Not Drowning, Waving formed in Melbourne in 1983 by David Bridie and John Phillips making music which comprises elements of rock, ambient music and world music; their lyrics dealt with characteristically Australian topics: word-pictures of landscapes and people, the seasons, and some political issues – such as Indonesia's invasion of East Timor.
The group have released six studio albums and two soundtracks before disbanding in 1994 (and briefly reformed in 2001, 2003 and 2005–2006). From 2005 to 2007, they issued three compilation albums. Not Drowning, Waving won the ARIA Award for Best Independent Release at the ARIA Music Awards of 1992 for Proof, their soundtrack for the 1991 film of the same name.
In 1991, Bridie and fellow members of Not Drowning, Waving, formed a side-project, My Friend The Chocolate Cake to play more acoustic-based material.
They reunite with renowned Papua New Guinean musician George Telek to celebrate 35 years of Tabaran. George Telek Mamua MBE, commonly known simply as Telek, is a musician and singer from Papua New Guinea. He has won one ARIA Award for this 1997 self-titled album. Telek sings in his native language, Kuanua, and in Tok Pisin. Many of his songs are sung in three-part harmonies that are characteristic of the Tolai.
Inspired by the rhythms of Rabaul, a culturally-rich town in PNG, the album fuses the band’s avant-garde pop-rock with local harmonies, melodies, and instruments. Rabaul is a township in the East New Britain province of Papua New Guinea, on the island of New Britain. It lies about 600 kilometres to the east of the island of New Guinea.
Their WOMAD Aotearoa performance unites original Tabaran musicians with dynamic new talent from PNG and Australia, honouring both the album’s legacy and PNG’s upcoming 50th anniversary of independence.
