The Pigram Brothers are a seven-piece

Indigenous Australian Indigenous Australians or Australian First Nations are people with familial heritage from, and membership in, the ethnic groups that lived in Australia before British colonisation. They consist of two distinct groups: the Aboriginal peoples ...

band from the pearling town of Broome, Western Australia, formed in 1996. They were heavily involved in Broome's musical and theatrical exports – forming the original backing band for

Jimmy Chi James Ronald Chi (1948 – 26 June 2017) was an Australian composer, musician and playwright. His best known work is the 1990 musical ''Bran Nue Dae'' which was adapted for film in 2009. Early life Chi was born in Broome, Western Australia in ...

's 1990 musical ''

Bran Nue Dae __NOTOC__ ''Bran Nue Dae'' is a 1990 musical set in Broome, Western Australia, that tells stories and of issues relating to Indigenous Australians. It was written by Jimmy Chi and his band Kuckles and friends, and was the first Aboriginal Aust ...

'', which received international acclaim. The Pigram Brothers had a large music influence from an early age, and grew up in the rich musical culture of Broome. Alan, Steven and Phillip were members of

Scrap Metal Scrap consists of recyclable materials, usually metals, left over from product manufacturing and consumption, such as parts of vehicles, building supplies, and surplus materials. Unlike waste, scrap has monetary value, especially recovered me ...

from 1983 until its separation in 1995.Radio National – live on stage
The Pigram Brothers Friday 22 August 2003 In 2000 they were the subject of the one-hour documentary, ''Saltwater Country'', part of ABC Television's ''

Message Stick A message stick is a graphic communication device traditionally used by Aboriginal Australians. The objects were carried by messengers over long distances and were used for reinforcing a verbal message. Although styles vary, they are generally ...

''. In 2006 Steven and Alan were inducted into the Western Australian Music Hall of Fame. In 2011, Alan and Steven Pigram began touring with

Alex Lloyd Alex Lloyd (born 19 November 1974) is an Australian singer-songwriter. Four of his albums, ''Black the Sun'', '' Watching Angels Mend'', '' Distant Light'' and '' Alex Lloyd'', released between 1999 and 2005, made the top ten on the ARIA chart ...

as part of the Mad Bastards Trio, performing music from the 2011 film, ''

Mad Bastards ''Mad Bastards'' is a 2011 Australian drama film written and directed by Brendan Fletcher. Set in the Kimberley region of Western Australia, the film uses mainly local Aboriginal people in the cast, and draws on their stories for the plotlin ...

''. Their soundtrack was nominated for an

ARIA Award for Best Original Soundtrack, Cast or Show Album The ARIA Music Award for Best Original Soundtrack / Cast / Show Album is an award presented within the Fine Arts Awards at the annual ARIA Music Awards. The ARIA Awards recognise "the many achievements of Aussie artists across all music genres ...

at the 2011 ARIA Awards.

Members

* Alan Pigram – guitar, mandolin,

ukulele The ukulele ( ; from haw, ukulele , approximately ), also called Uke, is a member of the lute family of instruments of Portuguese origin and popularized in Hawaii. It generally employs four nylon strings. The tone and volume of the instrumen ...

tiple A tiple (, literally treble or soprano), is a plucked typically 12-string chordophone of the guitar family. A tiple player is called a ''tiplista''. The first mention of the tiple comes from musicologist Pablo Minguet e Irol in 1752. Although ma ...

* Stephen Pigram – vocals, acoustic guitar, harmonica,

requinto The term requinto is used in both Spanish and Portuguese to mean a smaller, higher-pitched version of another instrument. Thus, there are ''requinto'' guitars, drums, and several wind instruments. Wind instruments ''Requinto'' was 19th-century S ...

valiha The valiha is a tube zither from Madagascar made from a species of local bamboo; it is considered the " national instrument" of Madagascar. The term is also used to describe a number of related zithers of differing shapes and materials. T ...

dulcimer The word dulcimer refers to two families of musical string instruments. Hammered dulcimers The word ''dulcimer'' originally referred to a trapezoidal zither similar to a psaltery whose many strings are struck by handheld "hammers". Variants of ...

* David Pigram – vocals, acoustic guitar * Colin Pigram – vocals, acoustic guitar * Philip Pigram – vocals, drums * Peter Pigram – bass guitar * Gavin Pigram – percussion

Discography

Studio albums

Soundtrack albums

Live albums

Awards and nominations

ARIA Music Awards

The ARIA Music Awards is an annual awards ceremony that recognises excellence, innovation, and achievement across all genres of Australian music.The Pigram Brothers have received two nominations.Aria Awards
Pigram Brothers award history , - , 2005 , ''Under The Mango Tree'' ,

ARIA Award for Best World Music Album The ARIA Music Award for Best World Music Album, is an award presented within the Fine Arts Awards at the annual ARIA Music Awards. It was inaugurated in 1995 as Best Folk/World/Traditional Release. The ARIA Awards recognise "the many achieveme ...

, , - , 2011 , ''Mad Bastards - Music from the Motion Picture'' ,

, , -

Deadly Awards

The

Deadly Awards The Deadly Awards, commonly known simply as The Deadlys, was an annual celebration of Australian Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander achievement in music, sport, entertainment and community. The event was held from 1995 to 2013. Description T ...

were an annual celebration of Australian Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander achievement in music, sport, entertainment and community. They ran from 1995 to 2013. (wins only) , - , rowspan="2",

1998 1998 was designated as the ''International Year of the Ocean''. Events January * January 6 – The ''Lunar Prospector'' spacecraft is launched into orbit around the Moon, and later finds evidence for frozen water, in soil in permanently s ...

, ''Saltwater Country'' , Album Release of the Year , , - , ''Corrugation Road'' (with Jimmy Chi and Kuckles) , Excellence in Film or Theatrical Score , , - , rowspan="2", 2006 , ''Under the Mango Tree'' , Album Release of the Year , , -

West Australian Music Industry Awards

The

West Australian Music Industry Awards The Western Australian Music Industry Awards (commonly known as WAMis) are annual awards presented to the local contemporary music industry, put on by the Western Australian Music Industry Association Inc (WAM). The WAMi Awards are Western Aust ...

are annual awards celebrating achievements for Western Australian music. They commenced in 1985. (wins only) , - , 2005 , The Pigram Brothers , Best Indigenous Act , , - , 2006 , The Pigram Brothers , Hall of Fame , , - , 2007 , The Pigram Brothers , Best Indigenous Act , , - , 2008 , The Pigram Brothers , Best Indigenous Act , , -

References

External links

* (archived - url now usurped)
The Pigram Brothers
Australian Music Online, 2004

by Deborah Ruiz Wall at the Dreaming Festival, Woodford, Queensland Musical groups established in 1996 Indigenous Australian musical groups Western Australian musical groups Indigenous Australians from Western Australia People from Broome, Western Australia {{Australia-band-stub