“[We’re] really feeling a lot of hype and a lot of really powerful stuff from everyone out there,” says songwriter and bandleader, Nahko. “We’re getting a lot of feedback from people and I’m excited to jump out and start it off at AWME too. It’s going to be great.”
It’s not unusual for visiting musicians to speak adoringly for Australia. However, due to the brevity of most bands’ Australian tours, these appraisals generally refer to nothing more than their experiences in the country’s major cities. Nahko’s quick to voice affection for the land down under, and he’s actually managed to take an in depth look at the country.
“It’s kind of part of our schedule to have time off, because your country is absolutely magical,” he says. “Our tour manager out there has been a great tour guide for us. Also, one of my close friends that I befriended within the first week of being in Australia my first time there was Xavier Rudd, so he also showed us some really beautiful places.
“I’ve scheduled in this tour coming up some time, after we’re done touring, to just hang out. Half of the band are surfers, so we’re all pretty keen to get in the ocean. Also, I always look forward to spending time with elders and being with a family.”
It’s certainly unusual for touring musos to make an effort to connect with the Australian land and the country’s original inhabitants, but Nahko isn’t your run-of-the-mill rock musician. While traversing the stages of the world, Nahko makes a point of endorsing cross-cultural unity and respect for the planet we live on. The band’s forthcoming tour is titled Water is Life, which is more than just a cute sub-heading.
“This tour is dedicated to a prayer for the awakening of the water within you,” Nahko explains. “As a human being you’re pretty much made of water. [We want to] help awaken people to an understanding of what’s important to the basic human condition.
“You only get one source of fresh water and you only get one clean ocean. Amongst so many other things right now on our planet, we’re facing serious shortages of uncontaminated water and clean resources. That has a lot to do with, of course, policies in different governments towards energy.”
Far from being a bratty rock singer, Nahko’s well educated on the causes he advocates. However, he realises not everyone attending his shows wants to witness a politically motivated treatise.
“I touch on it a bit,” he says, “But I don’t get too preachy. I don’t spend too much time talking about the details. I just say, ‘This is what’s happening, you guys either know or you don’t know about it, and this is the intention that we have for this tour.’ ”
Evidently, despite his pro-active bent, Nahko’s not setting himself up as an omnipotent saviour. When it comes down to it, Nahko and Medicine for the People are a group of entertainers whose most powerful resource is music.
“I certainly don’t have any solutions to any of these things that I’m speaking out about,” he says. “I’m here to tell stories and to get at the heart of people in a way that’s unique, and I know that now. So, politics aside, for the world that I’d prefer to live in, I know that I’ll probably travel and play songs and tell some stories for the better part of my life.”
BY AUGUSTUS WELBY
