The Makarrata Project | ||||
---|---|---|---|---|
Studio album by | ||||
Released | 30 October 2020 | |||
Studio | Rancom Street Studios, Oceanic Studios (Sydney) | |||
Length | 33:31 | |||
Label | Sony | |||
Producer | Warne Livesey | |||
Midnight Oil chronology | ||||
| ||||
Singles from The Makarrata Project | ||||
|
The Makarrata Project is the twelfth studio album by Australian band Midnight Oil, released on 30 October 2020 by Sony Music Australia. The album is the first new material from the band since 2002's Capricornia , their first studio album to hit #1 on the ARIA Charts since 1990's Blue Sky Mining , [2] and one of the final releases to feature bassist and backing vocalist Bones Hillman before his death in November 2020. [3]
At the 2021 ARIA Music Awards, the album was nominated for Album of the Year, Best Group and Best Rock Album. [4]
In a statement, Midnight Oil members said, "After centuries of struggle for recognition and justice, 2017's Uluru Statement from the Heart called for the establishment of a 'First Nations Voice' enshrined in the Australian Constitution and the establishment of a 'Makarrata Commission' to supervise agreement-making and truth-telling between governments and Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples. We will donate our share of any proceeds received from this release to organisations which seek to elevate the Uluru Statement from the Heart in particular and Indigenous reconciliation more broadly". [5] [6]
Makarrata is a Yolngu word "describing a process of conflict resolution, peacemaking and justice", [7] or "a coming together after a struggle", and delegates said that it "captures our aspirations for a fair and truthful relationship with the people of Australia", and the Makarrata Commission would "supervise a process of agreement-making between governments and First Nations". [8]
Frontman Peter Garrett said, "It's been 250 years since Cook landed, when Aboriginal and Islander peoples' children, land & waters were first taken away. Yet the impacts of the original dispossession are still widely felt. We urgently need to up the ante on Reconciliation generally and follow through on the ground breaking Uluru Statement. These songs are about recognising that our shared history needs settlement, and that more than ever, as the Statement From The Heart proclaims, we need to walk together to create a better future". [1]
Midnight Oil had recorded 20 tracks with Warne Livesey producing. [9] The Makarrata Project is a seven-track mini-album, which features collaborations with Indigenous artists and First Nations people. [9]
Review scores | |
---|---|
Source | Rating |
Allmusic | [10] |
The Guardian | [11] |
Bernard Zuel from The Guardian said "The Makarrata Project focuses on Indigenous issues and white relationships to them from several angles [and] ... the songs veer from some kind of gospel-folk over a piano rumination, winsome atmosphere and back-porch balladry to brass-punching, rattling rock, tense-but-rhythmic groove, outright pop and sunset acoustic sway. In them, Midnight Oil's main songwriters, Rob Hirst, Jim Moginie and Peter Garrett, express anger and frustration, hope and connection – historical and contemporary." [11]
No. | Title | Writer(s) | Length |
---|---|---|---|
1. | "First Nation" (featuring Jessica Mauboy and Tasman Keith) | Robert Hirst, Tasman Keith Jarrett [12] | 4:51 |
2. | "Gadigal Land" (featuring Dan Sultan, Joel Davidson, Kaleena Briggs and Bunna Lawrie) | Hirst, Davidson, Lawrie [13] | 4:45 |
3. | "Change the Date" (featuring Gurrumul Yunupingu and Dan Sultan) | James Moginie, Yunupingu [14] | 5:58 |
4. | "Terror Australia" (featuring Alice Skye) | Peter Garrett, Bones Hillman [15] | 3:49 |
No. | Title | Writer(s) | Length |
---|---|---|---|
5. | "Desert Man, Desert Woman" (featuring Frank Yamma) | Garrett, Yamma [16] | 3:09 |
6. | "Wind in My Head" (Makarrata version featuring Kev Carmody and Sammy Butcher) | Moginie, Carmody, N Murray, Butcher [17] | 4:19 |
7. | "Uluru Statement from the Heart / Come on Down" (featuring Pat Anderson, Stan Grant, Adam Goodes, Ursula Yovich and Troy Cassar-Daley) | Anderson, Grant, Goodes, Yovich, Cassar-Daley / Moginie [18] | 6:40 |
Total length: | 33:31 |
Credits based on Sony Music Entertainment (19439793942) cover notes: [19]
Midnight Oil
Other personnel
Technical work
Weekly charts
| Year-end charts
|
Midnight Oil are an Australian rock band composed of Peter Garrett, Rob Hirst (drums), Jim Moginie and Martin Rotsey (guitar). The group was formed in Sydney in 1972 by Hirst, Moginie and original bassist Andrew James as Farm: they enlisted Garrett the following year, changed their name in 1976, and hired Rotsey a year later. Peter Gifford served as bass player from 1980 to 1987, with Bones Hillman then assuming the role until his death in 2020. Midnight Oil have sold over 20 million albums worldwide as of 2021.
