Brisbane-based International Didjeridu performer Tjupurru is a proud descen… Read Full Bio ↴Brisbane-based International Didjeridu performer Tjupurru is a proud descendant of the Djabera Djabera tribe of the West Australian Kimberleys. Born in Port Moresby P.N.G., he moved to Cairns (North Queensland) where he first heard the didj music of Gondwanaland. Employment took him to Sydney in the late 80s, where he learnt his trade as a sound engineer.

Tjupurru and Charlie McMahon (Gondwanaland) came together for all night outdoor corroboree jam sessions on the beach, as an alternative to pub & club venues. The atmosphere of playing music & dancing around a campfire encouraged improvisation and trance like endurance playing.

Now, playing the Didjeribone and the Face Bass, both Charlie McMahon inventions, Tjupurru's life has come full circle.

"Charlie called it a Didjeribone because it can slide through different notes and tones - a cross between a didj and a trombone. The way it expands on what you can do with a traditional didj is just phenomenal. Essentially it makes just one instrument a didj orchestra...The Face Bass... now that's a whole other story. Charlie threw it at me a while ago. He said to me "here try this. It's the only other one I've made that won't kill ya!??!". The technology enables the slightest whisper and tremble in your mouth or body to be picked up. Its tiny, mouth-based controls are at the cutting edge of what the big guys are predicting for phones and computers in the future.

"You know the Listerine ad where the guy chugs back the mouthwash, swishes it around and his cheeks blow out? It's like that. Any noise you can make in or around your mouth and neck - vocally, sub-vocally, with your tongue, your teeth, your fingers, swallowing, humming or just breathing - you can amplify it and record it and make it into a sample. No one needs to see you move a muscle and yet you can create all this stuff KAH BOOM! Right in your mouth."

Both instruments being so new, Tjupurru reckons he hasn't even begun to tap their potential yet. With the addition of electronic effects, Tjupurru has enabled himself to perform as a one man band, creating live samples and looping them to create songs and soundscapes that criss-cross most musical genres.

Since being uncovered at last years Big Sound Festival in Brisbane, Tjupurru has:

* Recorded his debut EP (called Stompin' Ground, complete with bonus mini documentary EPK) with legendary producer, Buchman (Blue King Brown, The Whitlams, Macromantics). Tjupurru's EP is set to prove that new levels of ingenuity and innovation are set from the creative Indigenous element of Australia.
* Toured with That One Guy (USA), and supported Kaki King (USA), Leo (France), Bela Flek and the Flektones (USA) and Marissa Monte (Brazil) over 2 nights in the concert hall at the Sydney Opera House.
* Performed at the Jazz in the Domain in front of 120,000 people from the personal invitation to collaborate with the legendary percussionist Airto Moreira (Miles Davis, John Coltrane, Quincy Jones etc..).
* Been invited to perform at festivals across the country such as The Dreaming, Bellingen Global Carnival, Wollumbin, AIMM in QLD, Earthdance, Femmes Funk 2007 - Centre Culturel TJIBAOU in Noumea, Woodford Folk Festival and more.
* Confirmed 3 Terms of workshops & gigs (approx 45 shows) in regional Queensland teaching Aboriginal music and culture in remote areas.

The response of kids to the Didjeribone inspires Tjupurru to continue his quest to have the unique sound of the Didjeridu made known and more accessible throughout the world.

Tjupurru is a community leader within Brisbane's Northside Murri Community and he provides teaching and a positive community role model for local indigenous and non indigenous musicians and artists.

--From the artist's bio at http://www.tjupurru.com/pages.php?pID=3

Tjupurru Lyrics