Blekbala Mujik (Black People's Music) are an Australian

rock Rock most often refers to: * Rock (geology), a naturally occurring solid aggregate of minerals or mineraloids * Rock music, a genre of popular music Rock or Rocks may also refer to: Places United Kingdom * Rock, Caerphilly, a location in Wales ...

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 ...

group formed in

Barunga, Northern Territory Barunga, formerly known as Beswick Creek and then Bamyili, is a small Aboriginal community located approximately southeast of Katherine, in the Northern Territory of Australia. It is part of the Roper Gulf Region local government area. At the ...

in 1986. They fused rock and reggae with a pop, dance sound and have support base for their live shows and recordings. They are cited in the ''World Music: The

Rough Guide Rough Guides Ltd is a British travel guide book and reference publisher, which has been owned by APA Publications since November 2017. In addition to publishing guidebooks, the company also provides a tailor-made trips service based on customer ...

'' as next best known to

Yothu Yindi Yothu Yindi ( Yolngu for "child and mother", pronounced ) are an Australian musical group with Aboriginal and '' balanda'' (non-Aboriginal) members, formed in 1986 as a merger of two bands formed in 1985 – a white rock group called the Swam ...

. The band sings in

English English usually refers to: * English language * English people English may also refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England ** English national ide ...

and in Kriol (a

creole language A creole language, or simply creole, is a stable natural language that develops from the simplifying and mixing of different languages into a new one within a fairly brief period of time: often, a pidgin evolved into a full-fledged language. ...

based on

and

Australian Aboriginal 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 I ...

languages). At the

ARIA Music Awards of 1996 The 10th Australian Recording Industry Association Music Awards (generally known as the ARIA Music Awards or simply The ARIAS) was held on 30 September 1996 at the Sydney Convention and Exhibition Centre. Presenters distributed 28 award ...

their album, ''Blekbala Mujik'' (May 1996), was nominated for Best Indigenous Release.

History

Blekbala Mujik were formed in 1986 in the rural community of Barunga (Gulin-Gulin) in central Arnhem Land. The founding member, Peter Miller on vocals and guitar, lives in Alice Springs, and was a member of the

Northern Land Council The Northern Land Council (NLC) is a land council representing the Aboriginal peoples of the Top End of the Northern Territory of Australia, with its head office in Darwin. While the NLC was established in 1974, its origins began in the strugg ...

. The band sings partly in

and partly in Kriol, which is a

based on

and

languages. ''Blekbala mujik'' means "blackfella music" in Kriol. The group signed with

Central Australian Aboriginal Media Association The Central Australian Aboriginal Media Association (CAAMA) is an organisation founded in 1980 to expose Aboriginal music and culture to the rest of Australia. It started with 8KIN-FM, the first Aboriginal radio station in the country. Based in A ...

(CAAMA) and, in 1990, they issued two albums, ''Nitmiluk'' and ''Midnait Mujik''. In 1993 they issued a seven-track

cassette Cassette may refer to: Technology * Cassette tape (or ''musicassette'', ''audio cassette'', ''cassette tape'', or ''tape''), a worldwide standard for analog audio recording and playback ** Cassette single (or "Cassingle"), a music single in th ...

, ''Come-N-Dance''. In May 1996 they followed with their eponymous full length album, ''Blekbala Mujik'', via CAAMA and distributed by Shock Records, which Australian musicologist, Ian McFarlane, described as "a mix of catchy Aboriginal pop, reggae, techno-tribal dance material and bright funky rock." At the

in September, ''Blekbala Mujik'' was nominated for Best Indigenous Release. Alongside Miller other members have included Dwayne Billy on percussion (

clapstick 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 ...

s), Johnny Blanasi on lead guitar, Jason Fuller on percussion (clapsticks), Lachlan Gela Lawrence on bass guitar and vocals, Wayne Kala Kala on drums, Allen Murphy on drums (ex-

Warumpi Band Warumpi Band () were an Australian country and Aboriginal rock group which formed in the outback settlement of Papunya, Northern Territory, in 1980. The original line-up was George Burarrwanga on vocals and didgeridoo, Gordon Butcher Tjapanang ...

, Village People,

), Lazarus Murray on yidaki (see

didjeridoo 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 Thomas Valandhu on drums. In June 1997 they issued "Walking Together" as a CD single. In February 2013 they issued a new album, ''We Are One'', and followed with a compilation, live album, ''Greatest Hits Live'', in September 2014.

Band members

* Peter Miller –

guitar The guitar is a fretted musical instrument that typically has six strings. It is usually held flat against the player's body and played by strumming or plucking the strings with the dominant hand, while simultaneously pressing selected strin ...

vocals Singing is the act of creating musical sounds with the voice. A person who sings is called a singer, artist or vocalist (in jazz and/or popular music). Singers perform music (arias, recitatives, songs, etc.) that can be sung with or withou ...

* Lazarus Murray (a.k.a. Gulindirriy) – didgeridoo, vocals * Lachlan Lawrence –

bass guitar The bass guitar, electric bass or simply bass (), is the lowest-pitched member of the string family. It is a plucked string instrument similar in appearance and construction to an electric or an acoustic guitar, but with a longer neck and ...

, vocals * Johnny Blanasi –

lead guitar Lead guitar (also known as solo guitar) is a musical part for a guitar in which the guitarist plays melody lines, instrumental fill passages, guitar solos, and occasionally, some riffs and chords within a song structure. The lead is the featu ...

* Michael Havir –

keyboards Keyboard may refer to: Text input * Keyboard, part of a typewriter * Computer keyboard ** Keyboard layout, the software control of computer keyboards and their mapping ** Keyboard technology, computer keyboard hardware and firmware Music * Musi ...

, accordion * Dwayne Billy –

s * Jason Fuller – clapsticks, vocals,

dancing Dance is a performing art form consisting of sequences of movement, either improvised or purposefully selected. This movement has aesthetic and often symbolic value. Dance can be categorized and described by its choreography, by its reperto ...

* Allen Murphy – drums, vocals * Sammy Bush – lead vocals * Ngarritj Ducky – clapsticks

Discography

Albums

Awards

ARIA Music Awards

The ARIA Music Awards is an annual awards ceremony that recognises excellence, innovation, and achievement across all genres of Australian music. They commenced in 1987.Aria Awards
, Blek Bala Mujiks award history , - , 1996 , ''Blekbala Mujik'' ,

ARIA Award for Best Indigenous Release The ARIA Music Award for Best Indigenous Release was an award presented at the annual ARIA Music Awards. It was presented from 1987 through to 1998. Originally titled Best Indigenous Record in 1987. It was renamed Best Aboriginal/Islander Release in ...

, , -

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 ...

, (commonly known simply as The Deadlys), was an annual celebration of Australian Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander achievement in music, sport, entertainment and community. They ran from 1996 to 2013. , - , Deadly Awards 1996 , ''Blekbala Mujik'' , Album of the Year , , -

Bibliography

Blekbala Mujik have been cited in numerous articles on

Indigenous Australian music 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 ...

References

External links

Promotion of Arnhem Land Music
{{Authority control Northern Territory musical groups Indigenous Australian musical groups