Search - David Hudson :: Gunyal

A member of the Tjapukai tribe in northern Queensland, Australia, didgeridoo player David Hudson has once again teamed with producer and ambient artist Steve Roach to create his fourth album, Gunyal. The title refers to a giant, prehistoric reptile whose mythic story has passed orally through aboriginal generations. Known to Australian aborigines as goannas, these reptiles existed some 20,000 years ago, according to archaeologists, and it's this kind of transcendent connection to an ancient past that spills through on Gunyal. Listeners will find their imagination swept into the Australian outback as soon as they push the "play" button. Sounds of the deep, rolling didgeridoo drone over rhythms created by click sticks, boomerang clap sticks, and rocks. While Rainbow Serpent and Woolunda: Ten Solos for Didgeridoo were more stark representations of the didgeridoo, Gunyal travels more profoundly into the aboriginal soul with Roach's ethereal crescendos and atmosphere. While plenty of CDs thickly embellish the didg with electronics or modern grooves, Gunyal relies on the simplicity of tradition and the subtle trimmings of ambient sound. --Karen Karleski