STACK #214 August 2022

MUSIC FEATURE

visit stack.com.au

INTERVIEW

You can tell there’s something special about King Stingray long before you learn of their bloodline – two band members descend from co founders of YothuYindi – and the unabashed joy in their ”yol ŋ u surf-rock” is as apparent as summer’s first slap of salt water against your shins.We spoke to guitarist Roy Kellaway about the North-East Arnhem Land act’s irrepressible debut, Camp Dog. Words Zoë Radas ROY KELLAWAY KING STINGRAY

King Stingray L - R: Lewis Stiles, Campbell Messer, Yirr ŋ a Yunupi ŋ u, Roy Kellaway, Dimathaya Burarrwanga

harmonies get dissonant with a traditional element that he adds: Yirr ŋ a uses songlines, called ’manikay’,” explains Roy. Remember Yol ŋ u artist Baker Boy’s line from Marryuna , ”I’m using my manikay”? ”So, for instance, in Hey Wanhaka , the manikay he sings there is the traditional songline about the white cockatoos. So

you’ve got this awesome mix of something that’s really ancient, and then something that’s really fresh. ”We joke about how we’re playing the hits from the ’50s and 60 thousand years ago.” Roy and Yirr ŋ a’s musical journeys have unfolded in tandem from childhood, alongside a deep friendship. As they grew up together in the Yirrkala community of NT, Roy’s father Stuart and Yirr ŋ a’s uncle Dr. MYunupi ŋ u began to make waves in pop-rock behemoth Yothu Yindi – something Roy attests he didn’t quite comprehend as a kid.

T here are almost as many opportunities to lose yourself in Australia’s metropolises as there are in the country’s arid outback – and over the course of the 60 shows King Stingray have hurled themselves into over the last 18 months, the thriving five-piece are veterans of both kinds. In the city camp we have Get Me Out , on which lead singer Yirr ŋ a Yunupi ŋ u’s bright harmonies – layered and matched with sublime precision – cry:

when we’re in the city. Sydney and Melbourne, the trams? It’s crazy!” Get Me Out was just one of the band’s debut album tracks written and recorded at Roy’s home. Alongside bandmate Dimathaya Bururrwanga’s yidaki (who makes the instrument sound almost like textured record

Camp Dog by King Stingray is out Aug 5, including on JB-exclusive opaque yellow vinyl, via Cooking Vinyl.

”Now I’m lost in the city/ The colours are changing, djäpana/ I know my home is never far away.” In the country camp is buoyant earworm Let’s Go , on which Yirr ŋ a sing-songs:”Packing up, driving off, breaking down, getting lost,” accompanied by a video embodying all the dust churning bliss of an adventure across the red earth.

scratching) comes Yirr ŋ a’s vocals. ”Yirr ŋ a is such an

We joke about howwe‘re playing hits from the ‘50s and 60 thousand years ago

amazing singer – and he loves doing harmonies,” says Roy. ”His voice is his instrument, so he’s basically riffing. He wanted to do

”Growing up, we always had a balance of things,” he says. ”Music was a big part, but [my family] made sure it wasn’t all music. We’d go out bush, go fishing, go hunting, go enjoy life. ”The [Yothu Yindi band members] are such humble, softly-spoken people. It wasn’t until I got older that I realised how monumental that band was, the conversations it sparked, and Dr. M’s ideologies...”

one more, then one more... I ended up having so many vocal tracks. My computer is so old now, I reckon if I opened up that session it would probably blow it up.” Yirr ŋ a’s knack for improvisation is woven through with melodies which are not just in his head, they’re in his DNA. ”Some of his

”Oh, yeah – getting bogged, flat tyres – that’s just part of living in such a rugged area,” laughs guitarist Roy Kellaway. ”We’re getting lost all the time. But even moreso

Continue reading the full interview online at stack.com.au

AUGUST 2022

jbhifi.com.au

4