Netanela Mizrahi

The Djari Project is a collaboration between Galpu songman, Jason Guwanbal Gurriwiwi and Netanela Mizrahi; music for chamber ensemble, youth choir and Guwanbal's voice, performing songs in Indigenous languages, inspired by Galpu, Middle Eastern and Classical traditions. Netanela and Guwanbal's works have been performed around Australia's Northern Territory for the past four years. Following the commission of 'Love and Dreaming', a major work by the Arafura Music Collective, the time has come to create a first album! In 2020 Guwanbal will come to Darwin from Arnhem Land to record as part of this project. Nine chamber musicians from Darwin, along with the the Young Adelaide Voices' Aurora Choir directed by Christie Anderson have comitted to record Netanela and Guwanbal’s score, and we're all really excited to see this project eventuate.

Indigenous languages are underrepresented in Australian choral and art music, even more so repertoire composed by and in partnership with Yolngu Traditional Owners. The Djari Project’s music is a vital addition to celebrating Australian cultural heritage. In a collaboration between Indigenous and non-Indigenous composers, creating an audio recording of these works gives integrity to the oral traditions of Yolngu culture. Given the significant costs of touring to and from remote locations, including Guwanbal’s homeland on Elcho Island, a professional recording allows us to engage with audiences worldwide in ways that our geography otherwise prevents.

The Djari Project’s long-term goals include continuing to engage with youth choirs around Australia to share these songs. We seek to increase access to this valuable artistic experience for Australian youth. Providing choirs who learn aurally with recordings is essential to the work we do. Ensuring that this recording is both a useful teaching resource as well as an exceptional aesthetic product will increase the quality of this experience by Australian Indigenous and non-Indigenous children and adults, and audiences worldwide.

Guwanbal’s wish for these songs to be heard beyond their community has been heard. Guwanbal and all the Djari Project musicians believe firmly that this collaboration and the songs’ distribution is a part of our commitment to Reconciliation. The benefits we all experience in working together are immeasurable. This creative process with sincere intentions of strengthening relationships between Indigenous and non-Indigenous Australians extends beyond its collaborators relationships and compositions. We trust that this message touches our audiences too, affecting change in the musical and non-musical communities we enter. In Guwanbal's words, "The songs are sacred to Yolngu people and also non-Aboriginal people. They help us to remember our ancestors, culture and stories. They teach people about our culture. People listen to this language and music and feel moved. They are a mix of Aboriginal and classical music styles, so they introduce new types of music to both Yolngu young people, and people who love Western music too. I want to make a professional recording of these Yolngu songs because it’s important that people all over the world can hear Yolngu and non-Aboriginal people singing in language together. The music brings us together. We pass it on to young people of the future, so that when us old people pass away the traditional songs remain and the next generations will know. This music brings Yolngu and Western values together; this is our contribution to Reconciliation and Treaty."

Our remote location is part of what makes our music unique. But a project of this size in regional Australia comes with costs that can also create barriers. It can cost more to fly and accomodate one person from a remote homeland in the Northern Territory to Darwin than it does for an urban family to have an overseas holiday - and we're comitted to a recording project that involves over 40 musicians, engineers, interpreters, artists and designers. We want to be able to share this album with the Yolngu and non-Aboriginal communities the stories come from, and have set aside over 60% of our first print of CDs to be gifted to the communities who speak and sing these languages every day. That's why we're seeking help from national and state governmet fuding bodies, and supporters like you to raise funds to pay our artists fair wages, cover travel and production costs and ensure the quality of recording that we believe this collaboration deserves.