It often happens that interesting music is made by interesting people. This time we have a notable example of a very engaging album being made by an artist who has a distinctive backstory. The artist is called Bumpy, and her new first full-length album is called Kanana.

Bumpy is the childhood nickname of Amy Rose Dowd of Australia, with an indigenous background, from the Noongar people. But her album is a sophisticated blend of soul, funk, some jazz influence, maybe a bit of Gospel, along with some creative sonic atmospherics. Bumpy has achieved some fame in Australia, where she headlined at the Sydney Opera House, and won the 2023 National Indigenous Music award. She previously released an EP called Morning Sun, and she had also fronted a band called Squid Nebula, which is described as a psychedelic disco-soul group.

Bumpy was part of a First Nations Artist Residency commission in connection with the Melbourne International Jazz Festival. It inspired her to explore more of her background, and traveled with her mother to Noongar Boodja, to study the Noongar language. Bumpy’s aunt Rose Whitehurst wrote the first Noongar dictionary. Although most of the new album is in English, there are references to the indigenous language. In fact the album’s title Kanana translates as the land where the sun sets,” and there is one track with passages in the Noongar language.

But despite that, the overall sound is a classy blend of soul, jazz, and funk, with Bumpy’s vocals being ideal for the musical hybrid.

Opening is a piece with some indigenous Australian influence, in the form of spacey didgeridoos, on the track River Skies. <<>> The piece builds to crescendo while keeping the dreamlike quality. <<>>

The title track Kanana, takes a jazzy direction, with the lyrics celebrating or perhaps longing for that land where the sun sets. <<>>

Another piece that is striking in its atmospheric quality is Maambajoort with translates as “ocean.” It has a section in the Noongar language, though most of it is about the call of the ocean. <<>>

With a more conventional soul-influenced sound is a song called Nan’s the Word. The track brings in a Gospel-style vocal chorus, plus soul-style horns. <<>>

Another soulful gem on Kanana is Feel Good with one of the more energetic arrangements on the album. The lyrics are pretty straightforward in expounding on the songs’ title. <<>>

A further highlight on the album is the elegantly soulful tune Cosy Comfy, which features the backing chorus, including family members. <<>>

Along the same lines lyrically is piece called Pressure which considers trying to get away from pressure situations. <<>>

The album closes with Untangling which takes the form of a jazzy ballad with some interesting sonic additions. <<>>

Kanana with new debut full-length album by the indigenous Australian soul influenced artist Amy Rose Dowd, known professional as Bumpy, is an impressive recording of tasteful, sophisticated music with Bumpy’s Noogar background adding an interesting textural touch, without distracting from the basic direction of the music. The arrangements and performances are first rate, and within the context of the music’s general direction, there is a good amount of sonic variety, and it’s all just really pleasing to listen to.

Our grade for audio quality is an “A minus” for a good mix with some creative touches, but as usual, there’s too much volume compression, robbing the music of some of its dynamics.

Interesting music from an artist with an interesting background: Bumpy’s Kanana the epitome of that.