Yirrmal Marika (born 1993), known

mononymously A mononym is a name composed of only one word. An individual who is known and addressed by a mononym is a mononymous person. In some cases, a mononym selected by an individual may have originally been from a polynym, a word which refers to one o ...

Yirrmal, is an

Indigenous Australian Indigenous Australians or Australian First Nations are people with familial heritage from, and membership in, the ethnic groups that lived in Australia before British colonisation. They consist of two distinct groups: the Aboriginal peoples ...

vocalist. A Yolngu man, his music features traditional sounds and elements of Yolŋu music.

Early life

Yirrmal Marika was born in 1993 in

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

in the

Rirratjingu The Dangu (Dhaŋu, Dhangu) are an Aboriginal Australian people of Arnhem Land, in the Northern Territory, one of many Yolŋu peoples. They are, according to Norman Tindale, to be carefully distinguished from the Djaŋu. Two prominent clans of ...

clan and began learning music at age 11.

Personal life

Yirrmal's father

Witiyana Marika Witiyana Marika is an Aboriginal Australian musician, filmmaker, and Aboriginal elder, elder, known for being a founding member of the band Yothu Yindi and producer of the film ''High Ground (2020 film), High Ground''. Background Marika was bor ...

was a singer and dancer in

Yothu Yindi Yothu Yindi (Yolŋu Matha, Yolngu for "child and mother", pronounced ) are an Australian musical group with Australian Aboriginal, Aboriginal and ''List of English words of Malay origin#B, balanda'' (non-Aboriginal) members, formed in 1986 as ...

and is related to Dr Gurrumul Yunupingu on his mother's side. Yirrmal cites his grandfather and former lead singer of Yothu Yindi, Dr Yunupingu as his biggest influence saying "He was my inspiration since I was a kid. He did great things for all Australians. There are a lot of other Indigenous people that I look up to also – people such as

Archie Roach Archibald William Roach (8 January 1956 – 30 July 2022) was an Australian singer, songwriter and Aboriginal Australian, Aboriginal activist. Often referred to as "Uncle Archie", Roach was a Gunditjmara and Western Bundjalung people, Bundjalu ...

, Gurrumul,

Saltwater Band Saltwater Band are an Indigenous roots band from Galiwin'ku on Elcho Island, around 560 kilometres from Darwin. The members are Yolngu and they sing mostly in Yolngu languages. Their songs are a mixture of traditional songs and reggae/ska influe ...

Dan Sultan Daniel Leo Sultan (born 1983) is an Australian alternative rock singer-songwriter and guitarist, actor and author. At the ARIA Music Awards of 2010 he won ARIA Award for Best Male Artist, Best Male Artist and ARIA Award for Best Blues and Root ...

Jessica Mauboy Jessica Hilda Mauboy (born 4 August 1989) is an Australian singer, songwriter and actress. Born and raised in Darwin, Northern Territory, she rose to fame in 2006 on the fourth season of ''Australian Idol'', where she was runner-up and subseq ...

and Rrawun Maymuru. I see what they have done for their people." Yirrmal moved to

Geelong, Victoria Geelong ( ) (Wathawurrung: ''Djilang''/''Djalang'') is a port city in the southeastern Australian state of Victoria, located at the eastern end of Corio Bay (the smaller western portion of Port Phillip Bay) and the left bank of Barwon River, a ...

in 2011.

Career

In 2013, Yirrmal released his debut single "Deep Blue Sea". He performed the song at numerous events including Australasian Worldwide Music Expo as a solo artist and as Yirrmal & The Yolngu Boys. In November 2016, Yirrmal released his debut EP ''Youngblood'', telling the ABC Radio "We're living in two worlds, learning in two worlds, carrying a message, a sharing of culture". Melissa Davis from ''Forte Magazine'' gave the EP 5 out of 5 saying "His rich voice combined with his lyrics tells the stories of dreams, the issues in society and his culture – a unique insight." ''ABC Radio'' called it "deeply affecting and joyously celebrating his upbringing and place in the world." In 2017, Yirrmal featured on

Baker Boy Danzal James Baker (born 10 October 1996), known professionally as Baker Boy, is a Yolngu rapper, dancer, artist, and actor. Baker Boy is known for performing original hip-hop songs incorporating both English and Yolŋu Matha and is one of ...

