A fascinating piece on
David
Bridie, looking in depth at his recent solo album, as well as Not Drowning, Waving
and My Friend The Chocolate Cake. Don't miss... (The Age)
"The Ghan railway from Port Augusta to Alice Springs," he explains, "was
almost entirely built by Muslims from Afghanistan, with camels. I was standing
there, in the desert near Maree, looking around, thinking of the Islams and
their camels and thinking about who else was there, and what was going on
late last century in the desert - the strange Europeans on the run and the
Aborigines who had already suffered. This is in the heart of redneck white
Australia. It's a strange meeting place. Still is. Australia is a strange
meeting place. Strange things happen. That's really what I wanted to say."
But now Bridie feels he has come full circle. He says Act of Free Choice
could quite easily be a Not Drowning, Waving record, albeit a decade on.
At the very least it's a "logical progression" from his earlier outfit's work.