The latest 8CCC feature album is an absolute gem, a debut by artist Keanu Nelson, out on Altered States Tapes and available via Bandcamp. Don’t sleep on this one.

Produced and recorded in Papunya by Yuta Matsumura, the functionally-minimal electronic backings provide the perfect canvas for Keanu to transpose the stories from his notebook, sung in both Language and occasional English, into sound. The influence of Papunya’s strong local church community is evident at times in the Casio Gospel sound of some tracks. As are the plodding, reggae-esque beats in others, not unlike those that are mysteriously distributed in community via USB sticks and phone transfers to be played on TV’s. 

Also a semi-regular painter at the Papunya Tjupi Arts Centre, Keanu’s album can be seen as another manifestation of the intense creativity evident in the community, wherein dreamings of traditional culture, family and home are dominant themes.