Song. Universal language spoken to connect to the world around us; to the human spirit. A means to portray emotion. A form of communication rooted deep within humanity, dating back centuries.
For singer-songwriter, Nathan May, it wasn’t only how his ancestors connected, but a journey back to himself. One of healing generational trauma and confronting the dark shadows of his youth. This project began with a simple song.
A single spotlight backdrop relatable to a Darwin sun setting over Mindil in a darkened room (credits to director Chris Drummond and Emil Smith on lights), encased in the timbre of the earthy sound of gut strings played by the Adelaide Baroque Quartet, generates a landscape of sound as calm as the warm, Australian red desert sand. The incontrovertibly genuine tone in Nathan’s vocals overhead with interludes of improvisation from violinist, Julian Ferraretto, cut through as if spirit was present and taking part in the musical conversation. The blend of an electric violin with historical instruments behind the Indigenous singer-songwriter’s voice, a poignant take on something ancient in a modern-day world.
‘Great-grandfather worked on the railway line, woke grandmother from her Dreamtime’. A lyric from Nathan’s song, 'Love From Me'. Born and raised in Darwin, a proud member of the Marridjabin, Yawuru and Arabana clans, his stories in song reflect a longing to connect to his homeland. An ode to his grandmother who had her mother tongue silenced, a language forbidden from being passed down to her 13 children. She had what was called a ‘white card’, something Aboriginal women were granted when married to a white man, to afford her the same privileges such as being welcome in the local pub. The stories of her motherland weren’t shared and the disconnect Nathan felt left him longing for answers within himself in the suppression of his past. He writes to bring his truth forward, reclaiming what belongs to him, his ancestors, his family and his own young children.
Ferraretto and May’s collaboration began in 2024, when Chamber Music Adelaide commissioned Julian to compose string quartet lines to accompany Nathan’s song, 'Wangkarda' for a concert at the Adelaide Town Hall entitled 'Perspectives'. From here, a natural collaboration began to emerge, not only between May and Ferraretto, but also with the Adelaide Baroque Quartet, made up of performers Ali Rayner (violin), Holly Picoli (violin), Heidi Von Bernevitz (viola) and Tom Marlin (cello). Julian Ferraretto went on to compose string quartet lines for another five tunes, paving the way for this work as a new, more mature and wholesome feel to his songs.
Nathan speaks about being homesick moving from Darwin. Far away from home, the clouds gather in his mind; another one of his heart-wrenching lyrics. There is an interlude in the show where the strings carry the stories. It shifts into a minor key with a sense of confusion, moving between the major and minor harmonies before resolving into unified chords with the guitar and strings. It’s here the music brings about a resolution to Nathan’s story, where the dots fully connect in his art.
Noted as a passionate supporter of the arts, Her Excellency, the Honourable Frances Adamson AC, Governor of South Australia, rolled up quite casually in a Lexus with Australian flags proudly waving over the bonnet. It really did feel like the coming together of two worlds, the way Nathan intends for it to be. Her excellency sat back in her seat, sipping a homegrown Barossa rosé and by all reports, absolutely loved the show. I’d go as far as to say this one is a show almost royally fit for a queen.
At a time when Aboriginal culture and the Stolen Generation sits under a political microscope and the lines are blurred with externalising what needs to be truly heard out to the Australian people without the division and constitutional nature in an authentic way, bringing anecdotes of the past to a way forward as a society in unity, Nathan May could be the voice to be respectfully regarded and taken in complete sincerity.
