Saltwater, Sugar

An epic new work from Aaron Choulai’s Australian Art Orchestra, featuring Ngaiire and Joelistics. Saltwater, Sugar is a story told from within the communities who carry it, touching on the interconnectedness of Chinese, Papua New Guinean and Indigenous people during the time of the Gold Rush in Victoria and Blackbirding in North Queensland. A new work by Papuan-Australian composer Aaron Choulai for the Australian Art Orchestra (AAO) as a 16-piece ensemble, alongside multi-award-winning vocal powerhouse Ngaiire and renowned rapper Joelistics , Saltwater, Sugar draws on themes of racial injustice, survival, friendship and often overlooked pockets of resistance during Australia’s colonial past. A scored fictional narrative that draws on historical events, Saltwater, Sugar is set in the sound world of Duke Ellington, through the distinct voice of the AAO. Performed in English and Tok Pisin, the piece moves between spoken dialogue, sung melodies and adventurous improvisation from some of Australia’s leading instrumental artists. An ambitious musical composition of scale, Saltwater, Sugar traces the friendships and resistance that formed across the very divisions colonial Australia depended on.