Adam Plack

Last updated

Adam Plack
Birth nameAdam S. Plack
Origin East Brighton, Australia
Genres New age, folk
Occupation(s)Composer, musician, producer
Instrument(s) Didgeridoo
Years active1992–present
LabelsAustralian Music International, Rasā Music

Adam Plack is an Australian-born didgeridoo player, composer and producer, originally from East Brighton in Melbourne. He moved to New York City in 1991 and released four albums before moving into production and composition for meditation music in partnership with Deepak Chopra.

Contents

Life and career

Plack comes from a family of classical musicians. He studied classical violin, piano, guitar and voice from a young age. He also enjoyed the improvisations on his father's jazz records and eventually turned toward the Australian landscape for inspiration. [1] Plack picked up the didgeridoo in the early 1990s and began his recording career together with Johnny "White Ant" Soames, releasing the album Dawn Until Dusk (Tribal Song And Didgeridoo) in 1992. [2] The duo produced a second album, Winds of Warning two years later. [3] He has also collaborated with David Gulpilil and other Aboriginal musicians. [1]

Plack has performed and recorded under the name "Nomad," releasing two albums. The first one, Nomad (1994), was nominated for an ARIA Award for Best World Music Album at the ARIA Music Awards of 1995. [1] The single "With You" from the Songman (1999) album, [4] reached Number 2 on the Billboard Dance charts [1] and won the 2001 ASCAP Rhythm and Soul Music Award. Since then he has worked largely on meditation music with Deepak Chopra, including A Gift of Love (1998), which consists of translations of the poems of Rumi. [1] In 2002, Plack released the Coco De Mer album, a project of new-age interpretations of classical arias. [5]

Plack lives in Los Angeles where he works as a life-coach. He was once married to actress Sonja Sohn. [6]

Discography

Albums

TitleDetailsPeak positions
AUS
Winds of Warning
  • Released: 1990
  • Label: Sunnyside Records (CrO1)
  • Formats: Cassette
Didgeridoo
(with Johnny White Ant)
  • Released: 1991
  • Label: Sunnyside Records (CrO2)
  • Formats: Cassette
Dawn Until Dusk: Tribal Song and Didgeridoo
(with Johnny White Ant, William Brady and Luke Cummins)
  • Released: 1992
  • Label: Australian Music International (AMI 3003-2)
  • Formats: CD
Journey to Higher Ground (A Cinematic Journey in Sound)
(with Chris Turner and Rachel Maloney)
  • Released: 1994
  • Label: Bunyip Productions (BPCD001)
  • Formats: CD
Nomad
(as Nomad)
  • Released: 1994
  • Label: Australian Music International (AMI 4004-2)
  • Formats: CD, Cassette
Songman
(as Nomad)
  • Released: 1994
  • Label: Australian Music International (AMI 7007-2)
  • Formats: CD
Deepak Chopra - The Soul of Healing Meditations
  • Released: 2001
  • Label: Rasā Music (RSCD 3118)
  • Formats: CD
Deepak Chopra - The Soul of Healing Affirmations
  • Released: 2008
  • Label: Rasā Music (RS 3184)
  • Formats: CD

Film/television composer or contributor

Awards and nominations

ARIA Music Awards

The ARIA Music Awards is an annual awards ceremony that recognises excellence, innovation, and achievement across all genres of Australian music. They commenced in 1987.

YearNominee / workAwardResultRef.
1995 Nomad Best World Music Album Nominated [7]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Yothu Yindi</span> Australian musical group

Yothu Yindi are an Australian musical group with Aboriginal and non-Aboriginal members, formed in 1986 as a merger of two bands formed in 1985 – a white rock group called the Swamp Jockeys, and an unnamed Aboriginal folk group consisting of Mandawuy Yunupingu, Witiyana Marika, and Milkayngu Mununggur. The Aboriginal members came from Yolngu homelands near Yirrkala on the Gove Peninsula in Northern Territory's Arnhem Land. Founding members included Stuart Kellaway on bass guitar, Cal Williams on lead guitar, Andrew Belletty on drums, Witiyana Marika on manikay, bilma and dance, Milkayngu Mununggurr on yidaki, Geoffrey Gurrumul Yunupingu on keyboards, guitar, and percussion, past lead singer Mandawuy Yunupingu and present Yirrnga Yunupingu on vocals and guitar.

