BERLIN BASED ARTIST CREATES PODCAST INFLUENCED OF THE YINDJIBARNDI CULTURE

BY MEGAN BOYCE

Nathan Gray at Harding River. Credit: Megan Boyce.

A Berlin-based sound artist, Nathan Gray, has been working alongside Juluwarlu Aboriginal Corporation and Yindjibarndi Elders to develop podcasts spoken in the language. 

His first podcast ‘Era of the Elders’ is based on the Elders' stories spoken by their relatives in language. Mr. Gray said he found the project fascinating.

“Young people in the community know not just who their grandparents were or their great grandparents, but what they did and why they were important and how they contributed to the survival of the Roebourne and the Yindjibarndi communities,” he said.

This podcast is set to Premiere in July 2023 at Autostrada Biennale, Kosovo. It will then be available as a podcast on Ngaarda Media to be heard by all.

Listen to the clip here:

Mr. Gray’s final podcast has just come to an end in Ieramugadu that focuses on the stories of a well known spirit in Yindjibarndi culture, Juju Marlungu. 

“I'm now turning them into kind of audio dramas, so I'm adding sound effects and background noise and kind of voice effects to make them kind of extra scary,” he said.

Listen to the clip here:

This clip’s English translation is:

"And when he came back he saw a big hand mark in the cake like someone had just grabbed a big chunk out of it."

The Marlaangu Project will be featured in November at the Art Gallery of Western Australia.