Birdz and Fred Leone have shared another taste of their upcoming project, GIRA, dropping the new single “Wanya Nyin Yanmanj” just in time for NAIDOC Week.
The cousins honour traditional language, roots and identity on the powerful track.
“Still we sit, still we rise. You said no to our voice, but you can’t silence our truth. Black deaths, no justice. No change, but we stay strong. This land remembers. So do we,” they share.
“Wanya Nyin Yanmanj” follows their 2024 release “Brother”, with both singles set to appear on GIRA.
Hailing from the Ngulungbura Clan of the Butchulla nation, Fred Leone is one of the three Butchulla songmen. Together with Birdz, they’ve carved out a reputation as a forceful live double act, with performances at the NIMAs, BIGSOUND, and more. Their breakout single “Bagi-La-m Bargan” put them on the map.
Raised in the Northern Territory and now based in Naarm, Nathan ‘Birdz’ Bird made his mark with 2013’s Birdz Eye View EP before dropping his acclaimed debut album Train of Thought in 2017, which won the AIR Award for Best Independent Hip Hop Album. His follow-up, LEGACY (2021), earned a NIMA nomination and saw him link up with Missy Higgins, Ngaiire and Thom Crawford.
A respected artist and Butchulla songman with Aboriginal, Tongan and South Sea Islander heritage, Fred Leone uses his voice as his main instrument but also brings traditional elements into his sound — from Didgeridoo (Kuluru in Garrwa language) and boomerangs (Bargan) to Emu eggs (Ngurunj) and natural objects from K’gari.
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Over his career, Leone has shared stages with Public Enemy, Dead Prez and People Under The Stairs, and collaborated with everyone from John Butler and Xavier Rudd to Amanda Palmer and Neil Gaiman.
Birdz and Fred Leone’s “Wanya Nyin Yanmanj” is out now via Forever Ever.
