Wuigada is a dedicated space where First Nations musicians can share and celebrate music made by other First Nations musicians with PBS audiences.
Wuigada was named and developed by the highly acclaimed indigenous singer songwriter, Kutcha Edwards. Wuigada in Mutti Mutti means 'to sing'.
In this edition of Wuigada we hear from disco pop duo The Merindas. The Merindas consist of Ballardong Whadjuk and Nyoongar woman Kristel Kickett (from Tammin, WA) and Candice Lorrae of Jawoyn and Thursday Island heritage (born in Darwin, NT).
They formed in 2012 with what was supposed to be a one-off show. But thankfully The Merindas have kept the music going, performing more than 400 shows in the last eight years at festivals and major corporate events across Australia.
The Merindas were part of The Bigsound 50 and have signed worldwide publishing with Gaga Music. They were also announced as nominees in the 2020/2021 Music Victoria Awards (Archie Roach Award for Emerging Talent) and showcased at SXSW Virtual Music Conference 2021. In 2020, The Merindas released their debut LP ‘We Sing Until Sunrise’.
We asked The Merindas what they have been doing since then:
'We have recently released our EP 'Complicated' and we are working on some collaborations with other First Nations artists. We plan to work on a 3rd album later in the year.'
When we asked The Merindas about a song by an Australian First Nations musician that had a big impact on them, they both agreed that Treaty had been a huge influence:
'Treaty by Yothu Yindi was a song that we both grew up on and loved. This song made us feel proud and we were delighted to perform backing vocals for Yothu Yindi and the Treaty Project in New Zealand a few years back.'
We are excited to share The Merindas top songs for Wuigada:
Electric Fields - 'Gold Energy'
Budjerah - 'Higher'
Mackridge x BAARKA - '22 Clan'
Bumpy - 'Falling'
Thelma Plum - 'Better in Blak'
Jessica Mauboy - 'Glow'
Lady Lash - 'Love My Darkness'
DRMNGNOW - 'Indigenous Land' (Prod. by River Boy)
Cloe Terare - 'Cadillac'
Tasman Keith - 'Love Too Soon'
Listen to the Wuigada playlist in full via YouTube now.
Visit all the Wuigada stories, or check out: Harry Whaleboat, Monica Jasmine Karo, Robert K. Champion, Ray Dimakarri Dixon, BUMPY, King Stingray, Lance O'Chin, Izy, Alice Skye, Radical Son, Black Rock Band, Allara, Emma Donovan, Marlene Cummins, Benny Walker, Stiff Gins, Ripple Effect Band, Waveney Yasso, Sue Ray, Troy Jungaji Brady, Dave Arden, Shellie Morris, Deline Briscoe, L.J. Hill, Selwyn Burns, Roger Knox and Kutcha Edwards.
Artwork by Dixon Patten.
