James originally hails from Belfast, Northern Ireland, where he first started performing, at a wee young age, in the band Pushing ZZZzzzzzzzz .This began a life of playing and performing in many different musical outfits for the next two decades. He now resides in Western Australia, where he met his partner in crime Melissa.
Here he plays appalachian dulcimer and didgeridoo.

Melissa is from Perth, Western Australia. After completing a Bachelor of Arts at Murdoch University, Melissa decided that she wanted to see the world, and so was encouraged by James to learn a musical instrument as a way to fund their travels. She was drawn to percussion, and in particular the djembe , foolishly believing that it would be easy.

And thus, Laliya was created.

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Laliya have been performing together since 1996. They first started playing in Germany, and have since played extensively throughout Europe, Canada and Asia.

Laliya is the name the Worora tribe of the Kimberly give to the Dreamtime