Midnight Oil have released their first new music since 2002, dropping 'Gadigal Land'.
The song takes its name from Sydney's traditional owners and features vocalists Kaleena Briggs, Bunna Lawrie and Dan Sultan, plus Gadigal poet Joel Davison.The Gadigal (sometimes spelt 'Cadigal') lands include what is now the CBD plus areas from South Head through to the inner west.
'Gadigal Land' is a provocative recount of what happened in this place, and elsewhere in Australia, since 1788. "We've always been happy to lend our voice to those who call for racial justice, but it really feels like we've reached a tipping point," the band says.
"We urge the Federal Government to heed the messages in the Uluru Statement From The Heart and act accordingly.
"Hopefully this song and 'The Makarrata Project' mini-album we've created alongside our First Nations friends can help shine a bit more light on the urgent need for genuine reconciliation in this country and in many other places too."
'The Makarrata Project' began when The Oils entered the studio with about 20 songs, of which 7 revolved around themes of reconciliation. So they decided to record that batch of material separately with a wide range of Indigenous collaborators (the rest of the new recordings are slated for 2021 release).
'The Makarrata Project' is due late October.
