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Welcome to Yarning Up, the podcast that showcases First Nations stories and conversations to help us learn and unlearn Australia's history to work towards a better future. I'm your host, proud barber woman and founder of Black Waddel Coaching and Consulting, Caroline cow. We acknowledge the rundery people and elders where this podcast is taped, but we also acknowledge the lands
that you are listening in from today. It always was and always will be unseated aboriginal and tourist Red Islanderland. Welcome back, you deadly souls to season four of Yarning Up. Your resence here fills my heart with so much pride and even more gratitude. It truly means the absolute world
to me. Back in twenty twenty one, when we embarked on this journey, we had no idea what light ahead, but I had a vision to amplify the voices, the truths and the stories of black people and their families, to carve out our own table, to increase representation in the media, to amplify the stories that are too often untold or woaded down or totally fabricated for the main
stream white gaze. I wanted to have deadly yarns with deadly people to show us in our joy, our anger, our resilience, our wisdom, our passion, and our love for family and community. Recently, I have been turning to Balahook's a lot. In fact, I have most of my life a profound writer and thinker, and someone who has always
provided guidance in navigating the horrors of the colony. And she once said that community is a place where the connections felt in our hearts make themselves known in the bonds between people, and where the tuggings and pullings of these bonds keep opening our hearts. This show has beautifully woven together a community not just of listeners, but of social justice warriors, of deep thinkers and feelers and lovers.
And it's a space for those who are eager to learn from the oldest culture in the world get to foster these connections and these communities that go well beyond the airwaves. With all that said, let's get ready to dive into another season of inspiration of connection and cannon and heartfelt yarns with beautiful black fellows right across this country of so called Australia. We are starting this season
with a live taping can you believe it? A live taping at Beyond the Valley, which was held on water On Lands on the thirty first of December two thousand and twenty three. I had the absolute joy and privilege to reflect on the year that was with the incredibly talented singer, songwriter and performer Kean Bindle. I want to say a big shout out to the crew at Untitled Group who organized this festival Beyond the Valley with thirty
five thousand patrons every single year. I want to say thank you for them for inviting us to be a part of this phenomenal podcast tent. And lastly, I just want to say thank you to you followers once again for being a part of this journey. And I can't wait for this incredible season that lies ahead.
I read online that Indigenous people they don't even want it.
Eighty percent of us do.
We need a voice, We need that structural change.
A victory for Yes would indeed make history.
The ballot paper doesn't begin to capture the complexity of this conversation.
That's what the voice is an Advisory Committee. We can embrace the Earlaru statement from the heart for a voice came from the people and it will be decided by the people.
Breaking news tonight the referendum for the voice to Parliament has been defeated.
There will be a period of grief and I think the whole nation should be grieving opportunity and.
Asking when is it enough?
It's hello, have you knew you about?
The fucker?
Is since? Wild?
Good morning? Good morning, Hello, welcome, this is exciting. How's everyone feeling?
Yeah?
Maybe on the counter three we'll say how we're all feeling?
One?
Two, three, Yeah, I love it, love it. Well, this is so crazy. I started this show Yarning up in my bedroom like two years ago, in the middle of like a mad existential crisis, and I had a vision to just bring mob and mob stories to non Aboriginal people, to learn to laugh, to connect with our knowledges and storages. So to be here today is really really exciting, and I'm so excited to get to yan with Sissy Kian.
Thanks for having me.
Yeah, I'm so so grateful. Kean is an extremely talented musician, songwriter, performer, and yeah, I'm just so grateful that you're here today to have a bit of beyond. Well, it's day four of the festival, and it's the end of the year, and I wanted to just start with doing a bit of a mindfulness moment and sort of grounding us here
on country. And I think it's not until we come to places like Beyond the Valley that we realize how important land is and how important togetherness and coming together for music, and so yeah, I want to do a bit of a mindful moment, if that's okay for all of us. So maybe where you're seated, or if you're standing, if you want to just take a moment and put your feet in country, maybe give a little shake, just kind of open yourself up to being held in this moment.
And I want to just begin by acknowledging that we gather today in unity as a community unsacred, stolen and unseated Aboriginal lands.
Together.
Let us honor and recognize the sacredness of this place.
This is our old antitheater.
This is where mob used to congregate and welcome and come together just like this over thousands of years. This is home to the water On peoples and their neighbors. The Gundi Jamara mobs, and I want to acknowledge them. And I also want to acknowledge all owners of country. I want to acknowledge their.
Stories, their songs.
