With two young kids our summer travels sadly do not include globe trotting. Kudos to those parents who do trek their kids around the world experiencing all there is to offer, but until they’re a bit older (and have passports) our kids are stateside bound.
Though we will not be physically traveling to far off lands this summer, we can still experience a little taste of all those lands we long to see with some help from Putumayo Kids. I’ve shared some of their other great releases in the past but you really have to take a look at their extensive collection to truly appreciate all the places you can get a taste of with their great CDs.
The latest album to be added to the Putumayo Kids Presents collection is titled Australian Playground, and (not surprisingly) features music inspired by the land down under. This album features songs from some of Australia’s children’s musicians, as well as Aboriginal groups and singer-songwriters.
One of the things I really appreciated about this album was that it has a very diverse and varied collection of sounds and music styles. The album isn’t just didgeridoos and songs about kangaroos, but a wide and eclectic group of songs that seems to encompass the wide and eclectic group of people that make up Australia. (Although there is both a song about kangaroos and a song with the sounds of the didgeridoo included in the album.)
I suggest taking a listen to all the songs on the Putumayo Kids website for a little taste of what to expect, but here is the list of included tracks and artists to whet your appetite ::
- The NEO and Garrangali – Marrtjina (Let’s Go)
- Seaman Dan – Mango Rain
- Joe Hall and The Treehouse Band – Loose Change
- Garrangali – Mirri
- Bob Brown – Give Me a Home Among The Gumtrees
- Don Spencer – Kangaroo (The Super Marsupial)
- Rosie Burgess – Random Acts
- The Band of the South Australia Police – The Road to Gundagai
- Kamerunga – Seisia
- Lazy Harry – Waltzing Matilda
Speaking of appetite, the album also comes with a recipe for Damper Bread. Damper Bread is a food staple of Australian stockmen and drovers (that is, Australian Cowboys) for their long treks across the remote outback.
Go ahead and purchase your own copy of Putumayo Kids Presents Australian Playground album – they even donate 1% of sales from the album will be contributed to the Australian Children’s Music Foundation in support of their initiatives to provide music programs and instruments to disadvantaged children in schools and juvenile detention centers in Australia!
Putumayo Kids Presents Australian Playground :: $14.98 physical CD; $9.99 download on iTunes
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