Ganga Giri
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Ganga Giri

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It doesn’t seem to matter where in the world Ganga Giri is performing, the effect is the same. “It takes the Germans a little longer but they’ll get there eventually,” he laughs. “I think Italy; it takes them a lot longer to warm up, that’s a tougher one. But we’ve been back to a few places over the years and people start to know what they’re in for, if you want to come see Ganga Giri they know they’re coming for a dance.”

The journey to this point for Ganga Giri has certainly been a unique one. Originally a drummer, he eventually found himself travelling through India where, at the same time, he picked up the didgeridoo. Once back in Australia he lived in various indigenous communities, continued to travel and slowly his particular sound began to take shape.

“I guess on that journey when I was sort of creating that sound and being a busker in London and DJing, I thought why don’t I get some of my friends, indigenous friends, percussionists and stuff. So it’s sort of grown into a bit of a family and it keeps the music fresh and alive and different.”

This progression in sound has evolved and morphed into the bands latest release Good Voodoo. It’s a record that’s still got plenty of groove and funk but it also features a lot more vocals this time around. “There’s more vocal content on this new record which is kinda, the journey continues I guess,” explains Ganga.

“You know there’s interesting things happening in the world and you know I guess we just want to be a bit more vocal about other inspiring things, slightly political things and stuff.”

Without doubt Ganga Giri seems to be more like a family or a community than just a group of musos. Featuring musicians from all over the globe and bringing together their different musical tastes and styles is an important aspect of the band for Ganga.

“Yeah, I just see myself as I guess a community, a facilitator really, bringing together people at gigs but also on stage. Like, we always have different guests and if we’re in different countries or different places, we always have good friends and musos there; we definitely bring them up on stage and if they’re local it sort of breaks down, or connects with, the community.”

This revolving door of guest musicians and collaborators helps keep the band on their toes and also adds another unique and interesting aspect to their live show. “We’ve got a core group that we tour with and we’re all really solid, so you know [when] guest musicians come up we can keep it solid yet interesting… and not being exactly sure where it’s going to go.”

The Ganga Giri live experience is all about maintaining a good energy and a good vibe and – most importantly – a good time. It’s this infections attitude, along with the infectious grooves, that seems to be capturing the hearts and feet of people the world.

“Just a community feeling, sort of a ‘gathering’,” is Ganga’s answer when he tries to explain the band’s live feel. “It just definitely has that feeling and we come together and dance together and smile together. That’s really one of the most positive-generating things we have access to on the planet.”