COMPOSITIONS
'Robert Zielinski has given us a masterpiece that is as much a tribute to his West Australian home as it is to the enduring spirit of Irish traditional music'
Stevie Connor
'Robert Zielinski's Kiangardarup is inspired by his affinity with the Australian bush and informed by his dual career as luthier and Irish music maker, it cuts through rules and genres of music in a pure celebration of life. Rob's outlook and tireless search for truth in music has culminated in the sonic equivalent of a day and night spent at the Torbay Inlet, a treat for the ears and for the soul.’
Lucky Oceans
Grammy award winning musician, former ABC Radio National presenter
Photo credit: Nic Duncan
A couple of years after Mick passed away in 2014, Robert moved to Torbay in Western Australia's remote South Coast, where he lived and worked as a violin maker and touring musician. The Torbay Inlet and surrounding country was the inspiration of Robert's new album, Kiangardarup. On this groundbreaking unique album, Robert recorded his fiddle parts outside at the Torbay inlet and surrounding Karri forests on the violin he made while living in Torbay.
Kiangardarup is a concept album taking the listener on a journey from dawn to dusk and dusk to dawn at the Torbay Inlet in Western Australia's Great Southern region. Stevie Connor of The Sound Cafe described it as a “labour of love” taking six years to complete, and “a masterpiece that is as much a tribute to his West Australian home as it is to the enduring spirit of Irish traditional music”.
In 2024, Robert premiered Kiangardarup in the Perth Concert Hall, receiving a standing ovation. The live show combines sounds of the Australian bush, recorded in Torbay, and projected photographs of the Torbay Inlet and surrounding country accompanying the four musicians on stage: violin, wooden flute, cello and bouzouki.
For this album, Robert has won three silver medals for outstanding achievement at the Global Music Awards, in the categories World Music, Instrumentalist, Sound Editing/Mixing, and was a winner in the 2025 InterContinental Music Awards (ICMA).
Robert won Instrumentalist of the Year and was twice finalist (Contemporary Album of the Year, Traditional Album of the Year) at the 2025 Australian Folk Music Awards. He is also twice finalist at the WAM Awards (West Australian Music Awards).
ON THE PRESS
Xpress Magazine: Robert Zielinski: The inlet was a creative outlet
Seesaw Magazine: The making of a bush-born masterpiece