Gunyal

Chronique

Gunyal gets its title from the name of a mythical "goanna" (an oversized and dangerous mammal that disappeared from Down Under some 20,000 years ago, but still survives in the tales of these ancient people). Gunyal was an ogre to the humans of his time, and this album presents a soundscape to a wide land that may hide mortal danger. Hudson brings the didgeridoo, click sticks, "boomerang clapsticks" and his voice into the arrangements. Producer and world-renowned ethno-percussionist Steve Roach adds the signature rhythms of distance and mystery. "Australian bush sound sources" serve to further bring the authentic feeling of this continental land mass into the project. While the virtuoso Hudson obviously has strong ties to the musical traditions of his Tjapukai tribe, he can be highly modern and interpretive in his music. His mastery of circular breathing and versatility provides each track with a long, fluid, lyrical line of impressive expression and vocabulary. Gunyal offers both the fascinating vicarious experience of an Australia teeming with elder, large mammals but the rich impressionism of a thoroughly contemporary master using these arcane sounds to evoke the forgotten.

© Tom Schulte /TiVo