gurrumul was a founding member of the band yothu yindi. he played in this band for almost ten years, until 1995. he formed saltwater band a few years later and remains their lead singer. he released his first solo album, "gurrumul", in 2008. it was highly successful, and won several awards. it peaked at #3 on the aria charts and #1 on the independent chart. gurrumul was nominated for four aria awards, and won two of them (best world music album and best independent release). he also won three deadly awards: artist of the year, album of the year for "gurrumul" and single of the year for "gurrumul history (i was born blind)". at the independent music awards, he won best new independent artist, as well as best independent release and best independent blues/roots release for "gurrumul". he won the award for best independent blues and roots album again in 2011, for "rrakala".