malngay Yunupingu: –

yiḏaki The didgeridoo (; also spelt didjeridu, among other variants) is a wind instrument, played with vibrating lips to produce a continuous drone while using a special breathing technique called circular breathing. The didgeridoo was developed by ...

, backing vocals * Wurrandon Marawili: – vocals * Nambulili Marawili: – backing vocals * Rakuwarr Wanambi: – drums * Wurrku Wanambi: – bass guitar * Watjarrngambi Marawili: – rhythm guitar * Makungun Marika: – keyboards * Djulumarr Gurruwiwi: – rhythm guitar

References

External links

* {{authority control Musical groups established in 2009 Indigenous Australian musical groups Northern Territory musical groups