I was born in Australia but mostly educated in Britain. At 22 I set off on a two-year journey around the world. It took me ten. After spiritually inspired wanderings about America, Mexico, Guatemala and the Pacific I returned to my homeland. For four years I was a 'bush artist' in the remote Aboriginal communities of central Australia. I'd always been fascinated by cross-cultural communication using the arts, especially music and performance. This gave me the chance to do it. It also fulfilled another longstanding curiosity: to find out about my ancestry, about where I (and we) come from, about what it really means to be a human being... And I started writing songs. Many celebrated the life of Aboriginal bush kids and were later recorded on the first album I did with Calum, 'Ngatijirri Songrise'. After that I worked on 'The Human Story' exhibition in London, from which came the chance to write and publish several children's picture books. But my main work has been as a singer and storyteller in schools, at historic sites, forests and festivals all over Britain and in Ireland, the Caribbean, Australia and South Africa. These songs have mostly arisen out of that work. Many were originally written for kids, a few for a wider audience. At a time when there are so many things to worry about, this album is an unashamedly upbeat celebration of Life on Earth. The connecting thread is the story of Unfolding Life. I hope that children, parents. teachers, greens, 'cultural creatives' and many others will listen to and enjoy these Earthsongs. Eric Maddern October 2003