Robert George Hirst is an Australian musician from Camden, New South Wales. He is a founding member of rock band Midnight Oil on drums, percussion and backing vocals from the 1970s until the band took a hiatus in 2002. The band resumed activity as a group in 2017. Hirst also wrote a book, Willie's Bar & Grill, recounting the experiences on the tour Midnight Oil embarked on shortly after the 11 September terrorist attacks in 2001.
George Redburn Young was an Australian musician, songwriter and record producer. He was a founding member of the bands The Easybeats and Flash and the Pan, and was one-half of the songwriting and production duo Vanda & Young with his long-time musical collaborator Harry Vanda, with whom he co-wrote the international hits "Friday on My Mind" and "Love Is in the Air", the latter recorded by John Paul Young.
20,000 Watt R.S.L. is a compilation album by Australian rock band Midnight Oil released on 13 October 1997 on their own label Sprint Music. The word "Collection" appears on the front of the CD along the hinge in the same type face as the title and the name of the band and may have been intended as part of the album's title; however, it does not appear on the spine. The release has also been distributed inside a cardboard sleeve which adds "Midnight Oil: The Hits" to the album art, distinguishing it as a compilation album.
Suzanne Marguerite Abeyratne, who performs as Zan or Xan, is an Australian-based singer born in London. Abeyratne was a co-lead vocalist of I'm Talking (1984–87), alongside Kate Ceberano. She provided lead vocals on their single, "Holy Word", which peaked at No. 9 in Australia, and No. 21 in New Zealand. Along with her identical twin sister Sherine, Abeyratne has provided backing vocals for Models, INXS, and U2, and has toured the world with other bands.
David Ross Hope Bridie is an Australian contemporary musician and songwriter. He was a founding mainstay member of World music band Not Drowning, Waving which released six studio albums to critical acclaim. He also formed a chamber pop group, My Friend the Chocolate Cake, which released seven studio albums. During his solo career he has issued five studio albums and worked on soundtracks for Australian films and television like The Man Who Sued God, Remote Area Nurse, Secret City, and The Circuit. Bridie is the founder and artistic director of Wantok Musik Foundation; a not-for-profit music label that records, releases and promotes culturally infused music from Indigenous Australia, Melanesia and Oceania. In 2019 he received the Don Banks Music Award.
"Come to Nothing" is the third single by Evermore, taken from their debut album, Dreams. It was released in May 2005 and peaked at No. 51 on the ARIA Singles Chart. It appeared as a split single on CD with two live music videos by Evermore, "It's Too Late" and "Come to Nothing"; and a track each by theredsunband: "Devil Song, the Panda Band: "Eyelashes", and the Vasco Era: "Don't Go to Sleep".
Volcanic Rock is the second studio album by Australian rock band Buffalo, recorded and originally released in 1973 on the Vertigo label. The album was remastered and reissued in September 2005 by Australian record label Aztec Music on CD with additional tracks.
Roger Ashley Mason is an Australian keyboardist who has been a member of new wave groups Models, Absent Friends and Icehouse. He was a session and backing musician for United Kingdom's Gary Numan and for various Australian artists. From the early 1990s he has composed music for television and feature films.
Simon Cyril Hussey is an Australian multi-instrumentalist, songwriter-arranger, record producer and audio engineer. In 1984 he formed Cats Under Pressure on keyboards with David Reyne on vocals and Mark Greig on guitar. On the Australian Crawl album Between a Rock and a Hard Place, Hussey co-wrote four tracks with the band's lead singer, James Reyne. In 1987 when James undertook his solo career, Hussey joined his backing band on keyboards, and co-wrote six tracks for James' debut self-titled album including top 10 hit singles, "Hammerhead" (October) and "Motor's Too Fast". In May 1988 Hussey was the producer, and provided keyboards and song writing, for Edge (November), the comeback album by Daryl Braithwaite (ex-Sherbet), which peaked at No. 1 on the ARIA Albums Chart for three weeks in mid-1989.
