The Didgeridoo Page Do you have a nice didj.gif, public domain or for which you own the copyright? Would you be willing to share it here with fellow didj afficionados? Please mail to nhunter@well.com _________________________________________________________________ Artists * Alan Dargin + Reconciliation + Other Recordings * David Hudson * Stephen Kent + Beasts of Paradise + Lights In A Fat City + Trance Mission + Other Recordings * Charles MacMahon (Gondwanaland) * Adam Plack ('Nomad') * Graham Wiggins (Outback, Dr. Didj) * Yothu Yindi Record Companies * Australian Music International (Nomad) * City of Tribes Communications (Stephen Kent, Trance Mission, Lights In A Fat City) * EXTREME records (Lights In A Fat City) * Rykodisc (Outback, Dr. Didj) * Small World Music (Alan Dargin, Reconciliation) Music-Related News Groups * exotic music * world music Other Resources * The Big World Music Show Home Page * CERN/ANU Aboriginal Studies WWW VL * Tandanya - National Aboriginal Cultural Institute * Dreamtime - The Didjeridu Web Server * Rhythm Music Magazine * The Internet Music Monolith Links to Music Related Web Sites with an emphasis on Australian Sites _________________________________________________________________ Alan Dargin Biography Alan Dargin was born and raised in an Aboriginal tribe in Australia's northeast Arnham land. He began studying the didgeridoo at age five. Dargin's grandfather taught him how to play, passing on secret techniques which have been passed down for generations over the instrument's 40,000 year history. Dargin's primary didgeridoo is over 100 years old and was given to him by his grandfather. It is made from the branch of a eucalyptus tree which is naturally hollowed out by ants that hatch under the bark and burrow into the wood. The didgeridoo is decorated with Aboriginal tribal markings and was originally used in tribal ceremonies to induce Dreamtime. Dargin still plays ceremonial music, but never for the public. It is forbidden by custom. Dargin has toured extensively in Australia and the US and has performed with the London Symphony Orchestra at the Royal Albert Hall. Most recently, he toured Korea on behalf of the Australian Foreign Affairs Department. He has appeared in a number of Australian films and has also found the time to earn a science degree from the University of Toronto. Discography Artist: Alan Dargin with Michael Atherton Title: Bloodwood Label: Natural Symphonies Catalog No: NS331 Released: 1993 _________________________________________________________________ Alan Dargin with Reconciliation The members of Reconciliation are Irish musicians Simon O'Dwyer and Maria Cullen on Bronze Age Irish Horn and percussion respectively and Australians Alan Dargin and Phillip Conyngham on didgeridoo. Artist: Reconciliation Title: Two Stories In One Label: Natural Symphonies Catalog No: NS1131 Released: 1993 _________________________________________________________________ Other Recordings featuring Alan Dargin Artist: Michael Atherton Title: Windshift Label: Natural Symphonies Catalog No: NS831 Released: 1993 Alan Dargin appears on one track of Michael Atherton's Windshift CD. Artist: Bu-Baca Diop Title: Stand Label: Stern's Africa Catalog No: STCD1059 Released: 1995 Bu-Baca Diop was born in Senegal and is currently resident in Sydney, Australia. Alan Dargin appears on two tracks of Bu-Baca Diop's Stand CD. _________________________________________________________________ David Hudson David Hudson is an Australian Aboriginal. His two CDs on the Celestial Harmonies label are a delight to the didj-fancier's ears. The first, Woolunda, consists of ten solo pieces for the didgeridoo; the second, rainbow serpent adds percussion. Discography Artist: David Hudson Title: Woolunda: Ten solos for Didgeridoo Label: Celestial Harmonies Catalog No: I3071-2 Released: 1993 Artist: David Hudson Title: rainbow serpent: music for didgeridoo & percussion Label: Celestial Harmonies Catalog No: I3096-2 Released: 1994 _________________________________________________________________ Stephen Kent Born in Devon, England, raised in Uganda, a former musical director