Resurrected, Remixed And Reinvigorated: Behind The Scenes Of Gavin Campbell’s Treaty Project
Gavin Campbell is a man of firsts. He launched Australia’s first dance music record label, Razor Records in the early 90s, received the first ARIA Gold Record ever awarded to a DJ and was the first to put Australia on the world dance music stage with the Filthy Lucre remix of Yothu Yindi’s Treaty, all on the back of a gut feeling. He’s a man who refuses to take no for an answer. After Mushroom Records told Campbell to drop his idea of remixing little known aboriginal band Yothu Yindi into a house track after seeing their promo shot lying round the studio, he snuck the tapes out of the building to followed his obsession. This led the charge of a timeless musical innovation that resulted in his nomination for a Producer of the year ARIA award, for the first song he was ever involved in producing.
The Treaty remix project wasn’t something anyone had ever done before, nor has since been able to replicate. 25 years ago, it had a huge impact on a global scale, setting a pace on dancefloors from New York to London, before it had even ridden the radio airwaves in Australia. This original idea has certainly stood the test of time, with the 25 year anniversary remix package being gratefully received as a precursor to the announcement of a new live show set to tour Australia. His idea was to bring together much of the old Yothu Yindi material and infuse it with an electronic twist with remixes, along with some new material in the mix. 25 years after the first release, it’s great to see the unstoppable Campbell with another bee in his bonnet, enlisting an entourage of some of Melbourne’s finest producers on board to help.
‘I had a vision,’ says Campbell, reminiscing his unwavering persistence to get the original project across the line. ‘It gelled in my heart and mind and I couldn’t let it go.’ Campbell has orchestrated an ambitious run of live shows, which will see Yothu Yindi and The Treaty Project headlining Strawberry Fields and a special sideshow, the only gig in Melbourne, at the Croxton Bandroom this Sunday 19 November. Another exciting date is outside Sydney Opera House on the concourse, closing the Homeground First Nations Festival.
‘I’ve only been to the opera house once before, so returning to actually perform there has a great edge to it. This is a free community event, so we’re anticipating lots of people as we play as the sun goes down. We are also appearing at Queenscliff Music Festival and during the Sydeny Festival, at the Enmore Theatre in Newtown. We’re so bloody excited.’
An arsenal of talent has been enlisted for the remix project at a number of Melbourne studios. ‘We have had eight Yothu Yindi songs remixed for the show’ he says. ‘Of course, Treaty is in the set, but the other seven songs never sounded quite like this before. The new show puts an electronic twist on this rock/traditional band. There were so many remixes to do in such a short space of time, that I needed a professional, no nonsense team to take the reins, which is why I tapped my good mate Phil K on the shoulder to head the project.”
‘Phil pulled a bunch of his mates together and a couple of fresh young talents he had his eye on. Talent such as Nubreed and his Lostep partner Luke Chable, who handled Tribal Voice, a song which I initially felt was one of the weakest tracks in the series and in need some serious attention. When I put it to the production team in those terms, it was Luke who put his hand up and what they have done with it is really impressive. I shouldn’t pick favourites, but I’m really impressed with the way they’ve turned this tune on its head.’
‘Danny Bonnici and Phil have also done a great job with Djapana, which many don’t realise is actually the highest charting Yothu Yindi single. Treaty broke down the door, yet struggled to get air play. Djapana, as the follow up single, raced straight up the charts. This awesome remix reflects that commerciality.’
‘Phil has also put us on to some really bright young producers. I’ve also recently enlisted ‘Faces Of Meth’ producer Nick Coleman, along with Circus Oz musical director Ania Reynolds, producer Kalju Tonuma and musician Megan Bernard, all of whom form a reignited Filthy Lucre production project. Luke Holder is another Phil K and Danny Bonnic recruit, remixing Timeless Land. Holder is just 14yrs old and these veterans, including Anthony Pappa, have taken the lad under their wing, for a bit of mentoring. So too was young Jack D’Arcy, who at just 18, was put in charge of ‘World Turning’. He’s been making waves producing as Aybner. Nick Colman and I have remixed Solid Rock and the hidden Yothu Yindi gem named Mabo.’
‘There is at times a surreal and rather magical edge to this project. Many artists and producers involved in the project have reported the feeling that it’s almost as if a higher power was guiding people through the creative process; that perhaps those who are no longer of this earth were in the studio.’
