''Nyaaringu'' is the debut studio album by Australian singer and songwriter

Miiesha Miiesha is an Australian singer-songwriter from the Aboriginal community of Woorabinda, Queensland. She was the recipient of New Talent of the Year at the 2020 National Indigenous Music Awards and won the ARIA Award for Best Soul/R&B Release ...

, released digitally on 29 May 2020. Following its physical release in August 2020, the album peaked at number 28 on the ARIA charts. Speaking about the album, Miiesha said "''Nyaaringu'' is a collection of stories that I feel I wanted to tell or that I needed to speak on. For me it represents my journey and where I'm at now coming from

Woorabinda Woorabinda is a rural town and locality in the Aboriginal Shire of Woorabinda, Queensland, Australia. In the , Woorabinda had a population of 962 people. It is an Aboriginal community. Geography Woorabinda is in Central Queensland, inland abou ...

. The interludes in the collection are recordings of my Grandmother speaking. For me she was and always will stay with me as the strongest voice in my life, so I felt she had to be a part of this with me." ''Nyaaringu'' is a phrase meaning "what happened" in the

Pitjantjatjara language Pitjantjatjara (; or ) is a dialect of the Western Desert language traditionally spoken by the Pitjantjatjara people of Central Australia. It is mutually intelligible with other varieties of the Western Desert language, and is particularly c ...

. At the

National Indigenous Music Awards 2020 The National Indigenous Music Awards 2020 are the 17th annual National Indigenous Music Awards. The nominations were announced on 13 July 2020 and the awards ceremony was held on 8 August 2020 and broadcast on the National Indigenous Television ...

, the album was nominated for Album of the Year. At the

2020 ARIA Music Awards The 2020 ARIA Music Awards are the 34th Annual Australian Recording Industry Association Music Awards (generally known as ARIA Music Awards or simply The ARIAs) and consist of a series of awards, including the 2020 ARIA Artisan Awards, ARIA Ha ...

it won Best Soul/R&B Release.

Critical reception

Ali Shutler from ''NME'' said "''Nyaaringu'' sa fearless debut album that weaves a story about the Indigenous experience", calling it "A soulful R&B record whose tales of discrimination, empowerment and freedom bear relevance well beyond Australia's borders." ''The Music AU'' called the album "thematically and communally, powerful." Tyler Jenke from ''ToneDeaf'' said "Arguably one of the strongest debuts in recent memory, and one of the most fitting records to be released during Reconciliation Week, ''Nyaaringu'' sees Miiesha Young sharing her story in the way only she can, with a dazzling blend of smooth soulful vocals serving as a statement of self-belief." Geordie Gray from ''ToneDeaf'' called ''Nyaaringu'' "essential listening", saying "Miiesha deftly weaves stories of community, survival and inherited knowledge. A pivotal masterpiece and an ode to resilience. A heartbreakingly timely debut." Laura English from ''Music Feeds'' called the album "absolutely stunning but the collection of songs goes deeper, exploring the themes of cultural identity and community." Al Newstead from ''

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

'' said "Miiesha's debut release is one every Australian should hear... Weaving intensely personal and honest storytelling with the kind of warm production SZA or Solange would kill for, Miiesha captures the complexity of the individual Indigenous experience through universally appealing songs." Simon Winkler from ''Stack Magazine'' said the album "...draws upon

gospel Gospel originally meant the Christian message ("the gospel"), but in the 2nd century it came to be used also for the books in which the message was set out. In this sense a gospel can be defined as a loose-knit, episodic narrative of the words an ...

, R&B, hip hop,

soul In many religious and philosophical traditions, there is a belief that a soul is "the immaterial aspect or essence of a human being". Etymology The Modern English noun ''soul'' is derived from Old English ''sāwol, sāwel''. The earliest attes ...

and

spoken word poetry Spoken word refers to an oral poetic performance art that is based mainly on the poem as well as the performer's aesthetic qualities. It is a late 20th century continuation of an ancient oral artistic tradition that focuses on the aesthetics of ...

to create something unique, universal and profoundly personal."

Track listing

Charts

Release history

References

{{Authority control 2020 debut albums Miiesha albums EMI Records albums ARIA Award-winning albums Self-released albums