International touring artist Deya Dova brings her show Under the Stars in Byron Bay this week. Like a nordic Bjork, Deya’s voice traverses the spaces between spirit and dance, in a call to awareness that goes through to the bone. Deya is without a doubt a very extraordinary and almost otherworldly performer. After three months in Canada she has returned with her new show.
‘The show has really transformed,’ she says. ‘We are really excited about this show. We wanted to do something in the heart of Byron under the stars. Our show has become a celebration and a ceremony; it’s a place for people. We stopped playing the pubs and started to create events to get into radical self-expression, to be in that space of pre-dance, big prayer using our bodies, being in freedom and expression so the shows become part ceremony. part dance up. being alive and being in gratitude.’
Working all over the world, the Deya Dova show has become a family affair. It is co-produced by her husband of 20 years, Hamilton, and features their three children. Their daughter Tamara dancing, their daughter Roslyn singing (although she now fronts her own outfit, also appearing in Byron with Deya this week, Indigenoise) and their son Alby, who mainly helps out backstage.
’Our show is a real family expression and celebration,’ says Deya. ‘As a woman performer and musician I have had to go with the flow of being a mother. The last three years we have been touring with the family going on the road; we have a tour bus that we take on the road in America; we go on the road with the whole family; we play events and festivals; and then we go to incredible power places. My other project is to record in the sacred sites around the planet. A lot of these recordings have been incorporated into the electronic productions; a lot of them I have kept in a nest and I am about to do a launch as they are more mediative and more medicine music.’
Twenty-seventeen was a big year for Deya with festival performances in Australia, New Zealand, Canada and the United States, including headlining the coveted Beloved Festival USA and bringing the house down at the massive Oregon Eclipse Gathering amidst a truly global lineup. Their last concert in the area sold out the Mullum Civic Centre and took the dance floor soaring to new heights!
For this upcoming show Deya Dova combines stunning vocals, sublime sonic tapestries, sacred instrumentation and big organic bass beats. The music takes the listeners on a journey from the outer galaxies to the ancient earth heart.
‘The Deya Dova show is an opportunity to dance and play great beats. It’s a world favour, exotic dance beats,’ says Deya, who is thrilled to be returning home.
‘We got married at Broken Head Beach 20 years ago so the Byron Shire for us has really had a relevance and importance, although we have gone away and come back as our tour takes us internationally. This is a special and secret place to come back to. We chose the YAC because it’s a chance to perform under the stars,’ says Deya.
With special guests, the fast-rising next gen Indigenous hip-hop outfit Indigenoise bringing the ancient wisdom of the old ways into the new age. Dropping a raw and organic imprint of hip-hop infused with their inspired conscious lyrics. Together they alchemise a powerful voice of ancient and contemporary culture.
The event will also feature Aunty Delta Kay, a respected Arakwal spokesperson and one of the custodians of Byron Bay (Cavanbah) to share culture in the heart of Byron Bay, together with the Bunyarra Cultural Collective.
A family-friendly alcohol- and drug-free event, with food stalls, herbal elixir bar. Transforming the Byron Bay Youth Activities Centre (YAC).
Sunday 21 January | 5–10pm | Tickets $24 presale, $30 on the door, youth $15.
Available at www.deyadova.com
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