Gordon Koang is a blind

South Sudan South Sudan (), officially the Republic of South Sudan, is a landlocked country in East Africa. It is bordered on the north by Sudan; on the east by Ethiopia; on the south by the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Uganda and Kenya; and on the ...

ese musician based in

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country comprising mainland Australia, the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania and list of islands of Australia, numerous smaller isl ...

. He is known in South Sudan as the country's "King of Music". Koang was already an internationally touring musician and a household name in his own country when he was forced to flee South Sudan for Uganda and then Australia. Since then, he has played and produced music in Australia and advocated for refugees. He was awarded permanent residency in Australia in 2019. Koang's second studio album, ''Community'', was released on 11 November 2022.

Biography

Koang was born in the

Nile Valley The Nile (also known as the Nile River or River Nile) is a major north-flowing river in northeastern Africa. It flows into the Mediterranean Sea. The Nile is the longest river in Africa. It has historically been considered the longest river i ...

in what is now South Sudan. Koang was born blind and had few job options, but a family member introduced him to the

Thom The surname Thom is of Scottish origin, from the city of Aberdeen, Aberdeenshire and Angus, and is a sept of the Clan MacThomas. Thom is also a first-name variant of the abbreviation "Tom" of "Thomas" that holds the "h". People with the surname * ...

in an attempt to help him feel less lonely while his family was at work. He started his musical career by playing in church in his hometown of

Nasir Nasir () is a masculine given name, commonly found in Arabic which can mean "helper" or "one who gives victory" (grammatically the Stem I masculine singular active participle of consonantal verb root ''n-ṣ-r''). The female form of the name is ...

and, in the 1990s, began writing his own music to play in the streets of

Juba Juba is the capital and largest city of South Sudan. The city is situated on the White Nile and also serves as the capital of the Central Equatoria, Central Equatoria State. It is the most recently declared national capital and had a populatio ...

for crowds. He became a household name in his country, having released ten albums, touring around the world, and generating a significant following on

YouTube YouTube is an American social media and online video sharing platform owned by Google. YouTube was founded on February 14, 2005, by Steve Chen, Chad Hurley, and Jawed Karim who were three former employees of PayPal. Headquartered in ...

. Koang emigrated to Australia in 2012. In 2013, he was touring in

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its Provinces and territories of Canada, ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, making it the world's List of coun ...

and returned to find South Sudan in the beginnings of a tribally based civil war. He found his home destroyed and his bank account emptied by looters. As members of the Nuer ethnic group, Koang, his wife, and their children were in danger from members of the

Dinka The Dinka people () are a Nilotic ethnic group native to South Sudan. The Dinka mostly live along the Nile, from Mangalla-Bor to Renk, in the region of Bahr el Ghazal, Upper Nile (two out of three provinces that were formerly part of southern ...

ethnic group, and fled to Uganda. Koang then went to Australia, along with his cousin and fellow musician Paul Biel. They began the Australian

asylum Asylum may refer to: Types of asylum * Asylum (antiquity), places of refuge in ancient Greece and Rome * Benevolent asylum, a 19th-century Australian institution for housing the destitute * Cities of Refuge, places of refuge in ancient Judea * ...

process, believing it would be a short process and their families would be able to join them soon. This, however, was not the case. Although Koang and Biel his cousin played live music around Australia, for some time before producing any new music, but then connected with Music in Exile, a non-profit organisation which helped refugee musicians in Australia. They released their eleventh album, ''Unity'', in Australia. It was described as "not only a prayer for reunification with his own family – whom he hopes will be granted permission to join him soon – but also a plea on behalf of refugees everywhere" and that although it touches "upon some of the darkest elements of humanity tultimately points the listener in the direction of hope". Koang was awarded permanent residency in Australia in August 2019 and submitted paperwork to have their families join them.

Music career

Koang sings in English, Arabic and Nuer, and plays a traditional Nuer stringed instrument called the

tom Tom or TOM may refer to: * Tom (given name), including a list of people and fictional characters with the name. Arts and entertainment Film and television * ''Tom'' (1973 film), or ''The Bad Bunch'', a blaxploitation film * ''Tom'' (2002 film) ...

(also spelled toom, thom, or thoom.) His influences range from

Mohammed Wardi Mohammed Osman Hassan Salih Wardi (; 19 July 1932 – 18 February 2012), also known as Mohammed Wardi, was a Nubian Sudanese singer, poet and songwriter. Looking back at his life and artistic career, Sudanese writer and critic Lemya Shammat call ...

Rihanna Robyn Rihanna Fenty ( ; born February 20, 1988) is a Barbadian singer, businesswoman, and actress. One of the List of music artists by net worth, wealthiest musicians in the world, List of awards and nominations received by Rihanna, her vario ...

Discography

Albums

Awards and nominations

Australian Music Prize

The

Australian Music Prize The Australian Music Prize (often shortened to the AMP) is an annual award of $50,000 ($30,000 from 2005 to 2023) given to an Australian band or solo artist in recognition of the merit of an album released during the year of award. The award was ...

(the AMP) is an annual award of $30,000 given to an Australian band or solo artist in recognition of the merit of an album released during the year of award. They commenced in 2005. , - , Australian Music Prize 2020 , ''Unity'' , Album of the Year ,

Music Victoria Awards

The

Music Victoria Awards The Music Victoria Awards (previously known as The Age EG Awards and The Age Music Victoria Awards) are an annual awards night celebrating music from the Australian state of Victoria. They commenced in 2006 and are awarded in Melbourne Music W ...

, are an annual awards night celebrating Victorian music. They commenced in 2005. ! , - , rowspan="5",

2019 This was the year in which the first known human case of COVID-19 was documented, preceding COVID-19 pandemic, the pandemic which was declared by the World Health Organization the following year. Up to that point, 2019 had been described as ...

, "Stand Up (Clap Your Hands)" , Best Song , , rowspan="5", , - , rowspan="4", Gordon Koang , Best Male Musician , , - , Best Solo Artist , , - , Breakthrough Victorian Act , , - , Best Intercultural Act , , - , rowspan="3",

2020 The year 2020 was heavily defined by the COVID-19 pandemic, which led to global Social impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, social and Economic impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, economic disruption, mass cancellations and postponements of even ...

, rowspan="3", Gordon Koang , Best Musician , , rowspan="3", , - , Best Solo Act , , - , Best Live Act , , - , rowspan="3",

2021 Like the year 2020, 2021 was also heavily defined by the COVID-19 pandemic, due to the emergence of multiple Variants of SARS-CoV-2, COVID-19 variants. The major global rollout of COVID-19 vaccines, which began at the end of 2020, continued ...

, ''Unity'' , Best Victorian Album , , rowspan="3", , - , rowspan="2", Gordon Koang , Best Solo Artist , , - , Arts Access Amplify Award (for Deaf and Disabled acts) , , -

References

External links

Music in Exile - Gordon Koang
{{DEFAULTSORT:Koang, Gordon South Sudanese musicians South Sudanese diaspora South Sudanese blind people Nuer people Comb lamellophones Refugees in Australia Living people Year of birth missing (living people) Blind singers