Sometimes the hardest thing for a band, even in this hyper-digital age, is just getting your music heard.
For Ripple Effect Band, an all-women’s ensemble from Maningrida, Arnhem Land, a small community of under 3,000 people in NT, it’s more difficult than most.
But that’s where the Bush Music Fund comes in.
The First Nations music pathway program provides valuable support to First Nations artists and helps remove the barriers that artists living in remote areas face in building sustainable music careers.
Bush Music Fund offers support through three tiered categories of financial assistance and services – “new artist”, “emerging artist”, and “established artist” – and this year Ripple Effect Band were chosen as the latter artist.
Now the musicians who became the first women from their community to play instruments and form their own band are receiving $30,000 in serves across two years and an opportunity to release an album, tour the record, and undertake vinyl pressings. “Life-changing” is an overused term, but the word immediately springs to mind here.
As a start, the rock band have shared a music video for their most recent single, “Loving and Caring”, which you can watch below.
You don’t need to understand either the Aboriginal Australian language Kune or English to feel the emotion of the song. “Njale yi-njilng warreminj kangurdul-me (When you’re angry at me show me how you feel, tell me what you mean),” they sing at the beginning, following a twinkling acoustic guitar intro.
The accompanying video perfectly complements the laidback, slow-tempo number, featuring footage of the band doing their thing onstage and singing surrounded by beautiful nature. (Maningrida Dance, who previously backed up J-MILLA onstage, also makes an appearance.)
“Loving and Caring” follows the band’s previous single “Walaya”, and Ripple Effect Band have a new song ready to release.
“Na-Kalamandjarda” will drop at the end of the month and to celebrate, they’re hitting the road for a few shows, including an appearance at Daminmin Festival on July 27th. Find ticket information for their upcoming shows here.
Ripple Effect Band’s “Loving and Caring” is out now.
