“For we who’ve been trodden on, not given a lot of freedom, you’ve got to believe in yourself. You’re no man’s property, you’re your own, your self, so just remember where you come from.”
Miiesha’s debut album begins with the powerful words of her late grandmother, starting a thread which reveals itself throughout the record. The two voices weave together a shared knowledge that was passed down for what has already been labeled one of the strongest debuts of any artist in recent memory.
Miiesha, who is from the small Aboriginal community of Woorabinda in Central Queensland, has had a banner 12 months in the lead-up to this album’s release. She picked up the Levi’s Music Prize, triple j made her their Unearthed Feature Artist in August last year, Channel [V] named her their UNCO[V]ERED artist, and Queensland Music Awards handed her the Remote Region prize for her release ‘Drowning’.
Miiesha said of the album:
“Nyaaringu is a collection of stories that I wanted to tell. For me it represents my journey and where I’m at now coming from Woorabinda. The interludes in the collection are recordings of my grandmother speaking. For me she was and always will stay with me as the strongest voice in my life so I felt she had to be a part of this with me.”
Stream the record below, then check out why the staff here at Tone Deaf love it so much.
Check out Miiesha’s album Nyaaringu
“Arguably one of the strongest debuts in recent memory, and one of the most fitting records to be released during Reconciliation Week, Nyaaringu sees Miiesha Young sharing her story in the way only she can, with a dazzling blend of smooth soulful vocals serving as a statement of self-belief.
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“With interludes featuring Miiesha’s grandmother strewn throughout the record, Nyaaringu is less of a collection of songs and more of a story that can only be appreciated through a careful listening of this marvellous creation.”
– Tyler Jenke
Nyaaringu is essential listening. A unified, crucial statement through the lens of a Woorabinda woman. Miiesha deftly weaves stories of community, survival and inherited knowledge. A pivotal masterpiece and an ode to resilience. A heartbreakingly timely debut.
– Geordie Gray
