Today marks the release of the video and audio for ‘Jesu’, the lead single from Gurrumul’s third studio recording, The Gospel Album.
A song of universal and uplifting praise and meditation, it is based on a single call out ‘Jesu’ and embraces a familiar Gurrumul acoustic guitar feel.
Filmed between Trinity Uniting Church in Melbourne and Galiwinku on Elcho Island, the moving video was shot by Director Stuart van Eysden, with producer Shannon Swan and the team from production company Resolution Media.
GURRUMUL ‘The Gospel Album’ Extraordinary collection of gospel songs Gurrumul Gospel album cover Released Friday 31st July 2015 On Skinnyfish Music/MVKA
"This is one of the most unusual and emotional and musical voices I've ever heard.” Quincy Jones 2015
‘Australia’s most important voice’, indigenous artist Geoffrey Gurrumul Yunupingu, will release his third studio album, The Gospel Album, on 31st July 2015. Gurrumul’s dedication to his mother and aunts, who brought him up with songs and lullabies from the church at Elcho Island, was the inspiration for the new album.
As a small boy Gurrumul was not only influenced by the traditional music of his clan but by the gospel music he heard every Sunday at the local Methodist church. Gurrumul’s The Gospel Album is a re-imagining of the spiritual songs that came to north-east Arnhem Land via Christian missionaries.
In a musical setting that will be familiar to fans of Gurrumul’s music, comes a uniquely indigenous approach to gospel songs with an expanded sound that combines new hymns, and reimagined gospel songs of his Elcho Island community.
Discussing the creation of The Gospel Album, Gurrumul’s long-time collaborator, Michael Hohnen said, “The process we took for the making of this album was very organic. We worked with Gurrumul for a little pre-production of any Gospel songs that he knew or remembered. We entered the studios not knowing what would come out, but we did know that inside Gurrumul’s mind and memory was a body of work that had never been revealed before to mainstream audiences.
The studio sessions were musical, improvisational and pure in their exploration of creating music, rather than recording in a predetermined way. Outcomes were unknown until we recorded them!”
The Gospel Album track listing is as follows:
Jesu Trinity Nhaku Limurr All God’s Children (Yo Djamarrkuli) Baptism Garray Jesu (My Lord) Hallelujah Walu (Time) Saviour Amazing Grace
