WORLDS COLLIDE - MUSIC & OTHER LINKS
WORLDS COLLIDE BIO
Straight out of the urban jungles of Western Sydney... Riffs, Rhymes and Culture.
Worlds Collide is the intersection of our multicultural nation, seven cultures coming together creating new contemporary Australian music. They weave a global and contemporary sound into their infectious music, fusing culture, hip hop rhymes, grooves, melodic hooks and languages into a fun, authentic and powerful experience.
The seven-piece outfit couldn’t be more diverse if it tried. Featuring Uyghur bard Shohrat Tursun whose vocal power channels the ancients from the Silk Road, Yaw Derkyi (Ghana) on percussion and vocals, Uruguayan drummer Juan Andres, Ian 'Esky' Escandor (Philippines) is emcee with Maria Mitar on vocals. Alongside Western Sydney sound pioneer Richard Petkovic producer/guitarist, is award winning bassist Jonathan Nanlohy, from Ambon, Indonesia.
At the core of their message is inclusivity, cultural pride, and a celebration of diversity, with their music elevated by the socially conscious rhymes of ESKY MC from the streets of Mount Druitt, making them uniquely Australian. Their live set packs a powerful punch erupting audiences into enthusiastic dance, call and response and chants.
From their debut performance on a car park rooftop at the immersive Sydney Sacred Music Festival launch in 2017, to the launch of their ARIA nominated Album, Global Community, they have steered an impressive trajectory through their own hard work and independent commitment.
In 2022 Worlds Collide
• released their debut album GLOBAL COMMUNITY collaborating with engineer Anton Hagop (Silver Chair, Missy Higgins)
• Wooed audiences at Elevate Sydney Festival on the Cahill Expressway
• Toured regional NSW and Victoria with sold-out shows
• Supported Australian superstar Dami Im
• Headlining the Culture X (cross-cultural music) Festival Sydney, featuring Melbourne’s’ the Seven Ups and Adelaide’s Farhan Shah and SufiOz
. The opening band for the Sydney Festival 2022 launch party
There is no denying their authenticity, power, and force as the next important thing to happen in contemporary Australian music.
What people are saying…
'The best band in Australia' Olivia Ansell, Sydney Festival Director
‘….The result is a uniquely joyful, surprising sound that borrows from and synthesizes the myriad cultural backgrounds of the musicians.’ Nick Galvin, Sydney Morning Herald.
‘They are creating a new language…something very uniquely Australian’ Paul Mason, Former Australia Council for the Arts Head of Music/Music Consultant.
‘Worlds Collide blew the lid off our venue. For an unknown band to come into town and have the crowd singing, dancing and going crazy, amazing. It was great to see the fusion of all those cultures working together …so fantastic.’ Mary Sitarenos, BAR OUSSOU, Brunswick venue owner
Further artist information
Shohrat Tursun - a world-renowned Uyghur vocalist/musician who has travelled the world performing the hidden treasures of his culture. A seventh generation musician, Shohrat's soaring vocals and agile dutar playing provides a unique & authentic UNESCO protected 1,000 year old musical tradition to the mix.
'Shohrat Tursun, a Uyghur, played the dutar (two-string lute) and sang with a majesty and rawness akin to that of flamenco vocalists, and bassist Jonathan Nanlohy (Ambon/Australia) delivered a poignant spoken-word piece' SMH John Shand
Yaw Derkyi is a Ghanaian percussionist/vocalist who leads the Ghanaian ensemble ‘Karifi’ & brings a sense of the animistic to the collective through his driving tribal rhythms, cultural chants & singing.
Add to this unique cultural mix, the hip hop rhymes of Esky (Philippines), melodies of Blue Mary’s Maria Mitar, Indonesian Funk of award winning bassist, Jonathan Nanlohy & one of Sydney’s leading Latin drummers, Juan Mullet (Uruguay).
Richard Petkovic is the musical director/producer/guitarist who is the chief engineer of the Western Sydney Sound and provides a deftly modern twist by actively inviting the musicians to share their cultures from fresh perspectives via a Marshall Amp.
2022 PAST TOUR DATES & GIGS
Saturday 12 Feb - Jazz: NOW Festival, Sydney
Thursday 24 Feb - Inland Sea of Sound, Bathurst
Saturday 26 Feb - Night Cat, Melbourne (with Black Jesus Experience)
Friday 4 March - Wollongong Art Gallery, Wollongong
Saturday 5 March - Hume Con, Goulburn
Sunday 11 March - Beav's Bar, Geelong
Saturday 12 March - Bar Oussou, Melbourne
Friday 18 March - ANU, Canberra
Saturday 19 March - Wagga Wagga Art Gallery, Wagga Wagga
Saturday 26 March - Ventana Festival, Frankston Vic
Saturday 9 April - Inner West Fest, Sydney, ALBUM LAUNCH
Wednesday 13 April - Torrens University - Surrey Hills
Saturday 16 April - Lazy Bones - Marrickville
Sunday 1 May - The Lass O'Gowrie, Newcastle
Saturday 14 May - Fairfield Museum & Gallery, Sydney (Doco Launch)
August 13 - with Dami Im, Culture Festival of the Arts, City of Canterbury Bankstown
Saturday 18 and 19 November - Bar Oussou, Brunswick and Hotel Esplanade, St Kilda - Melbourne
2023
January 7 - Sydney Festival launch party
www.culturalartscollective.com.au