King Stingray are an Australian

rock Rock most often refers to: * Rock (geology), a naturally occurring solid aggregate of minerals or mineraloids * Rock music, a genre of popular music Rock or Rocks may also refer to: Places United Kingdom * Rock, Caerphilly, a location in Wales ...

band from Northeast Arnhem Land in the

Northern Territory The Northern Territory (commonly abbreviated as NT; formally the Northern Territory of Australia) is an Australian territory in the central and central northern regions of Australia. The Northern Territory shares its borders with Western Aust ...

. With a sound self-described as "

Yolŋu The Yolngu or Yolŋu () are an aggregation of Aboriginal Australian people inhabiting north-eastern Arnhem Land in the Northern Territory of Australia. ''Yolngu'' means "person" in the Yolŋu languages. The terms Murngin, Wulamba, Yalnumata, ...

surf rock", the band perform songs with lyrics in both English and Yolŋu Matha. King Stingray released their debut single, "Hey Wanhaka", in October 2020, and their

self-titled An eponym is a person, a place, or a thing after whom or which someone or something is, or is believed to be, named. The adjectives which are derived from the word eponym include ''eponymous'' and ''eponymic''. Usage of the word The term ''epon ...

debut album on 5 August 2022.

Career

Two of the band's founding members have known one another since childhood – lead vocalist Yirrŋa Yunupiŋu is the nephew of Dr M. Yunupiŋu, and guitarist Roy Kellaway is the son of Stuart Kellaway, who were both founding members of

Yothu Yindi Yothu Yindi ( Yolngu for "child and mother", pronounced ) are an Australian musical group with Aboriginal and '' balanda'' (non-Aboriginal) members, formed in 1986 as a merger of two bands formed in 1985 – a white rock group called the Swam ...

. The pair grew up together in Yolngu country, in the community of

Yirrkala Yirrkala is a small community in East Arnhem Region, Northern Territory, Australia, southeast of the large mining town of Nhulunbuy, on the Gove Peninsula in Arnhem Land. Its population comprises predominantly Aboriginal Australians of the ...

. They were joined by guitarist/didgeridoo player Dimathaya Burarrwanga and bassist Campbell Messer to form King Stingray in 2020. King Stingray's debut single, "Hey Wanhaka", written by Yirrnga Yunupiŋu and Roy Kellaway, was released in October 2020. In January 2021, King Stingray released "Get Me Out"; a song described by Double J as "a tribute to the importance of home". According to a press statement, the song was written following a family member of the band getting lost in

Melbourne Melbourne ( ; Boonwurrung/Woiwurrung: ''Narrm'' or ''Naarm'') is the capital and most populous city of the Australian state of Victoria, and the second-most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Its name generally refers to a met ...

when they were on tour with Yothu Yindi. The band said: "She had no phone, ndYolŋu style, she navigated her way back to us miraculously and we now laugh about it." Dan Condon from the ''ABC'' said "It's as catchy as it is stirring and will no doubt help this new band continue to win the hearts of a broad range of music lovers." Lewis Stiles joined on drums in early 2021. In August 2021, King Stingray released "Milkumana"; a song described by

triple j Triple J (stylised in all lowercase) is a government-funded, national Australian radio station intended to appeal to listeners of alternative music, which began broadcasting in January 1975. The station also places a greater emphasis on broad ...

as being "about the power of passing on knowledge". The music video was filmed in the band's hometown of Yirrkala, and features tribal elders Mangatjay Yunupingu and Malŋay Yunupingu. In January 2022, both "Milkumana" and "Get Me Out" charted in the

triple j Hottest 100 The Triple J Hottest 100 is an annual music listener poll hosted by the publicly-funded, national Australian youth radio station, Triple J. Members of the public are invited to vote for their favourite Australian and alternative music of the y ...

at number 56 and 46, respectively. In March 2022, King Stingray released "Camp Dog". The title refers to the dogs that wander the streets of Yirrkala. The following month, the band supported Midnight Oil at the latter's final headlining show in Sydney on their ''Resist'' tour. In May 2022, King Stingray released the single "Let's Go" and announced their debut self-titled album. The album was released on 5 August 2022. In October 2022, King Stingray released a cover of

Men at Work Men at Work are an Australian rock band formed in Melbourne in 1978 and best known for breakthrough hits such as " Down Under", "Who Can It Be Now?", " Be Good Johnny", " Overkill", and " It's a Mistake". Its founding member and frontman is C ...

's "

Down Under The term ''Down Under'' is a colloquialism which is differently construed to refer to Australia and New Zealand, or Pacific Island countries collectively.Oxford English Dictionary (Electronic), Version 4.0, entry fordown under. The dictionary r ...

" as part of a new campaign for

Tourism Australia Tourism Australia is the Australian Government agency responsible for promoting Australian locations as business and leisure travel destinations. The agency is part of the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade, and employs 187 staff (includ ...

