The way in which tribal people, from lands so far apart, so naturally move into dance - communal and unselfconscious rhythmic expression - has always resonated with this white boy from culture far removed from tribal.
Born into a time where British ‘Twilight of Empire’ and English “Jolly good show.” were coupled with a repressed sense of awkward dance ..... these were legacies of a ‘Great Britain’ which I never accepted through those formative years primarily spent in Wales and then England.
Stamp the feet and connect with the earth is the tribal expression.
Quietly, the Aboriginal communities of Australia go about their creative business and - times change - but they do so slowly.
Beset by problems where the last few generations have literally been wasted, the ghetto mentality and hopelessness inherent within an ongoing cultural shock which is still resonating through Aboriginal Australia is still here in both reality and caricature.
Yet the resilience which got them through so many tens of thousands of years hasn’t been diluted by a few hundred years of ‘Yet to be proved - Civilisation.’
Our collective ‘Civilisation’ is under such threats from so many directions that ..... I wish I could segue into a good joke but the only one that comes to mind is the Irish “Knock Knock” joke.
You ready?
O.K. ...... “You start.”
It’s sweltering hot..... fair enough ... it’s the middle of summer in Australia and those who aren’t close to a beach find refuge where they can.
In the garden, the Canna lilies and the Agapanthus are as tough as old boots and reflect the sun back through their spears of bold and vivid colour.
Musically - not much is happening by which I mean that the ‘hours a day’ enthusiasm of a few months back is temporarily gone. Climb a hill, reach a plateau and keep walking is the musical ‘mantra’ but I’ve stopped - as many of us do - to smell the flowers and just do other things.
“You could write a song about climate change.” says Matti who has already filmed ‘two planes’ and is working on ‘White men have no Dreaming.’
‘What about the criminal obscenity of Central Banking?’ say I.
But the truth is that I’ve never sat down with the intention of writing a song unless ‘the impulse’ comes. I understand that this is a woefully inadequate method of becoming a songwriter but that was never a concrete intention. It’s all about that ‘muse’ thing ....... and having something to say in song that’s perhaps worth the saying.
Slow going on the road to Damascus and the beat goes on.