Biography
Martin Cradick channels a deep engagement with global musical traditions through his roles as a British guitarist, mandolinist, and vocalist. He helped establish the didgeridoo-centered group Outback, where Australian elements blended with rock and jazz sensibilities. After Outback disbanded in 1992, Cradick joined his wife Su Hart on a six-week visit to Cameroon's rainforest, during which they performed alongside Baka pygmies. The trip produced three albums. Spirit of the Forest centered on the Pygmies' established musical practices, while The Meeting Pool and Journey Between reflected authentic exchanges that merged Cradick's Cornish background with West African ingredients. In 1995 Cradick and Hart assembled a multi-cultural ensemble that included former Outback fiddler Paddy LeMercier, Senegalese percussionist Sagar N'Gom, keyboardist Tom Green, drummer Sam Pope, bassist Marcus Pinto, and vocalist Kate Budd Hardy. In a 1997 interview, Cradick explained, "My aim was to try and create music that has the energy of rock music but is acoustic." He had launched Outback in 1988 with Graham "Dr. Didg" Wiggins, an American didgeridoo player first encountered in Oxford, England. After issuing the self-produced cassette Didgeridoo and Guitar in 1988, the pair drew the notice of Hannibal Records producer Joe Boyd during a street performance in London, leading Boyd to offer a recording contract. Their initial release, Baka, arrived in 1990 and was followed in 1992 by Dance the Devil Away, performed by an expanded quartet configuration. A BBC television documentary later spurred Cradick and his wife to seek out the Pygmies of the Baka Forest in Cameroon, where, equipped only with a tent, a guitar, and recording tools, they immersed themselves in a society that had remained largely free of western contact.
Albums