THE LAST AUROCHS
Founded in 2017, The Last Aurochs is a collective of young musicians based in Sydney, brought together by their love of exploring traditional music.
The Last Aurochs have been recognised for representing lesser known musical traditions of Europe including northern Spain and Portugal and the Morvan region of France, combined with modern Australian traditional fusion music, complete with Scottish and Irish influences.
Inspired by a 20,000-year-old Palaeolithic site in the north of Portugal, and its depictions of wild aurochs, the original roaming cattle, ideas for a ‘borderless tradition’ project started developing. The old grazing land of the Aurochs saw no borders and since the group brought different cultural backgrounds together it came to represent a natural musical exploration of what ‘new’ traditional music is, or can be. Music without borders.
With roots deep in play-by-ear traditions, and an eclectic mix of musical backgrounds and training, The Last Aurochs create a unique interpretation of contemporary Australian traditional music. Modern arrangements, powerful dance rhythms and compositions are ways to keep tradition alive in an ever-changing world. The hope is that modernising traditional music will save it from becoming extinct (like the Aurochs).
Originally formed by Carissa Lee, James Slack-Smith, João Almeida and Léo Garnier, the band expanded in 2020 to include George Machado.
Since 2021, The Last Aurochs are:
Carissa Lee on guitar. Carissa has had a long presence in Sydney folk music as an accompanist, with her unique rhythmic DADGAD guitar style defining the band’s sound from the start. James Slack-Smith on flutes and percussion. James is an award winning multi-instrumentalist, having significant musical training in jazz along with traditional music. João Almeida on portuguese gaitas. João is a traditional Portuguese gaiteiro (piper) having trained in the APEDGF bagpipe school. After migrating to Sydney in 2011, he has since branched out and played with bands such as Celtic Tones, Ethno Folk Orchestra and Aljamía. George Machado on bass. George is a traditional Brazilian Choro player, with extensive academic training in music. Léo Garnier on accordion. Léo is a traditional diatonic accordion player from Morvan, France. Léo has a unique and distinctive playing style that reflects his life embedded in the rich traditional music of his region. Playing since he was a child, Léo is a virtuoso on C/G and D/G accordions, and a prolific composer with dozens of works played internationally.
The Last Aurochs’ self titled album is out on Rouseabout Records through MGM Distribution.
Catalogue Number RRR100
BUY CD – Email: info@undercovermusic.com.au or Phone: +61 447 046 516
ARTIST WEBSITE:
Catalogue Number RRR100
