First Nations Youth Are Finding Their Sound in a Repurposed Shipping Container

Header photo credit – Instagram: nakamaarts_au 

With many Indigenous Australian languages being endangered, music has become a powerful avenue for preserving First Nations languages and keeping linguistic diversity alive. For instance, the electronic dance music duo Electric Fields represented Australia in the 68th edition of the Eurovision Song Contest in Malmö, Sweden, and made history as the first Australian contestant to include the First Nations language in their entry. 

While Electric Fields sadly did not make it to the grand finals, their track “One Milkali (One Blood)” passes on words of both Pitjantjatjara and Yankunytjatjara, two closely related languages making up one of the most widely spoken Aboriginal languages in the country.

In this article, we look at another effort to celebrate First Nations culture and language through the power of music. Equally worth noting is the rise of a self-contained music studio from a repurposed shipping container in the remote town of Boggabilla, allowing First Nations teens to express themselves and tell their stories with the help of music.

The man behind the musical mission

In early 2023, Gomeroi musician Buddy Hippi had an idea to transform Boggabilla, wherein he spent his teenage years, into a musical sanctuary for the local youth. Describing the town to be filled with boredom amidst social isolation and community dysfunction, Hippi went back with a mission to develop a music program for basic songwriting, music production, and rap — encouraging Indigenous youths in Boggabilla and nearby Goondiwindi to pursue music and record their own songs.

Hippi saw it as a way of giving back to his community: a cultural obligation to pass down the songs and stories of his heritage to the next generation and become a positive example to the youth. Now, Hippi has taken teens under his wing to record songs regularly and cultivate their own connections with music in a studio on his private property.

Creating a space for dreams and passion

While the idea came from Hippi, the plan to turn an empty shipping container into an actual music studio became fully realised with the help of Nakama Arts, an Australian music and arts organisation dedicated to supporting young artists who may otherwise have fewer opportunities. As the creative director and owner of Winangali Infusion, Hippi tapped Nakama Arts to request funding for the purchase and renovation of the shipping container.

The request also included support in providing necessary studio equipment, such as microphones from Audio-Technica, to enhance sound quality and record music at par with professional settings. As highlighted by the microphone reviews on the website Shout4Music, the specific model used can make a significant difference in the recording environment and overall musical output. In this case, the Boggabilla studio uses the Audio-Technica Pro 70 Mic, which has been described in one of Shout4Music’s reviews to be able to capture natural-sounding tones and instruments while also eliminating background noise and chatter. While this may not be a problem for the First Nations youth recording in a self-contained space, the superior sound quality at an affordable price point facilitates unparalleled vocal performance in music creation, especially in genres that utilise guitars, such as folk and country music.

Besides Audio-Technica speakers and microphones, the studio is also well-equipped with an A&H mixer, QSC speakers, computers, cabling, and MIDI keyboards. As covered in a Mixdown article about MIDI keyboards, this piece of equipment is particularly useful in creating a more tactile, hands-on experience for budding audio and composition artists like the First Nations youth in Boggabilla. By leveraging the user-friendly interface of MIDI keyboards, teens can maximise their music production workflows and expressive capabilities regardless of skill level.

Cultural education extends beyond the studio

The Boggabilla studio presents progress in fostering active cultural education and healing spaces for First Nations youth, but there is work that remains to be done beyond the walls of this transformed shipping container. Such efforts involve supporting the creative work of Indigenous artists, as exemplified in a previous post highlighting the release of Archie Roach’s live recordings from Key Largo in the United States in 1992 and Darwin in 1993. 

The Aboriginal singer, songwriter, and activist himself was instrumental in spreading the message about Australia’s complex history with Indigenous peoples — making it essential to celebrate and honour his musical legacy in the process of supporting the new generation of Indigenous artists and musicians. For more news, interviews, music reviews, and concert reviews do check out Music Injection.

Article written by Ressie Johns