Two new songs explain Aboriginal culture
23 July 2004
In just two weeks, a small group of music students and teachers in Kangan Batman's Koori Music Program wrote, recorded and produced two songs that will help a lot of white people around Australia understand their culture.
The songs, ` If but Maybe' and ` Newsflash ' will be used to support the visuals on a CD being produced by the Innovation and Knowledge Management Centre at South Australia's Spencer TAFE. The CD was commissioned by ANTA, the Australian National Training Authority, to explain many aspects of Aboriginal culture to non Aboriginal people including teachers, police, emergency services, and medical staff.
Spencer TAFE contacted the Kangan Batman Koori Programs Unit in Melbourne with a request for a song from their certificate II and III music students - and were rather surprised to get two instead of one, within two weeks.
The initial response from Jeff Hunter, Head of Innovation and Knowledge Management Centre at Spencer TAFE, was: "They're fantastic, powerful and they'll stimulate discussion."
The students recorded the songs in the Broadmeadows campus studio. Their teacher is Linc Yow Yeh, an accomplished singer/songwriter/guitarist who initiated the Koori music program. He plays in a four-piece group, The Grenadines, a predominantly Indigenous rock/blues/folk/roots group which has played regularly at the Dan O'Connell in Carlton, The Cornish Arms in Brunswick, and The Evelyn in Fitzroy. Thanks to the music program, the group now has as drummer Brad Boone, a current student, and graduate Greg Fryer, who plays bass.
The music program with an Indigenous focus is a nationally accredited course developed by Ausmusic. Linc explained, "The students start by getting confident using the PA system and instruments and they're encouraged to buy their own equipment, although the Koori Program supplies the major pieces of equipment. They come from all over Victoria and some from interstate. We like them to be somewhere between beginners and intermediate in their skills. They don't need to be very advanced, that is something that can be developed.
"In the course they also learn the business side of music. This is where a lot of musicians come unstuck and we don't want them thrown in at the deep end.
"This year we have three young women in the program - all singers - and two of them, the Taylor sisters from Western Australia, are also turning out to be excellent songwriters.
If but Maybe was written by Natasha Taylor with strong lines such as `There's a better life in my culture that's being denied'. Student Michael Smith, Linc and another of the program's teachers, Michael Burke, provided the instrumentals while the third vocals student Brenda McIntosh joined sisters Fiona and Natasha Taylor on vocals.
Newsflash was written by both Taylor sisters. It is an ironic look at the debunked but still widely held concept of Terra Nullius (Latin for `empty land'), that Australia's white settlers were justified in taking over the country without compensation because it was not conventionally occupied. It also carries a message for other young black Australians, that being confident in yourself is important.
The students were helped by Kutcha Edwards, a widely respected Victorian Koori singer songwriter who enjoys dropping in on the classes.
"Kutcha's a wonderful mentor and inspiration to all of us, not just the musicians. He adds a certain calmness to things but also has a motivating affect on you as a musician," Linc explained.
As well as their fully equipped studio, the Koori music students have an excellent rehearsal stage in their auditorium where they have held more than 10 gigs over the past three years, for the Indigenous community and fellow students and staff.
A recent performance by the students was to celebrate the opening in April this year of their excellent new Gunung-Willam-Balluk Learning Centre.
Upcoming event
Archie Roach and The Koori Programs Band will perform at the Winberri Music Festival at the Gunung-Willam-Balluk Learning Centre, Broadmeadows, from 6.30 pm on Saturday 7 August. Bookings are necessary, on 9279 2357.
For the second year running, the Koori Programs Unit students and the Kangan Batman Hospitality, Travel and Tourism have combined to host this great music event. The audience will be treated to the two new songs.
Background on Kangan Batman TAFE Koori Programs Unit
At the centre, courses are offered in learning pathways (including literacy and computer skills), music industry, conservation and land management, Indigenous art and design, plus a young footballers program incorporating elements of fitness and training, and a VCAL automotive course which is an alternative to the VCE. All courses include Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander cultural studies.
"When it comes to deciding what courses to offer in the Koori Programs Unit, our philosophy is to provide training in the areas where Kooris show the most interest, where there are nationally recognised qualifications, and where they will have the most chance of building careers and finding work," Linc said.
Established in 1994, the unit currently supports about 70 students from diverse backgrounds, ranging from 14 year olds to elders in their 50s. In April this year, the unit moved into a new Greg Burgess-designed Gunung-Willam-Balluk Learning Centre at Broadmeadows with expanded facilities.