Their customs, their laws, all of which have existed long.
Before what we now call governments.
Every day, as black fellows, we honor our old people, our ancestors, our families, our creators, and our knowledge keepers and teachers, our elders past and present. I want to acknowledge them, their laughter, their spirit and their hard fought legacies.
I also want to acknowledge our young people.
We see you forging your own paths and you know, taking up the good fight and the good rest in new and unprecedented ways.
So I want to acknowledge you.
I also want to acknowledge every single ally here and the six million of you who voted yes to change the fucking story in this country. We thank you for walking with us and for elevating us and for fighting the good fight.
I just want to.
Say thank you and acknowledge all of those wonderful people. And yeah, I want yeah with you.
Kia.
Last year you were on the bill, you performed here yea, and this year you're a festival goer. So any festival highlights this year so far?
Oh so many.
Hey, it's really nice just being on the other side of it, like our first experience last year, like running around really keen first, like big kind of yeah music festival that we got to play, and then this year coming with my friends and Yasi and being a part of this, like just being a punter going to you know, Taylor Lane last night and yeah, seeing the like huge crowds of people just run off the dom dollar like it was just a spectacle to be a part of.
And yeah, it's been fun.
Yes, sweet, Yeah, today I'm keen to see I think pick Bata are playing today.
Yeah. Pania was amazing yesterday.
It's it's a great line up, like really diverse. And Miss Kninna was the day before. Did I don't want see Miss Canina? Yeah? How was she?
Yeah?
Yeah so good.
We missed unfortunately but love her.
Yeah, she's an amazing thing, toy And like you say, it's just such a diverse crowd and diverse lineup of talent and yeah, thirty five thousand people, thirty five new thousand besties up in the house. So as we do on our show, yarning up our show is really, as I say, all about black stories.
And trying to tell them on our terms.
I think we're in a really weird time where we're looking at truth telling and you know, connecting with people and who they are, you know, not what they do, but what's going on like in here. So I want to start by asking you know, who's your mob and where did you grow up and a little bit about yeah, your personal story.
Yeah, so you're ladakan Yo Google Alanja, Jitible, Butterleg Bombay Madam what and Jeddy Wei Wooong big Bod And I I said in yelling ge that my name's Kean. I'm a proud Yellonge Jitible and Taresha Alander from North Queensland. I grew up on Bndala wah Gruguba country called Townsville in North Queensland. And I also said that I live on n'am which is what and Jeddy Wong country. Yeah,
and I grew up in Townsville. I just came back from there before we came to the festival and it was really beautiful, just super tropical home, just caught up with lots of family. I think that's why when I came to the first of all, I was like, yeah, it'll be harder to be warm, and then fucking Victorian weather just yeah, freezing, but trying to still like look tropical even though I'm freezing. Yeah, I grew up in Townsville. How about you, sis? Where'd you grow up me from?
So my family's from innerspau find Off, Queensland where rainforest people.
But yeah, we've moved down here. Mom came down in the seventies.
Mom we got one of six were stolen gen so my mom was taken and sort of yeah, corb under Land home, which.
Is really beautiful.
But yeah, we go back on country every opportunity we get. My family they got native title up there, they got they fought for thirty years and they got land back, course land back, and yeah, now they're living on country.
They're living on the land.
They're just doing their thing, farming, setting up you know, food and Kimmi unities and ways for our family to return back to that place kind of like this, you know where we all come in and we've got shipping containers and yeah, it's pretty dope to go back and kind of soak it up and get out of the rat race. Feeling you know, of the Western world. So yeah, Murray's to Murray's look Out.
Yeah, so Kean is a phenomenal artist.
Your song Better Things that was released in the pandemic've Got a Blood. Me and my neighbors loved it, was singing it up real love.
But yeah, you've you've.
Kind of released two new dancey viby sway tracks, Catch the Night, kind of.
Got cut the Night.
In Sunset. I'm sure some of people here have been catching the Night to sunset. If I was here, I would have been catching the Night to Sunset too, And no shame, but yeah, I want to I want to ask you.
Sis, were was there any like specific.
Events or experiences that was happening in your life that really influenced the change in your music And yeah, this kind of new new way of expressing yourself.
Honestly, coming out of lockdowns, just wanted to be back out there. Yeah, at music festivals, at giegs, just like having a good time making music with friends and just thought, you know, I have this amazing opportunity to work with a produce. I love Alice Ivy who made Sunsets and Catch the Night to shout out to her, and yeah, I just told her like I want something fun, something that I can performat, you know, beyond the Valley, which we did last year, those two songs we debut there.
