Kutcha Edwards
Sunbury, Victoria, Australia | Established. Jan 01, 2014 | SELF
Music
Press
Kutcha Edwards does't pretend he's been steeped in the blues since Brownie MacGhee was a boy. In the liner notes he describes his first concert, a mid '80s Festival Hall gig by Robert Gray. What matters is the instant note of recognition that rang in his soul: he went home and wrote his first song that night. With Dan Sultan bringing smoke to the smoulder; Roll With The Rhythm has a beautifully loose grip on the requisite form and fire but it's the content - a call to Fitzroy's Kooris for patience and solidarity - that seals Edwards' epiphany as a born bluesman. Sam Cooke's, A Change is Gonna Come, is a perfect fit thematically. The rest is all original, strinkingly varied and powerfully close to home, from the hautingly country atmosphere of Blind Joe's Creek to the blues harp-and-piano tenderness of I Thank You to the raucous, brassy swing of Bidgee Blus. Guitarist Jeff Lang and keyboard ace Bruce Haymes are among the stellar accomlices that makes Blak & Blu a soul arrival as potent, in it's own quietly commanding way as Archie Roache's Charcoal Lane. - The Age - Melbourne - Review by Michael Dwyer
HOW is it that a man as brokenhearted as indigenous singersongwriter Kutcha Edwards, possesses a voice filled with so much healing and hope? Some might put it down to human resilience, or sheer talent, but the Mutti Mutti artist—who was taken from the banks of the Murrumbidgee River out of his mother’s arms at the age of 18 months — credits his inner strength to something “bigger than that”.
‘‘When I perform, it is not just Kutcha Edwards up there; I am a vehicle for my ancestors,’’ he says. ‘‘I am here to tell their story, and the truth about what indigenous people have gone through in recent history; family, language, and culture have literally been taken away from us.’’ Edwards and his band are touring Victoria with Yuyukutha, and performed at Wyndham Cultural Centre on June 26.
Born in Balranald, New South Wales, the 2001 NAIDOC Indigenous Person of the Year and member of the notorious Black ArmBand spent his childhood in an orphanage in Burwood, where other children assumed his parents were dead. ‘‘I had no reason to grow up in an institution; I was 18 months old when they took me so I couldn’t have committed a crime. I was confused when I first saw my mother at the age of six, when she found out where I was from a cousin working for the government. We spent a few hours together and then the staff urged my mother to go, saying the last train to Swan Hill was about to leave.’’ A
t 13 he was reunited with his family which had been torn apart by the separation. ‘‘My mother was perfectly fit to raise me; she was a free woman. But the authorities didn’t see that. My parents later divorced because they blamed each other for me being taken away.’’
In his latest show, Edwards attempts to reclaim some of his heritage, through a series of songs and soliloquies. The musical play, originally performed as Songlines of a Mutti Mutti Man with his siblings three years ago, tells the tragic story of separation in Edwards’ life. It includes a poem in his native Mutti Mutti language, which was largely lost as a result of colonial authorities and missionaries discouraging Aborigines from speaking native languages. - Wyndham Weekly
HOW is it that a man as brokenhearted as indigenous singersongwriter Kutcha Edwards, possesses a voice filled with so much healing and hope? Some might put it down to human resilience, or sheer talent, but the Mutti Mutti artist—who was taken from the banks of the Murrumbidgee River out of his mother’s arms at the age of 18 months — credits his inner strength to something “bigger than that”.
‘‘When I perform, it is not just Kutcha Edwards up there; I am a vehicle for my ancestors,’’ he says. ‘‘I am here to tell their story, and the truth about what indigenous people have gone through in recent history; family, language, and culture have literally been taken away from us.’’ Edwards and his band are touring Victoria with Yuyukutha, and performed at Wyndham Cultural Centre on June 26.
Born in Balranald, New South Wales, the 2001 NAIDOC Indigenous Person of the Year and member of the notorious Black ArmBand spent his childhood in an orphanage in Burwood, where other children assumed his parents were dead. ‘‘I had no reason to grow up in an institution; I was 18 months old when they took me so I couldn’t have committed a crime. I was confused when I first saw my mother at the age of six, when she found out where I was from a cousin working for the government. We spent a few hours together and then the staff urged my mother to go, saying the last train to Swan Hill was about to leave.’’ A
t 13 he was reunited with his family which had been torn apart by the separation. ‘‘My mother was perfectly fit to raise me; she was a free woman. But the authorities didn’t see that. My parents later divorced because they blamed each other for me being taken away.’’
In his latest show, Edwards attempts to reclaim some of his heritage, through a series of songs and soliloquies. The musical play, originally performed as Songlines of a Mutti Mutti Man with his siblings three years ago, tells the tragic story of separation in Edwards’ life. It includes a poem in his native Mutti Mutti language, which was largely lost as a result of colonial authorities and missionaries discouraging Aborigines from speaking native languages. - Wyndham Weekly
BY ANGELA ALLAN
31 Jan, 2012 03:00 AM
IN 2009, when rehearsing with the Black Arm Band ahead of a performance at the State Theatre, indigenous performer Kutcha Edwards had a spiritual experience.