‘I kid you not, it felt like we were getting guidance from positive forces, with weird and wonderful moments that sent chills down mine and Nick’s spines one day,’ says Campbell. ‘One day, the track just seemed to write itself, as the session was running, the remaining parts had arranged amazingly well. Seemingly, half of the arrangement was already there and it was like the late Dr Yunupingu was guiding us. There seems to be zone with this particular project, with hypnotic traditional Indigenous elements propelling you.’
‘It’s exciting to see the Aussie icons like Shane Howard reuniting with a few of the original members. We’ve got Yirrmal, who is the Grandson of the late frontman Dr M Yunupingu, who’s currently based in Geelong. He’s an amazing vocalist, whose presence and passion are a sight for sore eyes. For the traditional Yolngu Matha vocals, we specifically required clan members, four of which are coming down from Arnhem land, including Malangay Yunupingu, one of the top yidaki (digeridoo) players in the country. Original Yothu Yindi musician Stu Kellaway, who plays bass guitar is also with us. These are exciting times.’
In terms of challenges, there was a lot to coordinate bringing everyone together to resurrect this project. In order to remix every song, the original tapes had to be located and then digitised into stems for each producer. The process was back and forth. Nothing could be started until all producers were confirmed and ready to go at once. The Treaty Project has no drummer; we’ve samples and loops, which I trigger on a Toraiz SP-16 sampler, a keyboard player and the guitarist. It’s certainly been an interesting exercise to pull these elements together coherently. I’ve now got all the remixes from the producers. It’s just a case of constructing the songs, for the live show and pulling out all the elements that will be played on stage by the music and loading the sampler. We’ve also created songs especially for the show. It’s certainly a labour of love that has kept me very busy.’
So what is Gavin’s role in the live show? ‘Well Phil K would say I am the conductor. Apart from triggering things on the sampler, I also have a USB with stripped back versions of the remixes, with all of the percussion left in. So I play the tracks from the USB and add various elements. I will be making choices on the fly, as there are many extra bits to choose from.’
‘The current national conversation around the concept of a treaty and various other Indigenous issues in Australia at the moment, means there is a lot of good will surrounding this particular project. It feels like being on a magic carpet, about to take off.’
In terms of what’s on the agenda next, Campbell is focussing on completing the task at hand, before its success plots his next move. ‘I will put some material out next year, but as yet I can’t really talk about it. Obviously we will release material on the back of this project, but we really don’t know what it’s going to be just yet. We have such great content, Spoilt for choice in fact.’
It’s interesting to reflect on what made the project so successful. Campbell puts it down to the fact that it’s a fusion. ‘Treaty comes from a rock song,’ says Campbell. ‘I initially wanted to make a trance tune. I envisaged something trancey, as back in 1991, trance and progressive house were brand new genres. I was imagining aboriginal chanting over long grooves.’
‘If you go back to the early 90s it was before tribal house. There was no such thing around at the time. The Balearic movement was alive, breezy layered rhythms. The only other song that I can think of that fit into that genre of early tribal house, coming out of Balearic, was The Future Sound of London’s Papua New Guinea. It’s also got that world music infusion to it.’
It took a while for our song to penetrate radio and TV because it was very early for Australian dance music, at that stage. Australian club music had not happened, yet dance music was successful dominating.
‘Treaty is an Indigenous Australian protest song, which is one reason why it is timeless and still relevant today. It is can be a conduit for change, a voice for the people, which is a powerful thing.’
The invigoration of the 1992 project of course started with last year’s 25 year anniversary remix set, with remixes from Campbell himself, Duncan Grey and Melbourne duo The Journey, who Campbell has worked with on music for Razor before. ‘Jacob and Tom [The Journey] are very switched on. In 2014 I released a piano house single called The Saboteurs. The boys delivered the best remix of that, hands down. They gave it a sleazy Masters At Work vibe and it sat on top of kiss FM chart for a month. It was on the back of this that I decided to give them a go at remixing Treaty. I knew they would have the mind set to handle it, they are respectful of things. It’s such a fantastic mix for the current market, yet it exudes some serious staying power.’ Treaty was an original. It was inevitable that it would work. Even new, thoughtful remixes work and right now, I’m really looking forward to breathing more life into it.’
