King Stingray

King Stingray is an Australian rock band from Northeast Arnhem Land in the Northern Territory. With a sound self-described as "Yolŋu surf rock", the band perform songs with lyrics in both English and Yolŋu Matha. King Stingray released their debut single, "Hey Wanhaka", in October 2020, and their self-titled debut album on 5 August 2022.

Career

Two of the band's founding members have known one another since childhood – lead vocalist Yirrŋa Yunupiŋu is the nephew of Dr M. Yunupiŋu, and guitarist Roy Kellaway is the son of Stuart Kellaway, who were both founding members of Yothu Yindi. The pair grew up together in Yolngu country, in the community of Yirrkala. They were joined by guitarist/didgeridoo player Dimathaya Burarrwanga and bassist Campbell Messer to form King Stingray in 2020. They signed to The Chats' Bargain Bin Records in 2020.

King Stingray's debut single, "Hey Wanhaka", written by Yirrnga Yunupiŋu and Roy Kellaway, was released in October 2020.

In January 2021, King Stingray released "Get Me Out"; a song described by Double J as "a tribute to the importance of home". According to a press statement, the song was written following a family member of the band getting lost in Melbourne when they were on tour with Yothu Yindi. The band said: "She had no phone, [and] Yolŋu style, she navigated her way back to us miraculously and we now laugh about it." Dan Condon from the ABC said "It's as catchy as it is stirring and will no doubt help this new band continue to win the hearts of a broad range of music lovers." Lewis Stiles joined on drums in early 2021.

In August 2021, King Stingray signed with Cooking Vinyl Australia (a partner of Sony Music) and released "Milkumana"; a song described by triple j as being "about the power of passing on knowledge". The music video was filmed in the band's hometown of Yirrkala, and features tribal elders Mangatjay Yunupingu and Malŋay Yunupingu. In January 2022, both "Milkumana" and "Get Me Out" charted in the triple j Hottest 100 at number 56 and 46, respectively.

In March 2022, King Stingray released "Camp Dog". The title refers to the dogs that wander the streets of Yirrkala. The following month, the band supported Midnight Oil at the latter's final headlining show in Sydney on their Resist tour. In May 2022, King Stingray released the single "Let's Go" and announced their debut self-titled album. The album was released on 5 August 2022.

In July 2022, King Stingray were featured on the cover of NME Australia for an in-depth interview feature about their debut album, conducted by Torres Strait Islander freelance journalist Rhianna Patrick.

In October 2022, King Stingray released a cover of Men at Work's "Down Under" as part of a new campaign for Tourism Australia.

In June 2023, King Stingray released "Lookin' Out". August 2023 saw King Stingray win three AIR Awards: Best Independent Rock Album or EP, Independent Album of the Year, and Breakthrough Artist of the Year. They helped to see 2023 out by performing at the ABC New Year's Eve concert at Sydney Harbour.

Band members

• Yirrŋa Yunupiŋu – lead vocals, clapsticks
• Roy Kellaway – guitar, backing vocals
• Dimathaya Burarrwanga – guitar, backing vocals, didgeridoo
• Lewis Stiles – drums, backing vocals
• Campbell Messer – bass, banjo, backing vocals
• Yimila Gurruwiwi – didgeridoo, backing vocals

Discography

Studio albums

Singles

Awards and nominations

AIR Awards

The Australian Independent Record Awards (commonly known informally as AIR Awards) is an annual awards night to recognise, promote and celebrate the success of Australia's Independent Music sector.

APRA Awards

The APRA Awards are presented annually from 1982 by the Australasian Performing Right Association (APRA), "honouring composers and songwriters". They commenced in 1982.

ARIA Music Awards

The ARIA Music Awards is an annual awards ceremony that recognises excellence, innovation, and achievement across all genres of Australian music.

Australian Music Prize

The Australian Music Prize (the AMP) is an annual award of $30,000 given to an Australian band or solo artist in recognition of the merit of an album released during the year of award. It exists to discover, reward and promote new Australian music of excellence.

Environmental Music Prize

The Environmental Music Prize is a quest to find a theme song to inspire action on climate and conservation. It commenced in 2022.

J Awards

The J Awards are an annual series of Australian music awards that were established by the Australian Broadcasting Corporation's youth-focused radio station Triple J. They commenced in 2005.

National Indigenous Music Awards

The National Indigenous Music Awards recognise excellence, innovation and leadership among Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander musicians from throughout Australia. They commenced in 2004.

National Live Music Awards

The National Live Music Awards (NLMAs) commenced in 2016 to recognise contributions to the live music industry in Australia.

Rolling Stone Australia Awards

The Rolling Stone Australia Awards are awarded annually in January or February by the Australian edition of Rolling Stone magazine for outstanding contributions to popular culture in the previous year.

Vanda & Young Global Songwriting Competition

The Vanda & Young Global Songwriting Competition is an annual competition that "acknowledges great songwriting whilst supporting and raising money for Nordoff-Robbins" and is coordinated by Albert Music and APRA AMCOS. It commenced in 2009.

References