of Circus Oz, founder member of seminal acapella world/punk combo Furious Pig, Didjeridu master Stephen Kent is currently resident in San Francisco, CA. Discography Artist: Stephen Kent Title: Landing Label: City of Tribes Communications Catalog No: CTOCD-003 Released: 1994 _________________________________________________________________ Stephen Kent with Beasts Of Paradise Beasts of Paradise is: Geoffrey Gordon: Dumbek, Zambian drums, tablas, snare drum, percussion, Innuit throat singing Barbar Imhoff: Harp, fuzz harp Nancy Kaspar: Double Bass Stephen Kent: Didgeridoo, shakers Eda Maxym: Vocals Kenneth Newby: Innuit throat singing Jai Uttal: Dotar Kalonica McQuestern: Organ, toy piano, vocals Peter Whitehead: Home made one string rehab, frame drum Lyne Miller: Bagpipe Artist: Beasts of Paradise Title: Nobody Knew The Time Label: City of Tribes Communications Catalog No: CTOCD-006 Released: 1994 _________________________________________________________________ Stephen Kent with Lights In A Fat City Stephen Kent began jamming wih Eddy Sayer, a percussionist he met at a London rehearsal studio, and began playing with him in the Camden Lock Market and other outdoor venues. They made a tape of four-track recordings and some things recorded live in the street and called it Lights In A Fat City after a phrase in Hunter S. Thompson's Great Shark Hunt. When they were billed as LIAFC for their first WOMAD gig, the name stuck. -- RMM(2) Lights In A Fat City is: Stephen Kent: Didgeridoo & percussion Eddy Sayer: Drums & percussion Simon Tassano: Treatments, atmospheres, & FX Discography Artist: Lights In A Fat City Title: Somewhere Label: City of Tribes Communications Catalog No: CTOCD-001 Released: 1988 Artist: Lights In A Fat City Title: Sound Column Label: EXTREME records Catalog No: XCD 023 Released: _________________________________________________________________ Stephen Kent with Trance Mission Trance Mission plays original music that alternatively rages, bristles, and glides through a new world of aboriginal drones, ployrhythmic percussion, chanting vocals, processed sample textures, and the looping acrobatics of clarinets, animal horns, and Balinese flutes. Trance Mission is: Beth Custer: Clarinets/Vocals/Toys Stephen Kent: Didgeridoos/Animal Horns/Sticks/Vocals John Loose: Tablas/DumbekKit/Samples Kenneth Newby: Khaen/Suling/Ghatam/Samples/Vocals Discography Artist: Trance Mission Title: Trance Mission Label: City of Tribes Communications Catalog No: CTOCD-002 Released: 1993 Artist: Trance Mission Title: Meanwhile Label: City of Tribes Communications Catalog No: CTOCD-005 Released: 1995 _________________________________________________________________ Other Recordings featuring Stephen Kent Artist: Various Artists Title: The Event Horizon Label: City of Tribes Communications Catalog No: CTOCD-004 Released: 1995 The Event Horizon is an excellent introduction to the innovative City of Tribes label. Stephen Kent appears on five of the eight tracks, including Rocking Horse People's remarkable rendition of the Beatle's Tomorrow Never Knows. _________________________________________________________________ Charles MacMahon Biography Charles MacMahon is the didjeridoo player for Gondwanaland, an Australian band that combines didj, drums and synth. Besides being very talented, he is best known for almost being Australia's first terrorist. He grew up on a station in the Outback, and being very angry at the way the aboriginals were treated, put together a large pipe bomb to detonate at some government office. The bomb detonated as he was building it, costing him his arm. He plays with a harness to hold his didj. He makes didjs out of PVC pipe (he may have originated this practice) with sliding parts. These are light enough for him to manage with his prosthetic arm, which he uses to slide the pieces. In addition to Gondwanaland (who have three or four CDs out, perhaps more by now), Charles recorded with various San Francisco bands, including the Residents, Snakefinger, Esmerelda, and Rhythm & Noise (back when Diamanda Galas performed with them). Gondwanaland Gondwanaland is Charles