Frank Yamma is a singer and songwriter from

Central Australia Central Australia, also sometimes referred to as the Red Centre, is an inexactly defined region associated with the geographic centre of Australia. In its narrowest sense it describes a region that is limited to the town of Alice Springs and i ...

. He is a

Pitjantjatjara The Pitjantjatjara (; or ) are an Aboriginal people of the Central Australian desert near Uluru. They are closely related to the Yankunytjatjara and Ngaanyatjarra and their languages are, to a large extent, mutually intelligible (all are vari ...

man who speaks five languages and sings in both Pitjantjatjara and English. Yamma is the son of Issac Yamma, an early artist who pioneered singing Western style songs in traditional language. He is Regarded as one of Australia's most important indigenous songwriters.

Career

In 1999, Frank Yamma & Piranpa released ''Playing with Fire''. At the

Deadly Awards 1999 Winners of The Deadlys Awards 1999, the awards were an annual celebration of Australian Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander achievement in music, sport, entertainment and community. Music *Excellence in Film or Theatrical Score: Tiddas (band), ...

it won album of the year. At the

APRA Music Awards of 2005 The Australasian Performing Right Association Awards of 2005 (generally known as APRA Awards) are a series of awards which include the APRA Music Awards, Classical Music Awards, and Screen Music Awards. The APRA Music Awards ceremony occurred o ...

Yamma won ''Best Original Song Composed for a Feature Film, Telemovie, TV Series or Mini-Series'' with

David Bridie David Ross Hope Bridie is an Australian contemporary musician and songwriter. He was a founding mainstay member of World music band Not Drowning, Waving which released six studio albums to critical acclaim. He also formed a chamber pop group, ...

for "Pitjantjara" from '' The Alice''. In 2010, Yamma returned with the critically acclaimed ''Countryman''. This album gained international attention which sparked extensive national and international touring. In 2014, Yamma released ''Uncle''. In 2014, Yamma performed across Canada at Calgary Folk Festival, Vancouver Folk Festival and Winnipeg Folk Festival, where he shared the stage with Buffy Saint Marie and

The Mekons The Mekons are a British band formed in the late 1970s as an art collective. They are one of the longest-running and most prolific of the first-wave British punk rock bands. The band's style has evolved over time to incorporate aspects of ...

, as well as performing a coveted spot opening for

Joan Baez Joan Chandos Baez (; born January 9, 1941) is an American singer, songwriter, musician, and activist. Her contemporary folk music often includes songs of protest and social justice. Baez has performed publicly for over 60 years, releasing more ...

Discography

Studio albums

Remix albums

Compilation albums

Awards and nominations

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. , - , AIR Awards of 2015 , ''Uncle'' , Best Independent Country Album , , -

APRA Awards

The

APRA Awards APRA Awards may refer to one of two awards ceremonies: *APRA Awards (Australia) *APRA Awards (New Zealand) The APRA Music Awards are several annual and two-yearly award ceremonies run in New Zealand by Australasian Performing Right Association ...

are presented annually from 1982 by the

Australasian Performing Right Association APRA AMCOS consists of Australasian Performing Right Association (APRA) and Australasian Mechanical Copyright Owners Society (AMCOS), both copyright management organisations or copyright collectives which jointly represent over 100,000 songwr ...

(APRA), "honouring composers and songwriters". , - ,

2005 File:2005 Events Collage V2.png, From top left, clockwise: Hurricane Katrina in the Gulf of Mexico; the Funeral of Pope John Paul II is held in Vatican City; "Me at the zoo", the first video ever to be uploaded to YouTube; Eris was discovered in ...

, , "Pitjantjara" from ''The Alice'' (David Bridie & Frank Yamma) , , Best Original Song Composed for a Feature Film, Telemovie, TV Series or Mini-Series , ,

ARIA Music Awards

The

ARIA Music Awards The Australian Recording Industry Association Music Awards (commonly known informally as ARIA Music Awards, ARIA Awards, or simply the ARIAs) is an annual series of awards nights celebrating the Australian music industry, put on by the Austr ...

is an annual award ceremony event celebrating the

Australian music The music of Australia has an extensive history made of music societies. Indigenous Australian music forms a significant part of the unique heritage of a 40,000- to 60,000-year history which produced the iconic didgeridoo. Contemporary fusions of ...

industry. Yamma have been nominated for one award. ! Lost to , - ,

2020 2020 was heavily defined by the COVID-19 pandemic, which led to global Social impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, social and Economic impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, economic disruption, mass cancellations and postponements of events, COVID- ...

, ''Tjukurpa: The Story'' , Best Blues & Roots Album , , The Teskey Brothers - Live At The Forum

Deadly Awards

The Deadly Awards, commonly known simply as ''The Deadlys'', was an annual celebration of Australian Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander achievement in music, sport, entertainment and community. , - ,

1999 File:1999 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The funeral procession of King Hussein of Jordan in Amman; the 1999 İzmit earthquake kills over 17,000 people in Turkey; the Columbine High School massacre, one of the first major school shootin ...

, ''Playing with Fire '' , Album Release of the Year: , , -

References

External links

NAIDOC Week 2002

* "Frank Yamma: a fire that burns brighter." Article by Peter Vincent in the Sydney Morning Herald. 15 October 2014

{{DEFAULTSORT:Yamma Frank Indigenous Australian musicians Living people Australian male singers Australian songwriters APRA Award winners Australian guitarists Year of birth missing (living people) Australian male guitarists