Band members

* Yirrŋa Yunupiŋu – lead vocals,

clapstick Clapsticks, also spelt clap sticks and also known as bilma, bimli, clappers, musicstick or just stick, are a traditional Australian Aboriginal instrument. They serve to maintain rhythm in voice chants, often as part of an Aboriginal ceremony ...

s * Roy Kellaway – guitar, backing vocals * Dimathaya Burarrwanga – guitar, backing vocals, didgeridoo * Campbell Messer – bass, banjo, backing vocals * Yimila Gurruwiwi – didgeridoo, backing vocals * Lewis Stiles – drums, backing vocals

Discography

Studio albums

Singles

Awards and nominations

AIR Awards

The Australian Independent Record Awards (commonly known informally as

AIR Awards The Australian Independent Record Awards (commonly known informally as AIR Awards) is an annual awards night to recognise, promote and celebrate the success of Australia's Independent Music sector. History The inaugural 2006 awards were held at ...

) is an annual awards night to recognise, promote and celebrate the success of Australia's Independent Music sector. ! , - ,

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, "Get Me Out" , Independent Song of the Year , ,

APRA Awards

The APRA Awards are presented annually from 1982 by the Australasian Performing Right Association (APRA), "honouring composers and songwriters". They commenced in 1982. ! , - , rowspan="2",

, "Get Me Out" (Roy Kellaway & Yirrŋa Yunupiŋu) , rowspan="2", Song of the Year , , rowspan="2", , - , "Milkumana" (Roy Kellaway & Yirrŋa Yunupiŋu) , , - ,

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, "Lupa" (Roy Kellaway & Yirrŋa Yunupiŋu) , Song of the Year , , , -

ARIA Music Awards

The ARIA Music Awards is an annual awards ceremony that recognises excellence, innovation, and achievement across all genres of Australian music. ! , - , rowspan="5",

, rowspan="4", ''King Stingray'' , Album of the Year , , rowspan="5", , - , Best Group , , - , Michael Gudinski Breakthrough Artist , , - ,

Best Rock Album The Grammy Award for Best Rock Album is an award presented at the Grammy Awards, a ceremony that was established in 1958 and originally called the Gramophone Awards, to recording artists for quality albums in the rock music genre. Honors in sev ...

, , - , Kayla Flett, Gabi Coulthurst & Dimathaya Burarrwanga for King Stingray – ''King Stingray'' , ARIA Award for Best Cover Art , , -

Australian Music Prize

The

Australian Music Prize The Australian Music Prize (often shortened to the AMP) is an annual award of $30,000 given to an Australian band or solo artist in recognition of the merit of an album released during the year of award. The award was made by Australian Music Pri ...

(the AMP) is an annual award of $30,000 given to an Australian band or solo artist in recognition of the merit of an album released during the year of award. It exists to discover, reward and promote new Australian music of excellence. ! , - , 2022 , ''King Stingray'' , Australian Music Prize , , , -

Environmental Music Prize

The Environmental Music Prize is a quest to find a theme song to inspire action on climate and conservation. It commenced in 2022. ! , - , 2022 , "Hey Wanhaka" , Environmental Music Prize , , , -

J Awards

The

J Awards The J Awards are an annual series of Australian music awards that were established by the Australian Broadcasting Corporation's youth-focused radio station Triple J and which are judged by the music and on-air teams from radio stations Triple J, ...

are an annual series of Australian music awards that were established by the

Australian Broadcasting Corporation The Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC) is the national broadcaster of Australia. It is principally funded by direct grants from the Australian Government and is administered by a government-appointed board. The ABC is a publicly-own ...

's youth-focused radio station

Triple J Triple J (stylised in all lowercase) is a government-funded, national Australian radio station intended to appeal to listeners of alternative music, which began broadcasting in January 1975. The station also places a greater emphasis on broad ...

. They commenced in 2005. ! , - , rowspan="2",

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, "Milkumana" (directed by King Stingray and Sam Brumby) , Australian Video of the Year , , rowspan="2", , - , King Stingray , Unearthed Artist of the Year , , - , rowspan="2",

, ''King Stingray'' , Australian Album of the Year , , rowspan="2", , - , King Stingray , Double J Artist of the Year , , -

National Indigenous Music Awards

The

National Indigenous Music Awards The National Indigenous Music Awards (NIMA), also known as the NT Indigenous Music Awards from 2004 to 2008, are music awards presented to recognise excellence, innovation and leadership among Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander musicians in ...

recognise excellence, innovation and leadership among Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander musicians from throughout Australia. They commenced in 2004. ! , - ! scope="row" rowspan="1",

, King Stingray , New Artist of the Year , , , - ! scope="row" rowspan="2",

, King Stingray , Artist of the Year , , rowspan="2", , - , "Milkumana" , Song of the Year , , -

Rolling Stone Australia Awards

The Rolling Stone Australia Awards are awarded annually in January or February by the Australian edition of ''

Rolling Stone ''Rolling Stone'' is an American monthly magazine that focuses on music, politics, and popular culture. It was founded in San Francisco, California, in 1967 by Jann Wenner, and the music critic Ralph J. Gleason. It was first known for its ...

'' magazine for outstanding contributions to popular culture in the previous year. ! , - , 2022 , King Stingray , Best New Artist , , , -

References

{{Authority control 2020 establishments in Australia ARIA Award winners Australian surf rock groups Indigenous Australian musical groups Musical groups established in 2020 Northern Territory musical groups Yolngu