''Tribal Voice'' is the second studio album by

Yothu Yindi Yothu Yindi ( Yolngu for "child and mother", pronounced ) are an Australian musical group with Aboriginal and '' balanda'' (non-Aboriginal) members, formed in 1986 as a merger of two bands formed in 1985 – a white rock group called the Swamp ...

, released in September 1991 on the

Mushroom Records Mushroom Records was an Australian flagship record label, founded in 1972 in Melbourne. It published and distributed many successful Australian artists and expanded internationally, until it was merged with Festival Records in 1998. Festival M ...

label. The album peaked at number 4 on the

ARIA Charts The ARIA Charts are the main Australian music sales charts, issued weekly by the Australian Recording Industry Association. The charts are a record of the highest selling songs and albums in various genres in Australia. ARIA became the offic ...

and was certified 2× Platinum. At the 1992

ARIA Awards The Australian Recording Industry Association Music Awards (commonly known informally as ARIA Music Awards, ARIA Awards, or simply the ARIAs) is an annual series of awards nights celebrating the Australian music industry, put on by the Austra ...

Yothu Yindi won

ARIA Award for Best Cover Art The ARIA Music Award for Best Cover Art, is an award presented within the Artisan Awards at the annual ARIA Music Awards. The ARIA Awards recognise "the many achievements of Aussie artists across all music genres", and have been given by the Aus ...

for ''Tribal Voice'' by Louise Beach and Mushroom Art with photography by Serge Thomann; ARIA Award for Engineer of the Year for "Maralitja", "Dharpa" and "Tribal Voice" by David Price, Ted Howard, Greg Henderson and Simon Polinski; ARIA Award for Best Indigenous Release for ''Tribal Voice''; ARIA Award for Song of the Year and Single for the Year for "Treaty". The album did not receive a domestic vinyl release until 2018, however it was released on vinyl in Europe in 1992.

Reception

AllMusic AllMusic (previously known as All-Music Guide and AMG) is an American online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on musicians and bands. Initiated in 1991, the dat ...

's reviewer, Jonathon Lewis commented "the traditional songs are stunning, and Mandawuy Yunupingu's voice is suited perfectly to these, but it is the rock tracks that are the weak links in this disc. Yunupingu is not a particularly good pop singer, and the music is sometimes insipid" but went on to say "despite this, ''Tribal Voice'' is a fine example of both traditional and modern Aboriginal music."

Track listing

#"Gapu" (Traditional song, arranged by

Galarrwuy Yunupingu Galarrwuy Yunupingu (born 30 June 1948), also known as James Galarrwuy Yunupingu and Dr Yunupingu, is a leader in the Aboriginal Australian community, and has been involved in the fight for Indigenous land rights in Australia throughout his c ...

) #"

Treaty A treaty is a formal, legally binding written agreement between actors in international law. It is usually made by and between sovereign states, but can include international organizations, individuals, business entities, and other legal perso ...

" (

Mandawuy Yunupingu Mandawuy Djarrtjuntjun Yunupingu , formerly Tom Djambayang Bakamana Yunupingu; skin name Gudjuk; also known as Dr Yunupingu (17 September 1956 – 2 June 2013) was an Australian musician and educator. An Aboriginal, in 1989 he became assista ...

, G. Yunupingu, Milkayngu Mununggurr, Witiyana Marika, Stuart Kellaway, Cal Williams, Paul Kelly) #" Djäpana (Sunset Dreaming)" (M. Yunupingu) #"My Kind of Life" (M. Yunupingu) #"Maralitja" (Crocodile Man) (M. Yunupingu) #"Dhum Dhum" (Bush Wallaby) (Traditional song, arranged by Marika) #" Tribal Voice" (M. Yunupingu) #"Mainstream" (M. Yunupingu) #"Dharpa" (Tree) (M. Yunupingu, Kellaway) #"Yinydjapana" (Dolphin) (Traditional song, arranged by Marika) #"Mätjala" (Driftwood) (M. Yunupingu, G. Yunupingu, Marika, Kellaway, Williams) #"Hope" (M. Yunupingu) #"Gapirri" (Stingray) (M. Yunupingu) #"Beyarrmak" (Comic) (Traditional song, arranged by G. Yunupingu) #"Treaty" (Radio Mix) (M. Yunupingu, G. Yunupingu, Mununggurr, Marika, Kellaway, Williams, Kelly, Garrett) (moved to after "Tribal Voice" on 2018 LP reissue) #"Djäpana" (Radio Mix) (M. Yunupingu) Tracks 3, 8 and 16 were added to the 1992 reissue of the album and appear on all subsequent reissues. Tracks 3, 6 and 16 were released as a CD single in 1992 and tracks 3 and 8 appear (in different versions) on the band's 1989 debut '' Homeland Movement''. Track 2 appears in the 1992 film '' Encino Man''.

Personnel

– lead vocals, backing vocals, guitar *

– vocals, clapsticks *Witiyana Marika – vocals, clapsticks, backing vocals *Milkayngu Mununggurr –

didgeridoo The didgeridoo (; also spelt didjeridu, among other variants) is a wind instrument, played with vibrating lips to produce a continuous drone while using a special breathing technique called circular breathing. The didgeridoo was developed by ...

, backing vocals *

Gurrumul Yunupingu Geoffrey Gurrumul Yunupingu (22 January 1971 – 25 July 2017), commonly known as Gurrumul and also referred to since his death as Dr G. Yunupingu, was an Aboriginal Australian musician of the Yolŋu peoples. A multi-instrumentalist, he play ...

– keyboards, percussion, guitar, didgeridoo, organ, backing vocals *Makuma Yunupingu – didgeridoo *Cal Williams – lead guitar, rhythm guitar, guitar, backing vocals *Stuart Kellaway – bass guitar, backing vocals * Ricki Fataar – drums, percussion, backing vocals *Mark Moffatt – organ, bass guitar, guitar *Ray Periera – congas * Allen Murphy – drums *Huey Benjamin – drums *

Archie Roach Archibald William Roach (8 January 1956 – 30 July 2022) was an Australian singer, songwriter and Aboriginal activist. Often referred to as "Uncle Archie", Roach was a Gunditjmara and Bundjalung elder who campaigned for the rights of Abori ...

– backing vocals * Tim Finn – backing vocals * Rose Bygrave – backing vocals * Steve Wade – backing vocals

Charts

Weekly charts

Year-end charts

Certifications

References

{{Authority control ARIA Award-winning albums Yothu Yindi albums Mushroom Records albums 1991 albums