Injured Ninja - ‘The Epic of Gilgamesh: Live in the Goldfields’

Full length album and Live Performance Film - Released Nov 30th 2023

One of the most incredibly ambitious projects i’ve ever worked on with Injured Ninja - a live performance film version of our show ‘The Epic of Gilgamesh.’ The ultimate formation of friends and family to make something big, boldly creative and incredible.

Feature Film

Press Release

Hear me! Great sons of Uruk. I weep for Enkidu.

What is this sleep that holds you now? You are lost in the dark, and cannot hear me. There is an echo through all the country– like a mother, mourning. CALL FOR DRUMS!

The Epic of Gilgamesh: Live in the Goldfields is the LIVE concert film of INJURED NINJA’S cacophonous DOOM RAVE re-telling of the ancient Mesopotamian tale The Epic of Gilgamesh, the most ancient piece of literature in the known world.

Originally a live expansion of Injured Ninja’s noise-rock that called on drummers to join in and help produce a wall of unfathomable percussive heft, The Epic was first performed as a fundraiser for Ninja’s first international tour in 2009, with subsequent performances at the 2010 Perth Festival and the closing night of legendary Perth arts space The Bakery drawing massive crowds.

The modern execution of The Epic, first performed at the 2021 Perth Festival, further explores the proto-biblical tale of life, death and consequence in the context of our modern relationship to nature, industry, and greed. Swallowing audiences in waves of percussion, distortion and festival-worthy bass, The Epic of Gilgamesh is a project deeply immersed in themes of climate change, and an experiment in community building through music and performance, offering participants a chance to grieve and rage at what we’ve lost, and celebrate the things in our world still worth fighting for.

Joining the Epic is an ever-expanding cast of artists, including local hip-hop icon MC MATHAS as the gravelly-voiced Sayer, legendary Australian drummer CAMERON POTTS (Baseball, Babayaga), and prolific Boorloo keyboardist NIKKI DAGOSTINO (Selfless Orchestra). Teaming up with Drew Goddard (KARNIVOOL) and the denizens of Coolgardie as part of the BAREFOOT BANDS project, the Epic of Gilgamesh travelled out to the deteriorating remains of a gold rush era train station with an army of artists, cinematic cameras, drones, microphones and film lights, and called for local musicians, strangers and friends to grab their drums and perform live– some for the very first time.

Recorded in front of an audience, and filmed in different parts of the surrounding countryside, this film and album follows the Sayer through apocalyptic lands in a hauntingly familiar future, and re-tells the legends of Gilgamesh and his fallen brother, Enkidu, through song, funeral procession and pyre, transcending time and myth, rich in otherworldly and confronting sounds and visuals, and celebrating all that it means– –to live, to die, to be… completely human.

This is THE EPIC OF GILGAMESH: LIVE IN THE GOLDFIELDS.

LONG LIVE THE KING!

FUCK THE KING!

Teaser Trailer

CREDITS

Produced by Injured Ninja
Steven Alyian
Dominic Pearce
Matthew Bairstow

Main Musicians
Dom Pearce - Drum Leader, Vocals
Steven Alyian - Electric Guitar, Vocals, Didgeridoo, Gong
MATHAS as "The Sayer" - Vocals
Matthew Bairstow - Drums, Drum Machine
Cameron Potts - Drums
Nikki Dagostino - Keys, Synths
Jacob Fry - Drum Leader, Vocals
Oscar Harris - Drum Leader

Gilgamesh Drummers
Claire Faulkner
Cara Teusner-Gartland
Sam Chiera
Bell Lyle
Scott Walker
Jon Carlson
Luke Holland
Rebekah Dowling
Andy Paine
Pablo Ignacio Uribe Linsambarth
Paul Carrington
Tom Oliver

Live Production Crew

Drew Goddard - Producer (Barefoot Bands), Audio Engineer
Brenton Maynell - Producer (Barefoot Bands), Audio Engineer
Aran O'Mara - Sound Tech
Chad Blondel - Sound Tech
Kel Kel Penny - Production Manager
Emile Smith - Make-up & Costume design
Catrin Enderline - Makeup Assist
Hana Priest - Fire Warden / Pyro Tech
Marcus Splodge - Wildcard
James Hastings - Enkidu Sculpture Build
Bethany Creed - Enkidu Sculpture Art Design
Ben Berkhout - Director of Photography
Dion Borrett - Lighting
Travis Mcilroy - Camera Operator
Dave Le May - Camera Operator / Drone Flyer
Jayden Forward - Camera Operator
Dallas Howell - Photographer
Leanne Shilton - Shire of Coolgardie Events Officer
Ricky Diamer - Indigenous Elder
Ryan Kippin - Supplier of Props
Wayne Bird - Local Hero
Shane Munroe - Fire Captain

Post-Production
Kieran Kenderessy - Audio Engineering / Mixing & Mastering
Michael Katchan - Cover Art
Dominic Pearce - Video Editing

Additional music composed and recorded by Steven Alyian

Released on Stock Records

Made possible by funding from The Department of Local Government, Sport and Cultural Industries and Regional Arts WA

Photo Gallery

Stills taken from film / Production photos by Dallas Howell & Giselle Natassia

About INJURED NINJA

Boorloo’s noisiest boys Injured Ninja have been antagonising live music spaces and helping build creative communities since 2007. From SXSW in 2011 to Dark Mofo in 2021, Injured Ninja remain unapologetically loud and unable to die, bringing to both tiny venues and major arts festivals alike their own unique brand of sonic annihilation, surrealist humour and multidisciplinary, multi-media live performance.

About Injured Ninja’s THE EPIC OF GILGAMESH

Swallowing audiences in waves of percussion, distortion and festival-worthy bass, and featuring an all-star lineup of Australian musicians, The Epic of Gilgamesh is a project deeply immersed in themes of climate change, and an experiment in community building through music and performance, offering participants a chance to grieve and rage at what we’ve lost, and celebrate the things in our world still worth fighting for.

TRACKLISTING

1. Acknowledgment

2. When the Gods Created Gilgamesh

3. I See Through Golden Eyes (IDDQD)

4. Strength Beyond Myth

5. To Be Completely Human (Fallopian Tube Screamer)

6. The Pain of Grand Trees

7. Gods Seek Their Revenge (Heavenly Bull)

8. I Weep For Enkidu

9. Under the Light of the Blood Red Moon (FUCK THE KING)

10. For All Does Decay

Links

Bandcamp

https://injuredninja.bandcamp.com/album/the-epic-of-gilgamesh-live-in-the-goldfields

Spotify

https://open.spotify.com/album/7MxHGaqsvyOUACd1XBcSwl?si=zi00GtOvTxeKLVKXmRpxkg

Media Coverage

Pilerats

https://pilerats.com/music/bands/behind-the-scenes-injured-ninja-the-epic-of-gilgamesh-live-in-the-goldfields/