<i>Tribal Voice</i> 1991 studio album by Yothu Yindi

Tribal Voice is the second studio album by Yothu Yindi, released in September 1991 on the Mushroom Records label. The album peaked at number 4 on the ARIA Charts and was certified 2× Platinum.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Classical Gas</span> 1968 instrumental musical piece

"Classical Gas" is an instrumental musical piece composed and originally performed by American guitarist Mason Williams with instrumental backing by members of the Wrecking Crew. Originally released in 1968 on the album The Mason Williams Phonograph Record, it has been rerecorded and rereleased numerous times since by Williams. One later version served as the title track of a 1987 album by Williams and the band Mannheim Steamroller.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Charlie McMahon</span> Australian didgeridoo player

Charlie McMahon is an Australian didgeridoo player. The founder of the group Gondwanaland, McMahon was one of the first non-Aboriginal musicians to gain fame as a professional player of the instrument.

Coloured Stone is an Aboriginal Australian band whose members originate from the Koonibba Mission, west of Ceduna, South Australia. The band performs using guitar, bass, drums, and Aboriginal instruments – didjeridu, bundawuthada and clap sticks – to play traditional music.

Graeme Revell is a New Zealand musician and composer. He came to prominence in the 1980s as the leader of the industrial/electronic group SPK. Since the 1990s he has worked primarily as a film score composer.

Sirocco is an Australian music group that began in 1980 with three musicians: Bill O'Toole, Guy Madigan and Andrew de Teliga. In 1981 Michael Atherton joined and the group recorded their first album Paths of the Wind.

<i>Three</i> (The John Butler Trio album) 2001 studio album by John Butler Trio

Three is the second studio album of Australian jam band The John Butler Trio.

Gondwanaland, originally billed as Gondwanaland Project, were an Australian ambient musical ensemble which combined the indigenous Australian instrument the didgeridoo with western instruments such as synthesiser and guitar.

William Barton is an Aboriginal Australian composer and multi-instrumentalist, known for his and didgeridoo (yidaki) playing, particularly with classical orchestras.

<i>Coco</i> (album) 2007 studio album by Colbie Caillat

Coco is the debut studio album by American singer-songwriter Colbie Caillat. The album was released on July 10, 2007 in the United States, debuting at number five on the US Billboard 200, selling 51,000 copies in its first week. It also became Caillat's best-selling album to date, selling 2,100,000 copies in the United States and over 3,000,000 copies around the world. Caillat supported the album with the Coco World Tour, as well as four singles. The lead single "Bubbly" was a huge international hit, while the following two singles "Realize" and "The Little Things" were minor hits. "Somethin' Special" was released as a promo support the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing, China and the 2009 film Bride Wars.

<i>Rise</i> (Daryl Braithwaite album) 1990 studio album by Daryl Braithwaite

Rise is an album by Daryl Braithwaite released in November 1990. The album reached No. 3 on the Australian ARIA Charts. It was the best-selling album in Australia in 1991. The album sold over 300,000 copies in Australia.

