We were lucky enough to have the Tjintu Desert Band grace the 8CCC studio on the eve of their ‘Desert to Saltwater Tour’, to speak with Corinne O’Keefe on Monday night’s Local Connections Live Show, presented by Alecia and Diana.
You can listen to the interview and live track here here.
or download the podcast by visiting:
Also, here’s the interview in written form – but be sure to catch the podcast above, for a special in-house acoustic rendition of Grandfather’s Dreaming!
CORINNE: How long have you been playing together as a band?
JEFFREY from TJINTU DESERT BAND: We’ve been together since 2002 …playing music and recording.
CORINNE: What kind of sounds can we expect from your new album, Tjamuka Ngura (Grandfather’s Country) – to be launched at the Mbantua Festival in October?
JEFFREY: Well, in the first place we started playing reggae and then from there we thought we might go into other music, like going into different worlds and for the new album, our music is going to sound different but also have a little bit of reggae in there as well. It’s going to be rock, funk, reggae sounds.
CORINNE: Where are the Tjintu Desert Band from?
JEFFREY: We’re from Haasts Bluff. It’s a small community but in our language it’s called Ikuntji. It’s about 250kms West of Alice Springs.
CORINNE: And this area has inspired the name change for the band as well. Can you tell us about that?
JEFFREY: The reason why we wanted to change the name is because ‘tjintu’ means ‘sun’ and that’s our traditional language, and the desert is our home.
CORINNE: What kind of musical influences does the band have
JEFFREY: I’d like to talk a little bit about myself… I used to listen to Santana and that’s where I got all the guitar sounds from – listening to Santana cds and sometimes I listen to ZZ Top and Bob Marley.
…We all listen to sometimes the same music … Reggae music…UB40 and all that.
CORINNE: So where did you guys meet to come together as a band and how did that all happen?
JEFFREY: Ah, [that] takes us way back to 2001 and we started jamming together at Haasts Bluff – that’s Ikuntji – where we come from. And we used to just jam round and in 2002, we thought, ‘Oh, we should try and start up a band’ and we performed at Pupunya Sports Carnival in Battle for the Bands
CORINNE: And you’ve got an upcoming tour as well, the ‘Desert to Saltwater Tour’, which features four states. How are you feeling about that?
JEFFREY: Ah… little bit nervous, but I think we’ll be right. It’s going to be different country from the desert to the sea
Keep your eyes peeled and your ears alert for the Tjintu Desert Band’s upcoming album, Tjamuku Ngura (Grandfather’s Country), scheduled for release this October, as part of the Alice Spring’s Mbantua Festival. The album will be featuring new and expanded direction for the band into the realms of funk and rock, whilst still paying homage to their desert reggae roots.
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