McMahon: Didgeridu & Vocals Peter Carolan: Keyboard & Synth Eddy Duquemin: Drums & other percussion Discography Artist: Gondwanaland Title: Terra Incognita Label: WEA Catalog No: ? Released: ? Artist: Gondwanaland Title: Let the Dog Out Label: WEA Catalog No: 255412-2 Released: 1985 Artist: Gondwanaland Title: Gondwanaland Label: WEA Catalog No: 255135-2 Released: 1987 Thanks to Jerod Pore for Charles MacMahon info. _________________________________________________________________ Adam Plack ('Nomad') Discography Artist: Nomad Title: Dawn Until Dusk Label: Australian Music International Catalog No: Released: _________________________________________________________________ Graham Wiggins Biography American-born Graham Wiggins began teaching himself the didgeridoo while a physics student in Boston thirteen years ago. After years of practice and study, he earned his doctorate in physics at Oxford University. Wiggins' post-doctoral education came directly from the streets of London, where he and a variety of musical partners honed their craft as performers and street musicians. In the process, Wiggins' didgeridoo playing became a favorite on the festival circuit and in the UK club scene. It was in his role as founding member of Outback that Wiggins first gained the attention of American ears. Critically acclaimed for its engaging and accessible fusion of musical styles, the band topped Billboard's World Music chart with the Hannibal albums BAKA and DANCE THE DEVIL AWAY. After Outback's break-up, Wiggins journeyed to Australia's Elcho Island where he perfected his advanced didgeridoo performance techniques by living and studying with Aboriginal masters. Upon his return to the UK, he joined former Outback percussionist Ian Campbell and fellow Oxford graduate, guitarist Mark Revell, to form the group that would bear his nickname [Dr. Didj]. After roadtesting their material on the European featival circuit and in England's renowned rave scene, they recorded OUT OF THE WOODS in 1994. Discography Artist: Outback Title: Baka Label: Hannibal Catalog No: HNCD 1357 Released: 1991 Artist: Outback Title: Dance The Devil Away Label: Hannibal Catalog No: HNCD 1369 Released: 1992 Artist: Dr. Didj Title: Out of the woods Label: Hannibal Catalog No: HNCD 1384 Released: 1995 _________________________________________________________________ Yothu Yindi Mandawuy Yunupingu, an aborigine, was pronounced Australian of the Year for 1992 by the Australian government, in recognition of his accomplishments in the national and international arenas. Mandawuy is the leader of the group Yothu Yindi, hailed by Billboard magazine as "the flagship of Australian music". He is one of his country's foremost cultural ambassadors. His band swept the awards of the Australian music industry and played at the United Nations to inaugurate the Year of Indigenous Peoples in 1993. -- RMM(1) _________________________________________________________________ Australian Music International An indie label dedicated to the task of making Australian pop and traditional music a viable force in the world beat marketplace. AMI 253 W. 18th St. New York, NY 10011 U. S. A. _________________________________________________________________ Small World Music Record label in their own right & distributors in the US for the Australian label Natural Symphonies. Small World Music, Inc. 117 30th Avenue South Nashville, TN 37212 U. S. A. Tel: (615) 320 7672 E-mail: smlwrld@aol.com _________________________________________________________________ Rhythm Music Magazine Global Sounds & Ideas. 872 Mass Ave, 2-2 P.O. Box 391894 Cambridge, MA 02139 U. S. A. E-mail: rhythm@id.wing.net (1) April/May, 1994 - Yothu Yindi feature interview, Stephen Kent & Alan Dargin sidebar. (2) Vol. IV, No. 3, 1995 - Stephen Kent & Adam Plack feature interview. _________________________________________________________________ Webcounter says you are visitor [INLINE] to this page. _________________________________________________________________ Questions, comments, and suggestions to nhunter@well.com Last updated 9/14/95 This page maintained by nhunter@well.com =END=