General News
28 June, 2023
Understand ‘our culture’
Four-track EP ‘Binal’ highlights heritage and traditions of Indigenous peoples
FNQ reggae band Koahlition has joined forces with Djawarray, aka Uncle Bertie Riley from the legendary Kuranda band Gudju Gudju, to release an EP, Binal, which calls people to ‘understand’ Indigenous heritage and embrace cultural wisdom.
The four-track collaborative EP, Binal, which takes its name after the Western Yalandji term ‘understand’, was released in May and is already making waves in Kuranda.
The partnership aims to bring ancestral First Nations songlines to the forefront.
On May 26, the Kuranda Amphitheatre Understage witnessed the first live performance of Binal with Djawarray getting on stage with his nephews who are part of the emerging local band Cloud 9 and the Mayi Wunba Dance Troupe for a night to never forget where people packed the dance floor.
Djawarray said working on Binal had been a very inspiring experience for his artistic vision.
“Working with Koahlition has been a privilege,” he said.
“Binal is all about understanding. Binal means understand. From my father’s side we come from the Western Yalandji nation from Mossman to Daintree, and that’s where Binal comes from.
“It’s been a great experience working with Koahlition, it has given more time to move around and make new songs.
“I’ve also worked with Nash Snider on the artwork and he’s a great artist so it’s a pleasure to have his art on the CD cover.”
The conscious roots and reggae infused EP calls for a deeper understanding of culture, acknowledgement of land and respect for heritage.
“I’d like for people to listen to it and share it with other people and to acknowledge the meaning of the song which is understand,” Djawarray said.
“The word understand is a great word, we all need to understand each other in many ways. I’d like for people to treasure the song because it’s coming from the oldest cultures in Australia. “Binal, it’s really about my identity because my mum is a Djabuguy lady, that’s Kuranda, and my dad is Western Yalanji, so we’ve got a western and eastern side, so it brings a lot of meaning to where I’m from and who I am.
Binal is now available on Spotify, Apple Music and Youtube. For more information visit Djawarray’s Facebook page.
