Kardajala Kirridarra

Kardajala Kirridarra translates to ‘Sandhill Women.’ Kardajala is the name of the mysterious bush woman from the sandhills behind the community of Malinja, NT.

From their inception until now, Kardajala Kirridarra has won the Folk Category of NT Song of the Year award, played at Golden Plains Festival, Wide Open Spaces, Barunga Festival and were the first all female band to appear at Bush Bands Bash in 2016. The descendants of a mysterious bush woman from the Northern Territory, these compelling women are from the communities of Marlinja and Kulumindini (Elliott) and together with Melbourne based producer Beatrice they form Kardajala Kirridarra. With the July 7threlease of their debut self-titled album featuring new single Ngabaju (Grandmother’s Song), Kardajala Kirridarra meld the contemporary with the traditional. Sung in both Mudburra and English, together they tell the story of the connection between Aboriginal women and country as a reminder about the importance of women as creators.

Kardajala Kirridarra were brought together by the Barkly Regional Council’s National award winning ‘Barkly Desert Cultures’ multimedia program aimed at using music and film to express stories and social issues of young people living in the Barkly Region of the NT. It was here that songwriter and vocalist Eleanor Dixon (Rayella, Desert Divas) met Melbourne vocalist, multi-instrumentalist and electronic producer Beatrice Lewis (Beatrice, Haiku Hands) and together they began the Kardajala Kirridarra story. Later joined by key translator, story-teller, poet and Eleanor’s aunty Janey Dixon; and rapper, MC Kayla Jackson, Karajala Kirridarra create music to empower women in all aspects of their role as creators from young girls through to being mothers and grandmothers.

This June, Kardajala Kirradarra will travel to some of the most remote communities in the world in the Barkly region of the Northern Territory, to perform concerts showcasing their upcoming release. A culmination of work over the past three years for the Barkly Regional Council’s Youth Diversion music and multimedia program, the seven date tour will take them to Tennant Creek, Elliott, Alpurrurulam, Ampilatwatja, Arlparra, Ali Curung and finishing up in Alice Springs.

Recorded primarily in the intense summer months in a hall in Marlinja NT and produced by Beatrice, Kardajala Kirridarra features sounds from the surrounding lands, such as seed pods, thunders storms and clap sticks made by Eleanor’s father. The fruits of these sessions were co-produced, mixed and mastered in Melbourne by Marc Peckham aka Monkey Marc. Sung in a rarely heard but beautiful Indigenous language, the Kardajala Kirridarra woman will take you on a journey through the heart of this beautiful desert country.