Lyn Bowtell is an Australian singer-songwriter from Kleinton, Queensland. She has won ten Golden Guitar Awards at the Country Music Awards of Australia. She was primary songwriter and singer for the pop country trio, Bella (2002–2006). Bowtell has to date released four solo albums, Heart's in the Country, Secret Songs ,Heart of Sorrow ,an EP 'Calling You' and latest album Wiser. Alongside her solo career, since 2015, she has also been a member of Australian super-group, Bennett Bowtell Urquhart, with Kevin Bennett and Felicity Urquhart.
"Afterglow" is a song by Australian rock band Taxiride, written by band members Jason Singh, Tim Wild, and Tim Watson. It was released on 10 February 2003 as the third and final single from their second studio album, Garage Mahal. It reached No. 49 on the Australian ARIA Singles Chart.
Darren Richard Seltmann is an Australian singer-songwriter, musician and producer. He co-founded Australian electronic music group the Avalanches in 1997 and appeared on their debut album, Since I Left You (2000). At the 2016 APRA Music Awards, he and his wife Sally Seltmann won Best Original Song Composed for the Screen for "Dancing in the Darkness", which was used in the TV comedy series The Letdown (2016).
Sarah Paige Aarons is an Australian songwriter. Originally from Bentleigh, Melbourne, she attended McKinnon Secondary College in McKinnon. Now based in Los Angeles, Aarons is signed to Sony ATV Publishing. She co-wrote "Stay" by Zedd and Alessia Cara and "The Middle" by Zedd, Maren Morris and Grey, which both went to #1 on Mainstream Top 40 and were each certified double platinum in the US. In 2019, Aarons was nominated for Song of the Year at the 61st Annual Grammy Awards for her work on "The Middle".
Max & Bianca were an Australian pop duo formed by Max Donovan and Bianca Oechsle in 2011. Their debut single, "Love Drunk", reached the ARIA Singles Chart top 100. They disbanded late in 2015.
The Australasian Performing Right Association Awards of 2018 are a series of related awards which include the APRA Music Awards, Art Music Awards, and Screen Music Awards. The APRA Music Awards of 2018 was the 36th annual ceremony by the Australasian Performing Right Association (APRA) and the Australasian Mechanical Copyright Owners Society (AMCOS) to award outstanding achievements in contemporary songwriting, composing and publishing. The ceremony was held on 10 April 2018 at the International Convention Centre Sydney. The host for the ceremony was Julia Zemiro.
Daniel Francis Luscombe is an Australian guitarist, producer and composer. He has been a member of The Blackeyed Susans, The Drones, Dan Kelly and the Alpha Males, Stardust Five, Spencer P. Jones & the Last Gasp and Paul Kelly and the Boon Companions, as well as playing alongside Courtney Barnett, Mick Harvey, Ariel Pink, Damo Suzuki, James Chance and Marlon Williams as a touring member of their bands. He has also produced albums for artists including Ben Salter, Fraser Gorman, Jaala, Bad Dreems, Martin Frawley, Courtney Barnett and Amyl and the Sniffers. He has composed for film with credits including Jindabyne, Hounds of Love and I Am Mother (2019).
Driveway Heart Attack is the twelfth studio album by Australian indie rock band, The Fauves, which was released on 31 May 2019 as a double album via Shock Records. To promote the album they supported Regurgitator on the latter's 25th anniversary tour in October–November 2019.
"Gadigal Land" is a song by Australian rock band Midnight Oil featuring Dan Sultan, Joel Davison, Kaleena Briggs and Bunna Lawrie. The song was released on 7 August 2020. It is the band's first single in 17 years, and is part of The Makarrata Project, a themed mini-album of collaborations with Indigenous artists.
"First Nation" is a song by Australian rock band Midnight Oil featuring Jessica Mauboy and Tasman Keith. The song was released on 25 September 2020 as the second single from the band's twelfth studio album The Makarrata Project; a themed mini-album of collaborations with Indigenous artists.