Aboriginal Art & Instruments Festival Amsterdam 2004

Festival organisation

Amsterdam's didgeridoo shop Aboriginal Art & Instruments organises a 3-day Aboriginal music and art festival. Last year we organised the Dream time festival which was a great success.

Activities and workshops

The Ruigoord festival terrain will be host to a variety of activities and events. At the didgeridoo workshops you can get acquainted with the instrument or learn new playing techniques from world's top didgeridoo musicians, who will later on the day perform on the festival stage.

The festival has a special program for children, where you can make and paint your own 'didge', and learn how to play it. You can also learn how to throw a boomerang and hear about its function and history. Or you can get painted like a traditional Aboriginal and learn about their tribal dances. With the free camp site and the possibility to stay the night, this can be an ideal weekend out with your family or with a bunch of friends.

Market and food stands

On the festival terrain a market will offer a diversity of products like didgeridoos, artefacts, Tshirts, books and -of course- cds from the perfoming artists. There will be two food stands on the festival are. One offers vegetarian food the other non vegetarian. Both food stands will offer breakfast lunch and dinner. If you are interested in having a marketstand please send an email to festival@aboriginalart.nl

Music

Beside the impressive line-up of musicians performing live, percussionists and dancers will add to the mixed athmosphere of both native and contemporary aspects of Australian culture.

Camping

There will be a camp site at the festival area. We do ask a small fee per person staying overnight or 3 nights for which we charge the same price. ( see below ) The campsite is only 50 meters away from the festival area. Cars and campervans are not permitted on the field but you can also sleep in your campervan etc. on the parking place which is very close nearby. There will be a campfire every night!

Exhibition

At the Ruigoord church the 'Tingari Cycles' Aboriginal art exhibition will take place, about which more can be read here.

Ruigoord

The 'artist colony' Ruigoord has a history of organizing and hosting festivals which excel in originality. In 1993 it was the location of the Dreamtime Awakenings Festival, with 10.000 visitors it was the largest festivals ever held on the site. The special guests for that festival where Australian Aboriginals. The site gives the opportunity to sit at a campfire and watch the stars or rise at dawn and have breakfast in the grass. This spirit of freedom characterises the festival.

Prices

		Tickets	3 day ticket	€ 43,-	presale in the shop € 38,-
			1 day ticket	€ 18,-	no presale
		Camping	3 nights	€ 7,-	from Friday evening till Monday morning. ( for camping one night we charge the same price )
		Workshop	2 hours	€ 35,-

How to get there

Information

For more information about the festival you can send us an email at festival@aboriginalart.nl.

For more information about Ruigoord, its history and the events they host, visit their site at http://www.ruigoord.nl. They have a special english page here.

