SYDNEY—Indigenous singer Geoffrey Gurrumul Yunupingu's star is on the rise, with shows at the Sydney Opera House on the horizon and a UK release for his debut album imminent.
The buzz surrounding the blind songwriter from Elcho Island, in north-east Arnhem Land, has been growing since he released his debut album, Gurrumul, earlier this year.
Although the songs are mainly sung in his native Yolngu language and have received limited radio airplay, the album debuted at no.21 on the ARIA album chart and no.1 on its independent chart.
Yunupingu's angelic voice and mix of gospel, soul, folk and roots music has also found fans in Europe, where the album has ranked among the best-sellers in the folk category on iTunes in Italy, France, Spain and the Netherlands.
UK world music magazine Songlines calls it "a gentle masterpiece of remarkable beauty", adding that Yunupingu has one of the world's sweetest voices, comparable with that of Aaron Neville.
To Aussie roots singer John Butler, Yunupingu has "the voice of an angel that pierces to your core".
Chryss Carr, a spokeswoman for Yunupingu's record label, Skinnyfish Music, said it had received word today that the CD would be released into stores in the UK.
"I received word today we're going to proceed into the UK in a physical way, which means CDs on the ground, as well as digital," Carr said.
It tops a big couple of months for the singer, who opened for Sir Elton John at his Darwin concert in May.
A fortnight ago he played to thousands of fans at The Dreaming Festival at Woodford, in Queensland, and just this weekend he performed alongside world music artists at the Festival Mundial in the Netherlands.
Yunupingu has experienced musical success as a former member of Yothu Yindi, but as a solo artist his journey is just beginning.
He has two concerts at the Sydney Opera House on July 13 and 14, ahead of a special performance in the Domain in Sydney in front of 40,000 people as part of World Youth Day celebrations.
Carr said other international performances were in the works.
"He's going really well - record sales are fantastic," Carr said.
"We imagine after the Sydney Opera House shows (his record sales) are going to peak higher again.
"We actually believe that we're just at the beginning, not at the end of something."
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