Christine Anu has shared the details surrounding her first album of original material in 20 years, Waku-Minaral A Minalay, and also unveiled the title track.
Waku-Minaral A Minalay acts as an extension of Anu’s 1995 debut album, Stylin’ Up, with the title track born from songwriting sessions in the 90s with Cold Chisel’s Don Walker.
READ MORE: Christine Anu On Stylin Up, Passing The Baton & Revisiting Old Stomping Grounds
Anu explained in a press release, “When you listen to the words of the song, you’re brought onto the waku, the mat. You do everything in your life on that mat, and when you die, you’re covered by it – like a blanket.
“So, it’s with you your entire life. And when you look at the colours, they are the faces. When you look at the patterns, they are how we’re all brought together; we’re all kept in this beautiful, bound bit of love and family.”
The title track is packed with traditional instruments, including the Warup [drums], the Urub [shakers] and the Kulap [seed pot rattles].
You can watch the music video to the title track below.
For the album, Anu reunited with longtime collaborator and producer David Bridie, as the adventures of Waku-Minaral A Minalay took her to Cairns, Papua New Guinea, New Zealand, the Solomon Islands, and the Torres Strait Islands.
Anu’s first original material in 20 years was inspired by her grandfather, with the singer-songwriter and her daughter, Zipporah, retracing her grandfather’s steps from his journey in 1947, following the Samu Clans’ migration from Saibai Island to Mutee Head.
“This album is about reconnecting with my grandfather as a young father back in post-World War II, in the Torres Strait region,” Anu said. “So, I sing about a time from long ago… Waku-Minaral A Minalay creates a landscape, a picture, a soundscape of feeling like you were there listening to these songs when they were being made.”
She continued, “And that’s the beautiful metaphor of me right now: I am someone’s ancestor in the future, the way that my grandad is my grandson’s ancestor. And it goes on, and we weave, and we weave, and we weave. We will continue to weave our songs and our stories.”
You can pre-order/pre-save the album here.
Fans seeing Anu at Vivid Sydney on Saturday, 25 May, will witness songs performed live for the first time. You can get tickets to the performance here.
