When I went for the first time to Australia in
October 2001, I don't think I really knew quite what to expect.
I suppose I expected it to be somewhat like America with which
it shares a similar history. Fortunately for me however, this
impression was completely mistaken. I found Australia to be a
country quite unlike any other that I had previously visited.
For a start, it has a completely unique natural environment which
has yet to give in to the audacious encroachment of mankind.
It has a variety of climates which is perhaps not found anywhere
else on the planet, as well as a literal mosaic of people of different
nationalities and races who, on the one hand, seem to maintain
their individual characteristics and, on the other, manage to
co-exist in a reasonably harmonious whole.
I'm only sorry that I had few encounters with
the indigenous Aboriginal people, whose civilization has long
inspired in me the greatest admiration. Hopefully, on some future
trip, I'll be able to fulfil my desire to better acquaint myself
with the Aboriginal people and their culture.
I went to Australia with my colleague
and friend Kelly Thomas (who plays lyra on this CD) and we joined
up with three Australian musicians with whom we were to tour for
one month. We covered, during this time, enormous distances in
a small minibus, something equivalent to the distance between Athens
and Moscow, and still we saw only a small corner of this enormous
land. Kin Kin is the name of the very small, yet extremely beautiful
village in Queensland where we stayed for the first week of rehearsals
at the home of one of the musicians, Linsey Pollak. Our days spent
there were really quite a magical experience and, as a result, we
all agreed that the obvious name for this CD should be that of this
very special little village. Our three Australian colleagues gave
completely new dimensions to the repertoire which we played, and
that constitutes the primary reason for which I decided to release
these recordings. We owe them an enormous debt of gratitude for
what was one of the most enjoyable collaborations in our career.
Our three Australian colleagues in this recording are:
PHILIP GRIFFIN: I met Philip some years ago in Berlin when he
introduced himself to me after a concert I gave there. We later
met again in Greece where he came in search of knowledge concerning
the laouto and the oud, and in Jerusalem (where his wife worked
for three years as a correspondent for Australian television).
Parallel to his interest in the traditional string instruments
of the Middle East and the Balkans, he also works as an Opera
singer and choral conductor. He is also an expert concerning
the birds and other wildlife found on the Australian continent,
and was kind enough to introduce us to many rather extraordinary
creatures.
TUNJI BEIER: With Tunji I had worked some years
ago in Germany, the homeland of his father. Tunji, due to his
father's work (ethnologist), had the good fortune to grow up in
some rather unusual places such as Papua New Guinea and West Africa.
He also went and studied percussion instruments in South India.
In Europe he is well-known as one of the foremost exponents of
South Indian and West African drumming and he has collaborated
with many different musicians from a wide variety of musical backgrounds.
On this CD he plays dhol-dolki: a long barrel-shaped two-headed
drum from India; tavil: a large barrel-shaped drum played on
one side with a small stick and, on the other with thimbles worn
on each of the fingers; kanjira: a very small frame-drum with
a lizard skin and one metal ring which is usually played in South
Indian (Carnatic) classical music; zarb: a large wooden goblet-shaped
drum used in Persian classical music; and deyra: a frame-drum
from Uzbekistan with a single row of rings on the interior of
the frame which give it a very characteristic sound.
LINSEY POLLAK: Linsey plays a quite considerable
number of wind instruments from various parts of the world, but
he also plays various other things which were never really intended
to be musical instruments as such, for example: carrots, camping
stools, watering cans and flowerpots, kitchen utensils, microphone
stands, gaffer tape etc. He is well-known in Australia for his
very unique playing, for the new instruments he is always inventing
and playing himself, as well as for his unique approach to music
in general and musical education in particular. He has given
seminars, lessons and musical workshops, frequently for the benefit
of people who have never previously played any instrument in their
lives, thus introducing them to the world of music. He even filled
a bridge in Brisbane with marimbas once, so that the passers-by
could play as they went for a walk over the bridge.
As I mentioned previously, on this trip to Australia
I was accompanied by KELLY THOMAS who plays Cretan lyra. Kelly
has been a student of mine for many years and her exceptional
talent for music was clear to see from the very beginning. We
have been working continuously for the last five years, working
primarily on lyra duets. In the majority of traditions where
the lyra is used, it is almost invariably a solo instrument and
it is most unusual for two or more lyras to play together. Resultingly,
this is a rather special challenge for us. Kelly has developed
a very individual sound of her own which is the result of her
very personal approach to music in general. An approach characterised
by an untiring search for new knowledge, a firm dedication to
whatever she does, and a deep spirituality which gives balance
and maturity to her playing. On this CD
Angelina Tkatcheva also plays santouri (hammered-dulcimer) with
us on certain tracks. Angelina is an exceptional musician from
the town of Minsk in Belarus who has been working with me for
several years now. The santouri was added to the recording in
the studio Aeolia in Athens.
In recent years I and my colleagues have been
travelling frequently to various destinations in the world to
play for new and widely varied audiences. We continuously meet
excellent musicians from other lands and other cultures and, in
this way, we're ever discovering new dimensions of the endless
world of music. These experiences have enabled me yet again to
bear witness to the unique unifying power of music itself. A
unifying power which today's world is in need of more than ever.
Ross Daly, October 2002
Houdetsi, Crete, Greece
