Dance, Music
Maatakitj
About this Event
Maatakitj is Noongar singer and guitarist Clint Bracknell from the south coast of Western Australia. Maatakitj, Clint’s nickname, means ‘legs like spears’. He sings in Noongar, the Indigenous language of Western Australia’s southwest, and is dedicated to creating new songs in one of the world’s longest continuing music traditions.
Maatakitj recently collaborated with Angelique Kidjo and was the support act for her 2024 Australian tour. In 2023, he composed for and performed with Kronos Quartet. Maatakitj partnered with ARIA-award winning producer Paul Mac in 2022 to produce the dance album Noongar Wonderland.
As a Professor of Music at UWA, Clint investigates connections between song, language, and landscapes while working on significant projects to improve Indigenous community access to cultural heritage collections. He has a PhD on Noongar song and has received awards and nominations composing for Australian stage productions over the past two decades.
Clint co-produced and co-presented Song With No Boss, an Australian podcast series for ABC Radio National. He is also a lead voice actor in Fist of Fury Noongar Daa, the audacious and ground-breaking Noongar language dub of the 1972 Bruce Lee film.
Featuring
Gina Williams and Guy Ghouse
Gina is a Balladong (Noongar) daughter, covering the south west corner of Western Australia. She has connection to the Kija people of the East Kimberley through her grandmother’s line.
By official records, Noongar language is critically endangered, with only a few speakers left.
As well as four albums, they have released three major works; Koort for the Festival of Perth, Koorlangka: Reimagined for the inaugural Perth International Cabaret Festival and Koolbardi wer Wardong for a sell-out season for the West Australian Opera.
In February 2024 they premiered their most recent major work, Wundig wer Wilura, commissioned by the West Australian Opera, at the Festival of Perth.
Currently they are working on the third instalment of their Kalyakoorl song cycle, Moort, to be released in 2025. 2024 has also included the first sighting (Awesome Festival – September) of Aliwah Bardinar! a work for young people, and a tour of the the UK including performances and a major workshop with local Cardiff youth for the Llais Festival.
