Australia: Sound of the Earth is a 1991 album from Steve Roach, documenting Roach's second trip to Australia. David Hudson's didgeridoo and cellist Sarah Hopkins were also featured.
Just as the mythology of the Australian people and their continent was personified through the complex Aboriginal creation stories called The Dreamtime, the land also gave rise to a rich musical culture unlike any other. Australia: Sounds of the Earth captures the primordial hums and rhythms that have emerged from and moved across this continent in the four directions, like the winds themselves since The Dreamtime began.
This recording features the didgeridoo, an Aboriginal wind instrument of remarkable flexibility and power, in traditional and innovative formats. Virtuoso solos by Aboriginal artist, David Hudson, are complemented by performances of up to four didgeridoo players accompanied by drums and electronics. Tracing the development of an indigenous music firmly rooted in patterns of existence dictated by the rhythms of the land, Australia: Sounds of the Earth embraces Australia's musical past and present.
The riveting performance of cellist Sarah Hopkins, acknowledges the debt 20th century composers owe to the influence of Aboriginal music. By utilizing a combination of bowing techniques and overtone singing, the Australian cellist emulates sounds of the didgeridoo. Producer, Steve Roach, blends the recordings from the outback with their haunting modern echoes by creating evocative soundscapes and the illusion of a journey through time and space to the origins of these primal sounds.
1 Steve Roach– Red Dust And Sweat 10:45
2 David Hudson– Call To Kuranda 3:15
3 David Hudson– The Ancient Voice 3:10
4 Steve Roach, Sarah Hopkins– Atmosphere For Dreaming 7:52
5a Steve Roach, Sarah Hopkins– Darktime 7:09
5b Steve Roach– The Initiation
6 Steve Roach– Origin 4:48
7 David Hudson– Spirits 3:19
8 David Hudson– The Hunter 3:02
9 Sarah Hopkins– Awakening The Earth 14:10
10a David Hudson– Land Sound 5:14
10b Steve Roach– The Dreaming Place
Australia: Sound Of The Earth