I think that was the main motivation. Sunsets was kind of about missing herme North Queensland, chropical weather, just like slowing down, like you said, like feeling like you can step out of the rat race a little bit and you know, appreciate country and then catch the night. It was kind of about, yeah, being in the moment and finding joy and so I think that was the main motivation.
With the change in music with my last two singles, but still always love Soul, I feel like that's always gonna be a big influence, just like hits, you know, like comes from my will woo from spirit, from love and yeah, being able to work with Alice Ivy just you know, married those two things together so well.
Yeah, so true really is like a beautiful culbination. And I think it's so nice like as people or as artists that we don't have to be defined by one thing, like we're not this or we're not that, and we can be a bit of everything and stay true to ourselves. So yeah, I'm loving the new tracks. Well, look, I want to say a huge part of our show at Yarning Up is trying to make Aboriginal.
Knowledge accessible for people.
I think sometimes think people think about Aboriginal people or our knowledges as like the lockness monster or something so mystical and you know, far fet But the sophistication and the engineering that our mob even blows my mind.
I'm sure it blows your mind too. We'll be back here mob right after this short break.
But I wanted to just share a little yarn that I want to yeah, which I encourage you to maybe take back to your camp, or take back to your families, or take back to your communities. And I wanted to share a bit about Aboriginal song lines. I was thinking about sharing that with the mob. It's such a beautiful thing. So for eighty thousand years, our Mob have been using music as ways to communicate, to heal, to share, and since colonization, we've been using it as a way to
elevate political messages. Literally, as Black Follows, we celebrated and commemorated everything with song, dance, and philosophy.
Whether it was a birth, whether it was a death, whether it was a passing, of people coming through.
You know, music has been a way that we really stop and acknowledge that, and song lines are essentially this huge library of information picture like a Wi Fi system that we all use our phones with. But in Australia we have what's called these ancient tracks that kind of span from the north to the.
South, to the east to the west.
And essentially what elders or tribesmen used to do is in order to recall or memorize information that would make a song out of it. So they would look around and say we're in the blue ten with the yellow bler and kind of take in all this information through a song and they would sing on where to hunt, where together, what roads to take, and they would pass that song down as a way to pass on the message, so that you were able to pass on that sort
of ancient knowledge through a trade route. And it's sort of those songs that they would use.
To share really important knowledges.
Most of our highways and major roads are built on the back of song lines.
Which is pretty crazy.
So like the famous road across the Nullibre from the Perth to Adelaide is the song line. The road between the Kimberleys and the Darwin is on the back of a song line, and the most I guess the most famously known story of a songline is the story of the wrangu Seven Sisters.
What it is, It's like this really chaotic love.
Story where Orion's belt was tracking these seven bright sisters in the sky and what's in Niru the snake was kind of chasing these seven sisters. He was like so in love with them, probably like red flag unhinged behavior nowadays, but back then it was really, you know, beautiful thing. And the story goes, Yeah, the Watimiriri snake traveled from the literally from the east to the west and the
west and back again. And they say that most of our song lines actually travel through Ularu and then back out and that's why Ularu has just got so much significance. And so yeah, I wanted to share that with you because maybe, like it kind of it sort of makes me think personally about what information I would be choosing to pass down, like what songs would I be singing these days?
And so with all of that in mind, Sis, I wanted.
To ask you about, you know, how do you think the storytelling aspect of music contributes to raising awareness and particularly now when we're in like a revolution and we're talking about the liberation and the world is kind of waking up to a lot of colonial ills. You know, how important is music to sort of elevate and share these stories.
Yeah, I mean it's vital and it's been a you know, tool for change since the beginning, telling our stories for our future generations, like building momentum for change. I think, you know, a lot of music it comes from black music, which was used for protests, for activism, for liberation. So now I feel like there's a kind of sense of duty to you know, carry your values and your hopes
for future generations with your art, at least for me. Yeah, I think it was really special this year releasing a song with sus Emma Donovan, who's Brad Nulla Yamaji gombang geir Aboriginal woman. We wrote a song for Uncle Archie Roach and his foundation plus uncle and yeah, we got together.
It was like around Jane twenty six, talking about I guess activists and elders that inspired us and how we wanted to make a song that honored them and sent love to them, and also like yeah, imagining like carrying that torch forward for like head borders and future generations in our communities to do the same like our elders have done for us.
So we won't take no more.
