**DOORS OPEN AT 8PM**
**Please note that Six Degrees becomes an 18+ ONLY Venue from 8:30pm**
Tommee Balukea was born in a little town called Bima on Sumbawa, a south-eastern island off the Indonesian archapelego.
As a child growing up in his homeland he would take great joy in banging his mothers pots and pans in her kitchen. This then morphed into tapping rhythms on his school desk and as the winds of fate would have it, captured the witnessing eyes of a music teacher who then introduced him to percussion.
These simple beginnings born from a natural and innocent love have led him down the creative path of musicianship. A pathway that has allowed him the open-roaded opportunity to devote time in mastering different exotic and obscure instruments and continually reinventing and ripening his style.
His familiar mix of roots, reggae, latin and afro beats blended with innovative guitar strings hold a distinct Indonesian flavour infused with flowing percussive vibes and more recent influences of kroncong music (pronounced ‘Kronchong’) on his most recent album ‘Follow the Wind’. This album and his many others are musical journey that will take the listener on a personal voyage to exotic lands, evoking images of simple indonesian village life filled with traditional stories and independence.
With the ability to speak several languages fluently Tommee has crafted his seven albums in a multi-instrumental and multi-lingual way whilst always being true and authentic to his unique and original island style.
These days Tommee continues to travel the world playing his music for his global audiences whom he draws a deep well of inspiration from. To write his songs he not only harnesses his gifts of a good sense of rhythm and accute ear but also the blended ideas and stories that ripple from the people he meets on the road of life.
He is a playful and impressive performer and his humble presence has been welcomed at Australian & International events including Fuji Rock, Bluesfest, Womadelaide and Woodford Folk Festival.
One of Tommee’s dreams has been to travel to Western Australia and allow the wind to carry his songs essence across the oceans back to his ancestral homeland and welcome him and his vision to our home in the West Carrying the music, stories and energy of his island spirit.
All West Australian’s know the close sharing of experiences between our backyard and Bali. But perhaps through the presence Tommee and all that he carries with him a deeper thread of understanding, awareness and kinship can be ignited and remembered in the villages we share across the ocean.
There is a peaceful wisdom and soul power about this man that ripples sweet melodies through his music, his voice and his ability to transport the listener to ancient lands and unite the flowering of hearts and smiles in his kin he performs with and to.
For this special performance at Six Degrees Albany, Tommee will be accompanied by a band formed by some of the South Costs talented musicians that share the spirit and appreciation for his unique blend of music
