This yirdaki was made by Larry Winiwini, son of Djalu Gurruwiwi. Most people would know Larry as a phenomenal yirdaki player, and indeed he is. His talent as a yirdaki maker is less well-known, probably because he crafts instruments on an irregular and erratic basis... whenever he feels like it to be more precise. But when Winiwini makes a yirdaki, you can be sure it is as good as it gets in north-east Arnhem Land.

Winiwini's forays into bush to cut yirdaki is always a bit of an adventure. He has the boundless energy and enthusiasm that one would imagine Djalu had 40 years ago, not that Djalu is a slouch at cutting yirdaki! But with Winiwini, going bush feels like an intense exercise workout... one moment he is a few feet behind you, the next he's chopping into a tree 10 metres away, and moments later he has disappeared out of sight!

Winiwini is extremely selective in the logs he harvests. He has a preference for yirdaki with screeching acoustics, intense power and great acoustic elasticity. Many of the instruments he makes have a narrow bore in the neck region and a small natural wooden mouthpiece, often less than 30 mm in diameter. These are the instruments that best bring out Winiwini's unique style of play, with strongly articulated tongue glides and attacks that bend the fundamental note upwards predominating his repertoire of techniques.

This yirdaki is a screamer with loads of back pressure. A carved bell-shaped distal end looks spectacular and seems to be something that only Winiwini does.

You can purchase this instrument in the iDIDJ Store:

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