And we really we released it the Uncle Archie's Foundation and then yeah, just seeing how it's like moved with black fellows and with allies and with community, like how it's yea motivated or inspired people. And yeah, we even got to sing it at me and my yeah, my cousin and our friend a direct Aboriginal woman. We've got to stand up and sing it for the Palestine rally. And yeah, I think music's just vital to enact change and it has always done that.
I think like every backdrop of every major.
Point in history within the context of a revolution or liberation does have like that really important music to transcend the masses. Hey, Like I think about like even the song Treaty you know by your Off the India, which
is like the first song ever in language. You know how important that was, you know, nineteen ninety one and thirty years later it was still like I remember even being a kid, it's like treating and now it's like you know, now I'm like, oh, I finally understand what these things mean, you know, and even yeah, art he wrote, as you say, less resting in the dreaming, but the song took the children away, you know, all of these really important songs, and even now like artists like Barker
and Lookie and yourself, and you know, everyone's sort of spreading the message. My uncle PJ Roses, he said to me. He's a black stage manager. He started working in you know, Uncle PJ. Everyone knows Uncle PJ. He's always got to dart in one hand and a red wine in the other, and he's always you know, he's just the life of the party. And he's like, oh, if you go up on this festival thing, can you skype me up.
And give me a g episode?
All right, But yeah, he was sort of saying the other day he was at our house. It was like, how good it is that even it is important to elevate those political messages. But having young black artists who are just singing for the joy and the love of music as well, you know, having a bit of a bit of both.
That, Yeah, black joy is still resistance. And I don't have always be you.
Know, outspoken like that. It can just be being in spaces.
Yeah, yeah, so true black Joy, Black Love. They're the antidote, that's the that's the key to all of this, isn't it.
I wanted to ask you this year has.
Been, like for Black Follows anyway, a fucking dumpster fire of a year.
It's been probably one of the hardest times.
But I think for all of us, is people and societies, we're all just kind of like questioning, you know, what, what's it all mean? And how do we have spaces where we can come together like this and connect and to be. But I know for a lot of us, yeah, we're feeling I guess the collective grief and the collective trauma and and this is why we need joy and places like this to just fucking be, you know, just be.
I wanted to.
Maybe ask you and throw it out to anyone in the crowd if they're feeling up for it, feeling awake.
You know what, what do you think this year has taught you? What?
What is it taught you? And what are you wanting to cultivate more of next year? Like what are you willing to let go of? And what do you want more of next year?
Yeah?
I think this year kind of taught me to really, yeah, just be more grounded in the moment, especially with like family and friends, because it just goes so quickly, you know, life is so sure. I think that was the main thing, especially like with the referendum, and like you said, dumps the fire of a year, like really sitting with those like like yeah, loving moments even through the grief, just being there with community, just like you know, being centered.
I think that was like what I kind of really took away from it and what I'll carry next year.
Yeah, what about you, sis, Yeah.
I feel the same. I feel like.
Just yeah, like you say, sitting in it and processing it all. I think sometimes like the Western world demands us to be doing and like on and constantly like striving. And I think that even this notion about having a new Year's resolution for me, I'm like, I'm just trying to fucking process this year before I think about it a little bit. And I don't know, I feel like I don't really have any.
Wise end of year live, laugh, love, like you know, epiphanies.
I just feel really proud that we've just survived, like all of us here, like round of applause, like we've all survived.
The last three years have been a total mind fuck, and.
I think a lot of us have just not just black follows, all of us are really redefining what it means to live happy in healthy lives together.
You know, we're all on this journey.
So I'm just trying to process to trying to sit in it, trying to be okay with it, and just trying to like pat myself on the back for getting through.
Yeah, yeah, what.
About you, mom, of anyone in the crowd, any lessons any feels, Yeah, I got some mine over there.
I think, like, similar to what you guys are talking about about, there's so much responsibility placed on Bob to do and to act and to take action on things, but centering that onto something specific that you want.
Is really hard.
But I've worked out that wherever you invest that passion and that love, it actually does take action and it works and it makes a difference. But if you just work out what is the passion and what you love, that it's easier to.
Do preach love that anyone else.
I think, like we've been talking about this back of accounts as well, but like reflecting on the year, and I think like a big thing for me to reflect on this year is like standing firm in.
Your values and what you believe in.
I think if the referendum, the ongoing genocide in Gaza has shown anything, it's like, this is the time for you to take stand or to stand firm and.
Your belief or whatever it is.