<i>Terra Firma</i> (Tommy Emmanuel and Phil Emmanuel album) 1995 studio album by Phil Emmanuel and Tommy Emmanuel

Terra Firma is an album by Australian guitarist Tommy Emmanuel with his brother Phil that was released in February 1995 and peaked at No. 12 on the ARIA Albums Chart in Australia. The song "(Back on the) Terra Firma" reached No. 45 on the ARIA Singles Chart.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Geoffrey Gurrumul Yunupingu</span> Indigenous Australian musician

Geoffrey Gurrumul Yunupingu, commonly known as Gurrumul and also referred to since his death as Dr G. Yunupingu, was a Yolŋu Aboriginal Australian musician. A multi-instrumentalist, he played drums, keyboards, guitar and didgeridoo, but it was the clarity of his singing voice that attracted rave reviews. He sang stories of his land both in Yolŋu languages such as Gaalpu, Gumatj or Djambarrpuynu, a dialect related to Gumatj, and in English. He began his career as a member of Yothu Yindi and later Saltwater Band, and his solo career brought him wider acclaim He was the most commercially successful Aboriginal Australian musician at the time of his death. As of 2020, it is estimated that Yunupingu has sold half a million records globally.

<i>Relativity</i> (Indecent Obsession album) 1994 studio album by Indecent Obsession

Relativity is the third and final studio album by Australian pop rock band Indecent Obsession, released by in June 1994 by Mushroom Records in Australia and MCA Records internationally. It features the single "Fixing a Broken Heart", which the band recorded a second version as a duet with Japanese singer-songwriter Mari Hamada. The album is the first and only release to feature lead vocalist Richard Hennassey and guitarist Graham Kearns, who replaced David Dixon and Andrew Coyne, respectively, after the band relocated to London in 1993.

The Ninth Australian Recording Industry Association Music Awards was held on 20 October 1995 at the Sydney Convention & Exhibition Centre. There had been a 18-month gap since the previous award ceremony which was moved to be "closer to the business end of the music industry's year" and so reflect that year's works. Presenters distributed 28 awards from 1060 eligible submissions. Big winners for the year were Silverchair with five awards and Tina Arena with four, including Album of the Year and Song of the Year – both first time they were won by a female.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Shane Howard</span> Australian musician

Shane Michael Howard is an Australian singer-songwriter and guitarist, he was the mainstay of folk rock group Goanna which had hit singles with "Solid Rock" and "Let the Franklin Flow" on the Kent Music Report and their album, Spirit of Place. After their disbandment he pursued a solo career.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">David Haberfeld</span> Musical artist

David Haberfeld is an Australian electronic dance music producer, performer, DJ and educator. Best known for his productions and live performances as Honeysmack, he is a proponent of acid house and techno music styles.

<i>Harley and Rose</i> 1990 studio album by The Black Sorrows

Harley and Rose is the sixth studio album by Australian rock band The Black Sorrows. The album was released in September 1990 and peaked at number three on the ARIA Charts, becoming the band's first top five album. The album remained in the top 50 for 51 weeks.

Coco's Lunch is an a cappella musical group based in Melbourne, Australia. The group was founded in 1994 by vocalists and multi-instrumentalists Lisa Young and Sue Johnson, with Nicola Eveleigh, Jaqueline Gawler, and Gabrielle MacGregor. The group's sound is influenced by jazz, blues, classical, African and Carnatic traditions, and has been compared to artists such as Sweet Honey in the Rock and Bobby McFerrin.

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 PERTOUT, ANDRIÁN (4 September 2000). "Nomad: Songman". Pertout.com.
  2. Listing of the Dawn Until Dusk: Tribal Song And Didgeridoo album on Discogs.com, (accessed 1 January 2015).
  3. Listing of the Winds of Warning album on Discogs.com, (accessed 1 January 2015).
  4. Listing for the Songman album on Discogs.com, (accessed 1 January 2015).
  5. Listing of the Coco De Mer album on Discogs.com, (accessed 1 January 2015).
  6. "Actress from the Wire and the Chi Arrested in North Carolina for Allegedly Possessing Cocaine".
  7. ARIA Award previous winners. "ARIA Awards – Winners by Award – Best World Music Album". Australian Recording Industry Association (ARIA). Retrieved 12 November 2018.