Tell us about your music. How did you develop your sound?

We call our music Yolŋu Surf-Rock. Some call it sting-wave, a bit like new-wave but with a bit more sting! Our sound is definitely influenced by our environment. Living on the coast in Yirrkala North-East Arnhem Land, we have a strong love for the ocean and all that it encompasses. And being from the bush we like to play music loud and rough. And from that we made the genre of Yolŋu Surf-Rock.

What’s your greatest source of inspiration for making music?

Again probably our environment. We wrote and recorded most of the songs off our debut record at Roy’s parents place in Tintenbar NSW when we were playing with Yothu Yindi at Blues Fest. This shack is where we do a lot of our recording, it’s our own little studio we’ve been working on for a few years now, and it’s a beautiful little cottage on rainforest acreage. Maybe our inspiration for this record was morning swims + a surf at Lennox boaty followed up with a freshly squeezed orange juice from the garden. Another big source of inspo is having our mentor Stu Kellaway around (who is Roy’s father and original Yothu Yindi founding member). Stu is the vibe master and he was both Yirrŋa, Dimathaya and Roy’s music teacher growing up. "Loud and proud, wrong and strong” is what he always told us.

What can punters expect from a King Stingray live show?

King Stingray is a story of lifelong friendship and we feel that our music reflects the fun and joy that we have creating and playing it. The ingredients that make up our live shows include the following;

1. 1 x energetic surf-rock music with an ancient traditional twist.

2. 4 heaped tablespoons of groove

3. 90 x tablespoons of fast bush sting-wave/Yolŋu-wave ???

4. A hint of youthful antics

5. 1 x driving funky basslines

6. Lots of goosebumps

7. Lots of fun

8. Sweat

9. 30 x broken drums sticks

10. 2 broken guitar strings

11. Night to remember

12. Culture celebration

What’s the best advice you’ve been given and who was it from?

"Loud and proud, wrong and strong" – Stu

 What Australian track would you play to cheer up someone who was crying?

'Our Generation' by Yothu Yindi  

What Australian track would you play to someone to make them cry?

'Bapa' by Geoffrey Gurrumul Yunupingu 

You’re the DJ at a party. The dance floor is pumping. What Australian track do you put on next?

Oooooh we can think of so many!! That’s a hard one. Probably 'Cyclone Surf' by Horse Trank. Best band to never leave Darwin, playing scungy swamp rock NT style. It’s basically an anthem in the top end about surfing in cyclones which is largely what we rely on for good surf!

What was the last local gig you went to? How was it?

Our bass player Campbell Messer played a solo gig at the Archive in Birssy for our friend’s art exhibition – Cam also plays beautiful indie-folk music and is a ripping fingerstyle acoustic guitarist. 

Tell us about the bands or people in the local music community that inspire you.

There is so much talent coming out of Arnhem Land it's jaw dropping really. It’s like a factory of non-stop talent. Music is synonymous with Yolngu culture really and with the support of so many incredible people within the community there is a real buzz in the area for all things art related. The inspirational legacy of Yothu Yindi definitely shines on all of us up there but there is still so much to write about and so many stories to share to the world!

What are your plans for the rest of 2020?

We actually have a very special performance in Brisbane in December, which we are very excited to announce to everyone – details coming soon via our socials. We have a clip coming out shortly, and then another single dropping in January. We now have merch to buy! And you can now buy our limited edition 7” vinyl pressing which has been released via our good mates Bargain Bin Records. Then 2021 is a big one for us, as we have our debut record to share to the world and some more video clips! As the world slowly opens back up again we will be also playing some live shows! So keep an eye out for the king sting!