THE lost beauty and history of lands now being developed at the old Deebing Creek Aboriginal Mission in Ipswich are the subject of a song released this week by local band The Leads.
The song is the first single from the band and features special guest artists Robbie James from GANGgajang on lead guitar and Ipswich musician Dirri'Ya-Gamil Kapithun on didgeridoo.
The track takes you from the ancient lands of Lake Mungo near the Outback border of NSW and Victoria to Deebing Creek, celebrating Aboriginal culture and connection to Australia’s majestic country.
The Leads saw the urgency of writing a song about the former mission lands and turned their attentions to releasing Trace as the Deebing Creek Protectors now mount their last stand as developers move in to clear trees in koala habitat close to the heritage-listed site.
GANGgajang guitarist Robbie James, who was also a member of Yothu Yindi for five years in the early 2000s, offered to get behind the recording project and contributed lead guitar parts to the song after speaking with band members about the protests in Ipswich.
Multi-national award-winning musician Dirri'Ya-Gamil Kapithun, (2013 Legends inductee in the Urban Music category of the Independent Musicoz Awards and 1999 Deadly Awards Emerging Talent award winner as part of Native Ryme) - a key figure in the Deebing Creek Protection group, played didgeridoo and clap sticks and performed in Yuggera language on the song.
“Yuggera is a dying language. It is almost endangered and it is a privilege to have a place to be able to express that in the spirit of reconciliation,” he said.
On the song he chants in Yuggera language “In the good spirit of Yuggera lands, we are stronger as one.”
Rosewood musician Dirri’Ya-Gamil Kapithun adds didgeridoo to the song.
“Music is our survival in terms of songlines and keeping that map of all the migratory patterns to the animals, the creation stories and our customary law,” he said.
“It is an element in our traditional dancing and allows for us to keep our stories alive. In an ancient sense it was the oldest form of media where we could bring all of our people together and make sure that everybody is up to par with the same law that we all come under and our obligations to our social cohesion through our skin groupings and I see this project as providing a peaceful platform into helping our contemporary story be told, through peaceful means given that it is in the context of protection of indigenous cultural heritage.”
Trace by The Leads is available on all streaming platforms and for purchase on Bandcamp.
You can follow The Leads on Facebook here and on Instagram here .