Spinifex resin is a gum coating of some species of Spinifex grasses. The resin was traditionally used in tool making by Australian Aborigines.
To produce the gum, the spinifex is threshed until the resin particles fall free. These particles are heated until they fuse together to form a moldable black tar, which is worked, while warm.
When set, this gum is quite strong and was often used as an ingredient in spear making.
Spinifex Gum is a collective comprised of The Cat Empire‘s Felix Riebl and Ollie McGill, Gondwana Choirs‘ Marliya and a Cairns-based all-female choir of Indigenous singers, which bring an original, honest, powerful and moving presence to the project.
It’s a timely release for a Spinifex Gum’s album and songs like “Locked Up”, with the findings of the Royal Commission into the Protection and Detention of Children in the Northern Territory are due for release in November. Featuring Adam Briggs on co-writing duties and vocals, the tune highlights the treatment of Indigenous youth in juvenile detention – still an ever-present issue that affects indigenous communities throughout Australia.
Midnight’s Oil Peter Garrett joins forces with Emma Donovan to celebrate the spirit of Australian aboriginal culture.
The unique musical landscape of Spinifex Gum comprises treated field recordings, programmed rhythms, organic instrumentation and above all, the overarching power of human voices, bearing stories crying out to be heard.
A culturally significant record as the album sheds light aspects of contemporary Australian life in the Pilbara, where the threshold of capitalism, greed, double economies, Racism, and political spin meet with a landscape that can’t be measured in numbers, rather in songs, where culture is hidden and strong, and youth know much more than they lead on.
