Nick Wales first heard Rrawun Maymuru perform at the 2011 National Indigenous Music Awards (NIMA). “He sang the opening manikay (traditional song) and I had shivers going all down me. From that moment, I was drawn to working with him,” says Wales, an acclaimed composer of electronic classical music.

Maymuru comes from a long line of Yolŋu songmen from the Maŋgalili clan in Yirrkala in North-east Arnhem Land and is the grandson of Dr Yunupingu.

Nick Wales and Rrawun Maymuru. Photo © Camila Tassino

He and Wales met when Maymuru debuted his live solo set at the 2016 Homegrown Festival at the Sydney Opera House. The following year, they collaborated for the first time when Sydney Dance Company commissioned them to write a piece for Rafael Bonachela’s work Ocho. Their composition, Nyapillilngu (Spirit Lady), went on to win a 2020 NIMA.

In 2023, Wales co-produced Sophie Hutchings’ album A World Outside and brought Maymuru in to sing on a track called Cloud Beneath the Sea. Last year, they released a dance song called Yolngu.

“So, it’s been a beautiful journey,” says Wales. “We haven’t forced anything, but we always have this magnetic pull towards each other.”

Their latest collaboration...