“I was missing home last night, but I messaged my sisters on Facebook, reaching out to them.
“Every time I come back I feel really lonely and I’m really missing ya mob up there. Family, grandparents, uncles, mums, brothers, aunts, [they’re] very far but they are very proud too,” he says.
And proud they should be. The talented 22-year-old musician has been living in Geelong for the past five years, part of a leadership program helping young Indigenous men live in two worlds. He’s obtained his VCAL certificate after completing Years 11 and 12, he then completed a gap program of intensive English and Maths, as well as graduating with a certificate in Business at Oxygen Music College.
He tried living in Melbourne for a year while completing that qualification, but it was tough and he was happy to move back to Geelong to finish his diploma in 2015.
With his rich voice and focus on storytelling, Yirrmal’s music runs strong and deep, but it also conveys a sense of sadness.
“I feel beyond when I sing. I lost my brother a year ago, my uncle, my auntie (we don’t say auntie, we just say mother) and missing those people, it’s so special. People who have been there for you since you were a baby. They have made you wiser. Every time I sing, I picture them in my mind and it fills me with sorrow, but I want to picture them and how much I love them. They are very proud and they miss me and I miss them too,” he says.
Yirrmal comes from exceptional musical stock. He’s related to Geoffery Gurrumul Yunupingu on his mother’s side and his father Witiyana Marika was a singer and dancer in Yothu Yindi.
While his music features some of the traditional sounds and elements of Yolngu music, he is out to make his own mark on Australia’s music landscape and doesn’t feel intimidated by any long shadows.
“My voice and my personality is way different from theirs,” he says. “Every time I play big shows, everyone experiences how I entertain those people. I don’t feel like them, I feel like me.”
True to Yolgnu traditions, Yirrmal is a gifted storyteller.
“I am embracing my culture to tell deeper stories about the lore and about how Yolgnu people see the land, nature and how First Nations people see things from a different perspective,” he explains.
“They see and feel it with their hearts. I’m a storyteller. I tell stories about our culture, about love and unity. That’s what my music is about.”
But Yirrmal also embraces contemporary sounds and music to bring about a new generation of Yolngu music. He particularly likes rock and indie rock and currently has The 1975 on high rotation on his phone, but has even recently turned to studying classical jazz.
“I will spend hours and hours on iTunes or YouTube. That’s how I create my music – by listening to anything out there,” he says.
He’s collaborated with mentors Archie Roach, Shane Howard (Goanna) and Neil Murray (Warumpi Band) and aspires to work with the likes of Paul Kelly and Peter Garrett. But for now, his primary inspiration is his father.
“My dad is a really strong, positive role model in Yolgnu culture,” he says. “He’s my absolute inspiration and when I see him I am empowered by his power. And my grandfather, he did that same thing for his people and that legacy is building through me. My grandfather fought for land rights in Arnhem Land. He brought the petition to the parliament.”
Yirrmal doesn’t plan to be in Geelong forever. Eventually he’ll return to his Yolgnu homeland to be a community leader, following in the footsteps of his father and his grandfather.
Until then, his connection to his country and the ways in which he misses it will continue to drive his music and storytelling.
“I’m still in Australia. I still feel a connection. But I don’t get that much time to actually be there [on country] have a yarn, sit by the campfire under the stars, grab a guitar and sing a song in our language, and tell stories. I miss those beautiful moments.”
BY ISABELLE ODERBERG
