Ash Dargan

Ash Dargan, an Australian indigenous recording artist world renowned for his mastery on the Didgeridoo has been pushing the boundaries of contemporary world music for the last eight years. His distinct blend of Australian indigenous and contemporary world music captures the essence of one of the oldest cultures on earth and with it transcends the boundaries of time. His music has been described as the soul of the Australian Dreamtime landscape with a timeless quality reflecting a deep connection and reverence for the spiritual wisdom of his ancestry.

A member of the Larrakia Nation, the traditional land owners of Darwin in the Northern Territory of Australia, Ash is an ambassador of his culture through his music, storytelling and live performances. Ash was classically trained in music from the age of eight on trumpet and came back to his cultural roots at the age of twenty two. His grandmother and great uncle, both traditional elders of the Larrakia people were instrumental in his musical adoption of the Didgeridoo and its deeper cultural significance. Through them he came to know of the Didgeridoo's unlimited potential for the expression of rhythm and its ability to represent the power of the natural and spiritual worlds. The vocal harmonies used in traditional corroboree‘s (ceremonies) and the natural voice of Australia’s native song birds have also had a great influence on his musical compositions.

1997-2000 Ash tasted his first major success recording with world music producer Jim Wilson on a compilation album entitled "Tulku Season of Souls," a Polygram release that went top ten in the US World Music charts. After touring abroad in 1998 Ash returned to Australia and was snapped up by the most successful indigenous recording label in Australia, Indigenous Australia, creating over the next few years a body of work that has sold over 500,000 units. Ash's exploration into world fusion rhythms with his releases Earth Rhythms, Ash Dust & Dirt and Sticks Bones and Song Stones have become popular world drum and Didgeridoo cd's in Australia, Japan and the USA. In 2000 Ash’s release through Sony Australia “Indigenous Rhythms” was nominated for Release of the Year at the Australian National Indigenous Music Awards 2000.

2001-2004 After a sell out national tour of Japan in 2001 Ash went back home to the Northern Territory and over the next two years created his seminal work TERRITORY a multi media live performance show enabling him to take audiences around the world on a journey into the creation myths of the Australian Aboriginal Dreamtime. Since 2003 Ash has been touring the TERRITORY throughout the world.