Christine Anu has announced her first original album in 20 years, titled Waku – Minaral A Minalay.
Out on July 19th, Anu’s long-awaited new album was recorded in many places, from Cairns to New Zealand to Papa New Guinea.
As Anu shares, the album means a lot to her.
“This album is about reconnecting with my grandfather as a young father back in post-World War II, in the Torres Strait region. 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 says.
This is why Anu’s comeback album is her most important record of her lengthy career to date.
“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,” she adds.
Anu has also today released the title track from her new album – listen below.
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“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,” Anu explains. “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 notable for the inclusion of several traditiional percussion instruments, including the Warup (drums), the Urub (shakers), and the Kulap (seed pot rattles).
This weekend, the Torres Strait Islander artist can be heard at Vivid Sydney where she’ll perform many album tracks live forr the very first time – show details here.
Christine Anu’s “Waku – Minaral A Minalay” is out July 19th via ABC Music (pre-save/pre-order here).
