Alice Springs duo Apakatjah have released the new song ‘Down The Road’ from ‘In Between’, their debut album, ahead of their show with Midnight Oil.
Apakatjah (pronounced uppa-cut-ja) will open for Midnight Oil in Alice Springs on October 2.
Apakatjah is Dion Forrester and Jonathan Lindsay-Tjapaltjarri Hermawan. Their music combines the cultures of Aboriginal Australia (Pintupi-Luritja, Pitjantjatjara, Pertame Central Arrernte, Alywarre, Kaytitj and Islander), as well as heritage from European, Indonesian, Irish, Welsh and Dutch migrants.
The aboriginal word apakatjah means a person of mixed race. “Not quite black, not quite white,” they say. “Somewhere in-between! We once perceived it to be a negative – socially constructed to separate and segregate, to divide and conquer. But now we realise that as Aboriginal people, we’re not the only ones who live this life, but many others. Time to embrace it!”
The album was recorded at CAAMA Music Studios by Dave Crowe. According to Dion, “Most of the songs on the album have never been recorded or played live as a full band before. Some of the songs were just ideas sitting in the back of our heads for over a decade before we finally tapped into each other’s brains to write and record the songs we have on the album. Most of these songs have been played at gigs for over 3 years as an acoustic duet, so it’s great to hear the songs as a full band.”
‘Waru’, the first single from the album, was released in November.