Agenda

Playlist

		The White Cockatoo
		This legendary performance group comes from South West Arnhemland in the Nothern territory of Australia. The artists names come from the Mialili, Guningu, Rembarrnga, and Burrara language groups. Together these language groups are bonded socially and family wise. Leaded by Didgeridoo Master David Blanasi, the group was the first to go oversees in the 1960's. Their Corroboree ( ritual music, song and dance ) belongs to one of the oldest still existing traditions on earth. The didgeridoo is since mankind part of their culture. These men bring original 'classical' aboriginal song and dance.
		Inner Strength
		This Dutch band contains 7 musicians. Recent newspaper articles wrote that the band is 'promising'. A mixture of world and folk music combined with rock and pop. The bands name inner strength is a translation of the eastern word 'chi'. In martial art this word is used to fullfil a higher achievement. The band contains two singers, a violin, flute, didgeridoo, guitar, bass guitar and drum player. Their performance is energetic and powerful. The band has performed on many major world-music festivals.
		Mark Atkins
		Mark Atkins is a descendant of the Yamitji people of western Australia. He started his musical carrier at the age of ten, and has since become to one of the most prominent pioneers of didgeridoo music. His musical skills allow him to play a wide variety of music styles, be it as a solo performer or an ensemble player. Mark has performed around the world and has played with a diversity of musicians, bands and ensembles such as Philip Glass, Led Zeppelin and the London Philharmonic. He is also a gifted guitarist, percussionist, painter, instrument crafter and story teller.
		Charlie McMahon
		Charlie McMahon started playing the didgeridoo at a very young age, long before the instrument gained popularity among the western population of Australia. When he was sixteen he lost part of his right arm in an accident, which motivated him even more to master the didgeridoo. After a brief academic career and his encounter with the nomadic 'Lost Tribe' of Pintubi aboriginals, he formed Gondwanaland in 1983. Pioneering contemporary didgeridoo music the band was later renamed to Gondwana, and in all recorded nine albums to date. He is also very well known for his performances in the nineties with Australian desert rockers Midnight Oil.
		3ple-D
		Lies Beijerinck and Michiel Teijgeler both got introduced to the didgeridoo in the early nineties, when Holland was still largly oblivious to the instrument. They were instantly struck by the unique sound and the musical capabilities of the instrument. Michiel has traveled through Europe as a street musician and now plays in several bands, and Lies spend a year in Australia, and plays in several bands as well, together they formed 3ple-D (Dutch Didgeridoo Duo) in 1999. Their sound is characterized by innovative sounds and playing techniques, and is influenced by Brazilian samba, Togolese and Ghanese bell patterns, Cuban 'son' rhythms and modern dancemusic. In the spring of 2003 the band came out with their first CD named 'High from the Lowlands'. The CD was well received by the international didgeridoo scene. They both play in several other bands and are well-known didgeridoo teachers that are often asked to come and teach didgeridoo all over Europe.
		Dj EL-Jo
		Dj EL-Jo is specialised in combining diferent music styles: Funk, Soul, (Acid-)Jazz, Hiphop, Klezmer, Gypsy, African-music and modern beats. During his performance Dj EL-Jo likes to work with other musicians, which brings an additional dimension to his music. He broadcasts weekly the program Mugezond at Radio 100(.nl).
		Matt (Osmosis)
		At the age of 18 Matt started playing didgeridoo after studying fretless bass at the Australian Institute of Music, and jazz improvisiation on trumpet at Sydney Conservatorium. In Sydney Matt played among others with Charlie McMahons didge orchestra and Robert Spencer (ex-angles). After finishing a degree in contemporary music on the bass Matt went to India to further his understanding of rhythm by learning tabla. So Matt's rhythms are very much influenced by Indian Rhythmic cycles. Matt recently recorded his latest CD "Time is Art", which will be released soon.
		Kokouvi (Osmosis)
		Kokouvi is a profesional puppeteer and an allround percussionist from Togo. He had a passion for maikng music since his early youth. His knowledge of Togolese rhythems is impresive. His powerfull performance will leave a deep impression on many who will hear him play. He has toured a lot of festivals in Holland and outside Holland. As a solo player he performs in a lot of different bands. And his own band 'Group Defi' is getting more famous every day. He will be contributing to Osmosis together with another Togolese bel-player called Azanka (Koffi).
		Miles Browning didge
		The band contains 4 musicians, who individualy all have a long musical career. One night they decided that they wanted to put a new sound on the market. That's how this band came into excistence. A blend of percusion and slide guitar with ambient and rhymic didge playing. A continual groove that takes you on a trip. The band tours all over Holland and the neighboring countries. The didgeplayer called Ben has his own Australian shop in Vlissingen in the South of holland called 'Australian Treasures'.
		Drum 'n Didge
		This African band from Paris is often compared with the Australian didge band The Wild Marmelade. Their music is very powerfull. A heavy bass underlines the music combined with lively percusion. With France well known didgeplayer Sylvestre as the centre of the band. The band contains 4 players and is a must have for our Festival to move the croud to the dancefloor.
		Djedur
		Djudur is an Arabic word for Roots or origin. It also means carrot in the Wolof language. The band was formed in the summer of 2001. There are 6 band members who play on rhythem guitar, lead guitar, bass guitar, percussion, didgeridoo and vocals. The bandmembers previously all had a musical career that they used for blending this new style of world music. There inspired by Folk, Jazz, Brazilian, Cuban and African music. Typical for Djudur is to start with Cuban Son music to Flamenco into a Santana's style of playing.
		Richard Walley
		One of Australia's leading Aboriginal performers and writers. Richard is a statesman, storyteller and custodian of his Indigenous culture. His capacity to translate that to the international community is without precedent. Through his vision and passion for his culture, Richard is actively guiding indigenous youth into the 21st Century with the dignity that their rich 40,000 year history deserves. Richard Walley was born in Meekatharra (about 750km north of Perth) in 1953, but as child moved with his family to Pinjarra, 80 kilometres south of Perth. Richard's versatility and thirst for new challenges has seen him branch out into other areas of the arts. He is a renowned didgeridoo player, performing live at the Albert Hall in London, and in many countries including Greece, Slovenia, Japan, Mexico, the USA, and Canada. He has produced a six CD collection of didgeridoo music inspired by the six seasons of the Noongar calendar.
		Luie hond
		Luie Hond means 'Lazzy Dog'in Dutch. Luie Hond play's what we call Nether reggae and ska music. They won an Essent award for their performance. They have performed on 'Lowlands' and many other major music festivals in Holland. They released 2 singles at major BMG. And their album was released through AG Music. A band that will move your feet and if you do not get the lyrics you'll still get the mesage! No worries mate.
		Oculus
		Micheal Edwards will perform with his duo called Oculus. Together with Micheal Jackson they produced a well selling CD called Axis. We have no more information on Oculus. More information will follow.

Aboriginal Art Exhibition

At this year's Dream.Time Festival there will be an exhibition of Aboriginal Art called 'Tingari Cycles'. The majority of these paintings are from the central region of the Australian desert and are known as Central Desert Art, Dreamings or Dreamtime Paintings.

During the Tjukurrpa, the period in time Aboriginals refer to als the creation era, Tingari ancestral beings gathered at a series of sites for Malliera, initiation ceremonies. They traveled vast stretches of the country, performing rituals at specific sites that in turn created the diverse natural features of the environment.

The creation stories and rituals are worshipped in the song cycles and ceremonies of today, forming part of the teachings of the post initatory youths, whilst also providing explanations for contemporary customs.

The Tingari can be considered as a group of mythical characters of the Dreamtime, who respresent the ancient and secret post initiatory higher education which Aboriginal men of the region undergo. Some of these teaching are conveyed in lengthy song cycles, or through the symbols and patterns of Aboriginal art. The meaning of these symbols are generally known, but every artist has its own personal interpretation of them. Therefore, only the artist can give a full explanation of the work. Given the sacred nature of these works, this will rarely be shared with non initiated people, but sometimes parts of the Dreamtime stories are revealed.

Paintings like these will be displayed during the exhibit. Featured artists include Johnny Warankula, Turkey Tolson, Ronnie Tjampitjinpa, Timmy Payunka and Clifford Possom, but works of lesser known artists are also on display. All of the paintings are from the Aboriginal Art & Instruments collection.