Hailing from the tiny town of Marlinja, Northern Territory, indigenous father/ daughter duo, Rayella, has regularly performed its distinctive, haunting flavour of acoustic music in the region for the past three years. Last year the pair, Ray and Eleanor Dixon, jammed with a select picking of Opera Australia chamber orchestra members at the Desert Harmony Festival. Its success birthed the concept for a more formal recording collaboration.
With funding secured, orchestral arrangements written and recording sessions scheduled, Opera Australia flew the six orchestra members from Melbourne to Tennant Creek for a four-day stint with Rayella. Kicking off on a Monday, the two groups rehearsed together until the ‘official’ recording date of Thursday, giving audio engineer Tim Webb plenty of time to fill his hard drives with backup material. “We only…