Wild Marmalade return to the Beach Hotel this week for a free Sunday session – if you don’t know Wild Marmalade then you are in for a treat. The world’s original didgeridoo and drum band certainly know how to spin the dial to 11 and get the high vibes rolling.
They will be joined by Tijuana Cartel front man and guitar virtuoso, Paul A George; this is sure to be an epic afternoon of groove.
Head to the Beachy ready to kick it – this is definitely a dance event.
A little history from Si Mullumby, Wild Marmalade didgeridoo player: ‘If you were around in the early 2000s you will remember Wild Marmalade played on the streets of Byron Bay most nights over summer. We would block the street with throngs of dancing people from all over the world.’
‘Then, in the Aussie winter, we’d head to Europe to play street shows and sell CDs. We didn’t need gigs. We renegaded festivals and set up our own stages. The best day we ever had was in Barcelona. We sold 374 albums in a day.
‘As time moved on and CDs lost their value, we moved into playing festivals at home and abroad: Woodford, Earth Frequency, Rainbow. We toured Japan and Europe every year. At one point we were headhunted by Cirque du Soleil for a lead role in the show KA in Las Vegas.
‘Japan was massive for us. We did so many shows over there we never knew where we were, it was just about getting back in the van and doing what we were told. Somehow Japanese people understand that dynamic primal and sacred fusion that the band holds.
‘We played Boom Festival in Portugal many times. To feel the didgeridoo and bass drum through the biggest Funktion One sound system in the world has been an experience in itself. Desert skies and an ocean of people dancing like rag dolls in the dust.
‘Twenty years in, it’s amazing to kick back and see the wave of didgeridoo and drum bands that we have inspired all over the world.
‘Our music creates unity. It brings people together. It’s an activation of our inherent intelligent wildness. After more than 20 years of touring we can be sure of one thing – people always want to dance. They just need the right music to take them there.’
Wild Marmalade, Sunday from 4.30pm at the Beach Hotel.
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