And another thing that's like outside of sort of big big big things is like actually to like hold your loved ones close. I think a lot of people have experienced grief this year. But if you keep your family close, if you keep rooted in your culture, it helps you know just stands strong, stand for not to do it by yourself. Keep that in mind for next year.
Yes, you should jump up, please that, Mike, You're so right.
I feel you on that bro like like it's all connected.
You know what we're seeing Middle East and Congu Sadan organization. It's also deeply interrelated. But I also see that this is.
A deeply transformative time.
And I don't know, maybe I've got rose colored glasses, but I see a world where we.
Return back to land.
We're like living together, we're growing food together, we're sharing our time together. We're taking a back to the community, We're taking her back to the collectivity. We're going back to families and this is just like this, yeah, transformative time for us to go back to what we've always known, which is tribe, community, being cooperators, being helpers together. And yeah, like you say, holding to that value is really important.
I love that, so true, And that's what the land wants, like it's calling us to do that. That's what Blackfellows have done and indigenous people across the world. So yeah, it's very transformative time, but definitely important time to lack in your sea sense then and your values stand strong, so then collectively we all get there together leave no one behind.
Yeah.
I think also like with that in mind, I think this is kind of taught me too that you know rest we say, like rest is resistance or rest is just like fucking required and with any like social movement or you know, any difficult period like the last few years, like these things have its own consciousness, its own entities, and we have to learn to the revolution will require rest and endurance, and so we have to find new ways to look after self.
If in order to nurture.
Kin and community and other we must find ways to nurtureself, and we can't neglect ourselves in the process, even while all these you know, atrocities are happening. We have to go back to finding new ways to look after ourselves and places like this is like is that I feel there are extensions of that there, communities coming together for joy, for laughter, for letting go of the mask or the idea, have to be something and just being you know who
you are. Yeah, So next year I think it's going to be a transformative one for all of.
Us, say true, deadly, deadly, deadly.
The other thing I think I learned this year is a little bit about like relationships, about I don't know if everyone here has experienced ships in their lives with friends and relationships, but yeah, things have to be loving and reciprocal because we all need to Yeah, come up, come come together.
It's got to be reciprocal.
Yeah, And like what you were saying about rest is resistance, I feel like I've learned how like community loved ones friends Like in my ideal world, they're like, you know, they're for you to rest and to you know, self care, but like community care. So yeah, I don't know, just what you're saying reminded me of that.
Yeah, that's a safe place for us to land, to regroot regroup. Yeah, and that's why we need a treasure those moments saying anything anything you're looking forward to next year? Oh, where are you playing? Have you got any shows anywhere people can connect with you.
Yeah, I'm trying to do a tour. I'm releasing my debut EP in like April.
Just so excited.
Thank you. Yeah, doing like Brunswick Music Festival, so cute. Ms Canin is going to be on the same stage that it's like all Black Followers, Yeah.
For Brunswick Music Festival. So that'll be fun.
Doing a show in Sydney for Sydney first in a couple of weeks. And then it's been beautiful, like I've got wedding bookings which is new for me, which is really lovely. Like, yeah, I'd love to sing at some weddings.
Hopefully you can be playing at my wedding sing no pressure, Michael. That's exciting. How nice to sort of celebrate invading people's love.
I love that, Yeah, exactly, and really trying to I don't know, plan you cheer to just spend a good chunk of time back home, like I've got to do it last year and actually it was in Barburan Country.
Your country with uncle there.
We went to Google the island with all these kids and I went snuckling and it was like a beautiful program. So yeah, that's what I want next year, to just be home. Like, yeah, I love being down here and doing gigs and being on like amazing stuff like this, but like it's so important to go home and connect to the country and community and family.
Yeah, get that strength, absolutely, and just to sort of like uncomplicate it all.
It's also simple when you.
Stop and you get to experience the power of community land. It's it's really so simple. We just kind of complicate it all.
Yeah, beautiful.
Well that's kind of the end of my formal questions for you. I'm so grateful to sort of have a arm with you today, you know, the end of a busy time. It's sneeze the last day. And yeah, thank you mob for coming.
I want you.
To look after yourselves, look after this land, look after each other. Say loo to your uncles and Annie's for me, and yeah mad respon Banks, have a good days.
Happy.
Thank you so much for listening you mob. If you are vibing this season and pounding up, then please head over to Apple, Spotify or wherever you get your podcasts from to show us some love, rate, and review. Alternatively, you can get in contact and give us some feedback by visiting www. Dot Caroline Cool, dot com dot au