's "

Marryuna "Marryuna" ( en, "Let's Dance") is a song by Australian musician Baker Boy featuring Yirrmal, released independently on 6 October 2017. The song ranked at number 17 in Triple J's Hottest 100 of 2017. At the AIR Awards of 2018, the Baker Boy w ...

". The song ranked at number 17 in

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 ...

's Hottest 100 of 2017. At the

Music Victoria Awards of 2018 The Music Victoria Awards of 2018 are the 13th Annual Music Victoria Awards and consist of a series of awards, presented on 21 November 2018, during Melbourne Music Week. The Melbourne Recital Centre hosted the event for the first time, and, al ...

"Marryuna" won Best Song. and at the

National Indigenous Music Awards 2018 The National Indigenous Music Awards 2018 are the 15th annual National Indigenous Music Awards. The nominations were announced on 9 July 2018 and the awards ceremony was held on 11 August 2018. 2018 was seen as a strong year for Indigenous mus ...

, the video won Film Clip of the Year. In August 2022, Yirrmal released "Promised Land", featuring

Dami Im Dami Im ( , , ; born October 17, 1988) is a South Korean-born Australian singer and songwriter. She represented Australia at the Eurovision Song Contest 2016 held in Stockholm, Sweden with the song " Sound of Silence", placing second and ach ...

. The song was produced by

Andrew Farriss Andrew Charles Farriss (born 27 March 1959) is an Australian rock musician and multi-instrumentalist best known as the keyboardist, backing vocalist, and main composer for rock band INXS. Farriss released his debut studio album in 2021. Care ...

, and is expected to be taken off Yirrmal's self-titled debut album, scheduled to be released later in the year.

Discography

Extended plays

Singles

As lead artist

As featured artist

Guest appearances

Awards and nominations

AIR Awards

The Australian Independent Record Awards (known informally as the

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. ! , - ,

2018 File:2018 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: The 2018 Winter Olympics opening ceremony in PyeongChang, South Korea; Protests erupt following the Assassination of Jamal Khashoggi; March for Our Lives protests take place across the United ...

, "Marryuna" (with Baker Boy) , Best Independent Single or EP , ,

APRA Awards

The APRA Awards are held in Australia and New Zealand 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 ...

to recognise songwriting skills, sales and airplay performance by its members annually. ! , - , scope="row",

2019 File:2019 collage v1.png, From top left, clockwise: Hong Kong protests turn to widespread riots and civil disobedience; House of Representatives votes to adopt articles of impeachment against Donald Trump; CRISPR gene editing first used to experim ...

, "Marryuna" (with Baker Boy) , Urban Work 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 ...

(NIMAs) recognise excellence, dedication, innovation and outstanding contribution to the

Northern Territory The Northern Territory (commonly abbreviated as NT; formally the Northern Territory of Australia) is an states and territories of Australia, Australian territory in the central and central northern regions of Australia. The Northern Territory ...

music industry. ! , - , rowspan="2",

2017 File:2017 Events Collage V2.png, From top left, clockwise: The War Against ISIS at the Battle of Mosul (2016-2017); aftermath of the Manchester Arena bombing; The Solar eclipse of August 21, 2017 ("Great American Eclipse"); North Korea tests a ser ...

, Yirrmal , New Talent of the Year , , rowspan="2", , - , "The Bridge" , Song of the Year , , - , rowspan="2",

, rowspan="2", "For Everyone" , Film Clip of the Year , , rowspan="2", , - , Song of the Year , , - ,

2021 File:2021 collage V2.png, From top left, clockwise: the James Webb Space Telescope was launched in 2021; Protesters in Yangon, Myanmar following the 2021 Myanmar coup d'état, coup d'état; A civil demonstration against the October–November 2021 ...

, "Ride" (Baker Boy featuring Yirrmal) , Film Clip of the Year , ,

References

{{Authority control 21st-century Australian singers 21st-century Australian male singers Indigenous Australian musicians Living people 1993 births