Nathan Kaye: Bio

With your eyes closed, you get absorbed in the driving heart-beat of the stomp-box, the eastern melodic rhythms of the 12 string guitar, the droning of the didgeridoo, and then soaring above comes Nathan’s rich, gliding vocals. With your eyes open, you realise all of this is being masterfully woven by one person.

Nathan Kaye has always had a passion for music and people. He’s been singing since before he could speak. Since then, his charisma and magnetic performance on stage has taken him on tours through Europe, the UK, Turkey and even behind the great wall of China. He's also supported a diverse range of artists including massive acts such as "The Corrs", not to mention playing at the 2003 Woodford Folk Festival. Amazingly, he also found time to write fresh new material for his latest solo album, “Don’t Just Do Something, Sit There!” As a young child, Nathan would often invite the local neighbourhood into his basement, put on old Beatles and Elvis Presley records and perform to them. "Music's always been a kind of diary for me. I can remember stuff like where I was at age 3 when I first heard Bob Marley's "Get Up Stand Up." At age 8 when he visited his mother, she would often take him to protests for aboriginal landrights. There, he witnessed the injustice of police aggression in the climate of Queensland’s conservative racial repression of the seventies and eighties. To express what he was witnessing, Nathan started penning his first songs at age 11.

"I was given a guitar at 14 by a Spanish guitar player and taught myself Bob Marley, Beatles, U2 & Cat Stevens songs whilst hanging out fishing with friends at the beach." At age 16, he moved to Sydney to attend the Newtown High School of Performing Arts. Nathan was introduced to Yidaki/Didjeridoo in his early teens by his aboriginal step- father, but began playing at age 17 when a Pintjantjarra tribesman gave him his first didge. Naturally gifted, he got the complex circular breathing technique within ten days of starting. Whilst finishing school he gained recognition performing in prominent Sydney jazz clubs and music venues, won numerous awards at age 18. Through this time, he continued his activism in various environmental and political issues, including raising funds for action against uranium mining at Jabaluka in Arnem Land. Even though his success as an actor grew over the next few years, which included parts in major feature films and television dramas including “Chook” in feature film, “Muriel’s Wedding”, Nathan decided to focus on his passion for music. This led him to the vibrant Byron Bay community in 1998 and the following year, his band "Dreamseeds" was formed, a firm platform for voicing a positive message, as well as his observations about the human condition and frustrations about the world's environmental and socio- political dilemmas.

The award winning album, "Illumination" was recorded and released at the end of 2000 with the reggae song, "Difference" reaching number 14 on the USA's mp3.com reggae charts. The film clip for "The Shift" was aired on ABC's Rage in 2001 and won the Dolphin Award for best Funk/Hip-hop song.

There has been a great buzz about the release of his latest album, “Don’t Just Do Something… Sit There!” which is already receiving good radio airplay around the country. The song “Silence,” which Nathan wrote for his friend that suicided is being used as the Suicide Prevention 2004 Theme Song, which will be played at the National Suicide Prevention Convention in Sydney on the United Nations International Suicide Prevention Day, September 10, 2004. With a power-driven roots style of guitar playing, soulful vocal delivery, funky didge playing and insightful, emotive songwriting, Nathan Kaye is unquestionably an artist to hear and experience. Whilst Nathan refers to his musical aproach as “Earth roots and funky-folk”, his performance is uplifting and pumps with funk rhythms and is spiced with reggae, hip- hop and jazz. Crowds especially dig his innovative blend of beat-boxing (vocal drumming) and slide-didgeridoo.

His sound is often described as a fresh mix of Bob Marley, Ben Harper, John Butler, early Lenny Kravitz, Cat Stevens and Jack Johnson all thrown in with a world music flavour.

“One of the most surreal experiences I’ve had was playing to 4,500 screaming people in the P.L.A.’s (People’s Liberation Army) barracks in China. Then as soon as I stepped off stage I did a 25 minute interview on the largest TV station in South China, which gets to about 200 million people!” Truly a bizarre experience for an Aussie boy from a beach-town of less than 10, 000 people.