“It was as if I was getting a feeling that I could sense my ancestors walking from Lake Mungo in Swan Hill down to the Arts Centre, critiquing me on my interpretation of Mutthi Mutthi language. It was a freaky time.
“Sometimes I have an understanding that some of the thoughts I have are not mine, I believe that I am a medium for these thoughts [of my ancestors]. Music allows me to do that. I’m very thankful for that.”
Edwards’ music is a reflection of his own songline – of his personal experience as part of the stolen generation, his family, his culture and his people – and his performance this month is part of the Fairfield Summer Concert Series.
“If I wrote a song yesterday, it doesn’t make it a day old. I am from the oldest living culture, so my songs, in reality, are not only of me, they’re of my ancestry. They are more than 100,000 years old.”
As well as being a speaker on Aboriginal issues and working with Multicultural Arts Victoria, the singer-songwriter is working on a new blues-influenced album, which has the working title of Black & Blu.
“Why I write is to de-brief over what not only happened to me, but to my family, my people, and therefore, everyone else – the mainstream. There are ups and downs within the industry, but I enjoy what I do. If someone else benefits from what you do, that’s great too.”
The Fairfield Summer Concert Series begins on February 5 at Fairfield Amphitheatre, Fairfield Park, Heidelberg Road, Fairfield.
Kutcha Edwards and his band perform on February 19 as part of the free event Our Island Sounds. For more information, visit multiculturalarts.com.au - Melbourne Times
BY ANGELA ALLAN
31 Jan, 2012 03:00 AM
IN 2009, when rehearsing with the Black Arm Band ahead of a performance at the State Theatre, indigenous performer Kutcha Edwards had a spiritual experience.
“It was as if I was getting a feeling that I could sense my ancestors walking from Lake Mungo in Swan Hill down to the Arts Centre, critiquing me on my interpretation of Mutthi Mutthi language. It was a freaky time.
“Sometimes I have an understanding that some of the thoughts I have are not mine, I believe that I am a medium for these thoughts [of my ancestors]. Music allows me to do that. I’m very thankful for that.”
Edwards’ music is a reflection of his own songline – of his personal experience as part of the stolen generation, his family, his culture and his people – and his performance this month is part of the Fairfield Summer Concert Series.
“If I wrote a song yesterday, it doesn’t make it a day old. I am from the oldest living culture, so my songs, in reality, are not only of me, they’re of my ancestry. They are more than 100,000 years old.”
As well as being a speaker on Aboriginal issues and working with Multicultural Arts Victoria, the singer-songwriter is working on a new blues-influenced album, which has the working title of Black & Blu.
“Why I write is to de-brief over what not only happened to me, but to my family, my people, and therefore, everyone else – the mainstream. There are ups and downs within the industry, but I enjoy what I do. If someone else benefits from what you do, that’s great too.”
The Fairfield Summer Concert Series begins on February 5 at Fairfield Amphitheatre, Fairfield Park, Heidelberg Road, Fairfield.
Kutcha Edwards and his band perform on February 19 as part of the free event Our Island Sounds. For more information, visit multiculturalarts.com.au - Melbourne Times
Discography
Still working on that hot first release.
Photos
Bio
Kutcha Edwards
Born: 1965, Balranald, NSW, Australia
Background
Born on the Murrumbidgee River at Balranald in 1965, Kutcha and five of his brothers and sisters were among many stolen generations taken from family and institutionalized throughout Australia. Though reunited with his mother at 13, Kutcha remained a ward of the state of Victoria until he was 18 years old.
By the age of 20 Kutcha already had signed up with the AFL, was back in Melbourne at Koori Kollij studying health, black politics, radio and video production, and found himself at the vanguard of the social justice movement arising from the Stolen Generations Report of the 1980s that led to national Sorry Day.
Music became his medium to tell the stories of today, and yesterday, and, while recognised as one of Australia's leading Indigenous singer-songwriters, most of Kutcha's work over the past 20 years has been in community, at schools and neighbourhood centres, in prisons and juvenile justice centres, helping reconnect people and community, raising cultural awareness through the power of song and stories.
He maintains close community links across Australia and actively supports and mentors Indigenous personal and professional development programs, particularly for young people.
Music Journey
For many years Kutcha was lead singer in Aboriginal legend band Blackfire who originally formed as a community fund raising band and who ended touring extensively throughout Australia and internationally to China, Mexico and Japan. The band released two albums, A Time To Dream (1987) & Nightvision (1988) and supported Carlos Santana on an Australian wide tour.
In 2001 Kutcha was awarded National Indigenous Person of the Year for his exceptional leadership in performance and education. In the same year he also received the Best Male Artist of the Year at the Deadly Vibes Awards.
Kutcha went solo in 2002 forming the Kutcha Edwards Band and has recorded two albums, Cooinda (2002) and Hope (2007). BLAK & BLU is Kutchas 3rd solo album.
Kutcha's music follows the great Aboriginal tradition of story-telling through song, and taking audiences on a memorable journey through music and theatre. Launched as a playwright in 2007 with family tribute Songlines of a Mutti Mutti Man at the Melbourne Arts Centre, Kutcha subsequently toured both this production and its 2010 sequel yuyukatha.
Band Members
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