It was a line-up to die for: Elvis Costello, Leon Russell, Grace Jones, Ben Harper, BB King and, headlining, none other than Bob Dylan. The 2011 extravaganza was the annual Byron Bay Bluesfest’s finest offering, and there among all of that spectacular talent and the thousands of fans who streamed through the gates stood a gaggle of young Indigenous men from Elcho Island in the Northern Territory: Gurrumul, the singer whose debut album has gone platinum from sales worldwide, and the community Bluesfest was Saltwater’s swan song, group he helped found over 15 but what an event to go out on. The ten member outfit stung the years ago, the Saltwater Band. audiences at two shows with their sublime harmonies and the stylish That night’s show would lead vocals by songwriters Geoffrey Gurrumul Yunupingu and Manuel be the last time their Nulupani Dhurrkay. In fact, the band characteristic Yolngu/ consists of three members of the Yunupingu family, three members of the Dhurrkay family, island/ska sound two members of the Garawirrtja family and two members of the Dhamarrantji family. would be heard Together they formed a unit that managed to produce a distinctive sound that was in concert. independent and unique, cementing a place for Saltwater in the annals of the Australian contemporary music industry. Why then, with their three albums setting the benchmark for quality in Indigenous music, did the Saltwater band decide to call it quits? “The main reason [for the wind–up] is that it costs an absolute fortune to get them anywhere,” explains the band’s producer and owner of their record label, Skinnyfish Music. “If you are in a southern capital, it costs $20,000 to $30,000 just to book them—with flights and accommodation for so many people. Then you add a fee, and for that kind of money they could get one of Australia’s hottest bands, assuring a big crowd.” The Saltwater talent pool will, however, not fade away into the night. Gurrumul has just released his second album, Rrakala, which debuted on the Australian charts at number three and is, at time of writing, sitting solidly in the Top 20. The new album’s p18.