Splendour in the Grass 2020 - Global Village webcast

Indigenoise

Like every other event on the 2020 calendar, Splendour in The Grass was cancelled and we all groaned collectively as music lovers.

Just like air, water and food, Homo Sapiens need music in their lives or their brains start to shrivel. Live music seems to be even more important as a way to experience direct connection to something ‘other’ especially when shared collectively with large tribes.

With this glaring omission from our lives as the driving force, Kate Little, the director of SiTGs bohemian Global Village, and Sean came up with the idea of doing a 2 hour live stream from our new studios. With 10 live performances, old footage and interviews it was no small undertaking and the lead-in time? 48 hours…
To be able to cross from performance to performance we needed to create a larger studio than we currently had so the huge task of moving all of our props and hire department from our mezzanine onto the top of a yet to be built mezzanine in our second warehouse.

Headed up by our builder Hunter, the team got to work. It’s incredible really to watch our guys create, lift, manhandle, machine handle, negotiate and ultimately succeed in such large ventures in short time frames. Wigs off to the crew. It’s challenging work and they always rise to the challenge often stretching beyond their limits which is where the growth is.

with the whole of upstairs in Warehouse 1 now clear it didn’t take long for studio 2 to become fully functional. On with the show!

The show highlighted some holes and shortfalls in our operation but all in all was a great success. All of the performances were professional and a real indication of the diversity that the Global Village is known for.

The Bunyarra Culture Collective opened the show with some traditional dancers and led by Dinawhan. Resident faves in the Village and custodians of the land at Yelgun it was imperative they gave their blessing and showed some traditional dancing. So honoured that they were the first live performance from brand new studio 2.

Next on the list was Taya Oskee from Bingil Bay in Queensland with a beautifully flowing couple of songs accompanied by his very talented acoustic guitar playing and stunning deep blue projected visuals from Dash Board Animals our visual artists in collaboration.

Crossing back to studio 2 and local elder, Jarmbi, spoke to us all about respect in current turbulent times and how we must reconnect to the Earth.

Bringing the feminine, Chelsea Storm was the next performance up and she delivered her soul soaked world folk. Gorgeous, gorgeous voice and such pretty songs.

Next on the bill was a bass heavy hip-hop act taking it global. Based in Byron Bay, INDIGENOISE are a clique of poets, artists, producers, musicians and practitioners. The four-piece featuring Coedie McCarthy, Roslyn Barnett, Jannali Doncaster and Benjamin Robinson, all carry mixed ancestry, and alchemise a powerful voice of ancient and contemporary culture. Minimal, tough beats, growling sub bass lines and perfectly executed rapping and vocals. Luckily for us they dropped a couple of brand new world premiere tracks which got the hairs on the back of the neck standing to attention.

Luka Lesson was next up and he performed his honest poetry from the heart as he always does. There is such an art and a real rhythm to his stories for that’s what they are: stories told through the eyes and tongue of a beautiful soul. Anybody who says poetry is dead or old fashioned is not listening. Hip-hop is now the largest depository of poetry in history. Let go of your preconceptions and listen to what a whole generation is saying through poetry and story in hip-hop music. Go on.

I have to admit to having no idea who liquidellic were when I saw their name on the schedule. It turns out they are Byron Bay based visual art combined with dance and live music made by three passionate artists: Yao Art, Tim Parry, and Karen Minami. Our data projectors in studio 1 were disconnected and an old overhead projector was wheeled in as Tim plugged in his guitar. Now, I’ve worked alongside Tim a few times at past Splendours in his role as stage manager in the Bohemian Lounge the Global Billages burlesque, cabaret and performance lounge space. This is honestly one of the coolest venues in the festival with a level of creativity and freedom which comes from the sexiness and underworld in all of us. Great chai too but I’m digressing… Tim has always been quite humble about his guitar playing but being a graduate from the Con I had a sneaking suspicion he was pretty capable. In this trio of artists his guitar playing is sublime and shows a depth and emotion which is a perfect companion to Karen’s beguiling dancing and the liquid lighting effects drawn in real time By Yao using water, coloured oils and the overhead projector. Very captivating.

Switching back to studio 2 and Olivia Rosebery took the stage. The Byron Bay based singer songwriter opened our hearts with her earthy, soaring and touching songs. The feeling of reverence for spirit and healing is weaves throughout and is what makes her so special.

The final performer was Ben Walsh With some insane live drum n bass. Triggering bass lines with his microphone and effecting the sounds on-the-fly using a DJ controller all whilst snapping syncopated and diverse live drumming on his kit. What an amazing sound for a solo performance. He truly rounded out one of the most entertaining 2 hours of diverse music.

Big thanks to Kate and the Global team for giving us the opportunity to stream this very special event. We are so very blessed.