North Tanami Band
Birth Place
Lajamanu
Year activate
1980–Present

North Tanami Band  Biography

North Tanami Band hail from Lajamanu, 900km north of Alice Springs. As one of the pioneering bands of the Desert Reggae sound, North Tanami Band has been hugely influential for the current generation of Central Desert bands. Formed in the 1980’s, North Tanami Band first recorded with CAAMA Music in 1988.

With five albums spanning nearly 20 years, the band has inducted many young musicians into the fold, encouraging many girls and women to sing with them in their live shows. Zac Patterson, lead vocalist and rhythm guitarist for the band, first joined the band when he was 15 years old. His father was one of the original line-up and was responsible for teaching Zac the music he knows today. In turn Zac is a music teacher in his community, and has taught music to most of the younger members of the band as it stands now.

North Tanami Band represents the contemporary indigenous music of Central Australia. Their songs, sung in Warlpiri, reflect concerns with the social fabric of their lives, the strength of family and culture, land and law.

In 1992 they were the subject of a SBS documentary ‘The Travelling Warlpiri’s’ which portrayed the massive distances and trials involved with a remote Indigenous band.

They are currently recording their seventh album at the CAAMA Music studios in Alice Springs.