Central Australian music to be showcased to the world

Aboriginal music from Central Australia will be showcased to an international audience next month during the Australasian World Music Expo in Melbourne from November 13 to 16.
 
Sponsored by the Northern Territory Government’s Arts Grant Program, the CAAMA Music Showcase will feature Jacinta Price, Stewart Gaykamangu and Tjintu Desert Band and will be a free event held at the Shebeen in Melbourne from 12 to 2pm on Friday, November 14.
 
AWME attracts over 500 national and international music industry delegates and creates opportunities for Australian artists to present their music to both local and international buyers and festival promoters.
 
“We want to bring the Aboriginal music of Central Australia into the national and international spotlight. The diverse talents of the three acts we’ve chosen will showcase what this region has to offer. All the emerging artists we’re currently recording are going to benefit from this exposure,” says Micheal Smith, manager of CAAMA Music.
 
This year Jacinta Price toured Western Australia and has performed at the National Indigenous Music Awards (NIMAs), the Darwin Festival, Alice Desert Festival and at the BIG SOUND music industry conference held in Brisbane. As well as her upcoming performance at AWME she’ll be featuring at the Nannup Folk Festival in Western Australia from February 27 to March 2.
 
Stewart Gaykamangu, previously of Iwantja Band, has been working on his debut album, due for release early 2015 and his song-writing skills have been in demand, fulfilling commissions to write the Quitline’s anti-smoking song ‘Break Free’ and the anniversary song for Ayers Rock Resort ‘Tjukurpa Ninti”.
 
2014 has been Tjintu Desert Band’s break-out year, with national review coverage for their debut album Tjamuku Ngurra, a nomination for Best New Talent at the NIMAs, four songs listed as finalists for NT Song of the Year, and performances at Barunga Festival, the NIMAs in Darwin, Alice Desert Festival and Around the Campfire.
 
Demand continues to grow for Tjintu Desert Band, who have just been included in the latest line-up announcements for Nannup Folk Festival in WA and two of the most high-profile festivals in Australia – Woodford Folk Festival and WOMADelaide in March 2015.
 
(Contributed)