Sending a Message: How Indigenous Australian Women use Contemporary Music

Recording Technologies to Provide a Space for Agency, Viewpoints and Agendas

Author(s): Katelyn Barney
Source: The World of Music , 2007, Vol. 49, No. 1, Indigenous Peoples, Recording
Techniques, and the Recording Industry (2007), pp. 105-124
Published by: VWB - Verlag für Wissenschaft und Bildung

Stable URL: https://www.jstor.org/stable/41699742

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the world of music 49( 1 ) - 2007: 105-124

Sending a Message: How Indigenous Australian Women

use Contemporary Music Recording Technologies to
Provide a Space for Agency, Viewpoints and Agendas

Katelyn Barney

Abstract

Home studios , local small-scale recording studios and the Internet provide an impor-
tant space for many Indigenous Australian women performers to enact agency in de-
ciding how their music will sound. They enjoy creative freedom and individual expres-
sion in producing recordings of their music. With reference to discourse on women
and music technology , this article examines how recording practices provide the tools
with which Indigenous Australian women performers raise awareness of political and
social justice issues , which affect Indigenous Australians. Conclusions will be drawn
regarding the ways recording technologies and the recording studio functions in this
context as a space to create music that is sending a message of confidence, social pow-
er , control, and agency .

1. Introduction

I am about to drive from Brisbane to the Gold Coast in Queensland, Australia to

terview Indigenous Australian singer/songwriter Toni Janke about her experien
recording her music. It is certainly not the first time I have interviewed her and I
looking forward to catching up. I have done numerous interviews with Toni pre
ously for my research and we keep in touch regularly via e-mail and phone. I jum
the car and rummage through the car glove box through my collection of CD
something to play on the hour-long trip to the Gold Coast. I scan through my
collection of CDs which include many contemporary music recordings by Indi
nous Australian women performers including recordings by Toni, Christine A
Lou Bennett, Briscoe Sisters, Shellie Morris, Shakaya, Lexine Solomon, Mo
Weightman, Ursula Yovich, and many more. It is a difficult decision as they are
great recordings, yet my hand stops on Aboriginal performing artist Kerrianne
latest recording Return to Country (2006). I have just received her new third CD
the mail after ordering it on the Internet and have not had a chance to listen to it.

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106 • the world of music 49( 1 ) - 2007

sert quickly the CD into the player and I'm on the road. I listen carefully as the acous-
tic guitar begins and Kerrianne's smooth clear voice sings "healing, feeling, dream-
ing, carry me home." I listen to the whole CD as I drive down the freeway and as the
recording finishes some questions form in my mind: Why does Kerrianne choose to
release independently rather than through a record label? Why is recording as well as
performing her music so important to Kerrianne? What are the benefits of new re-
cording technologies and the Internet for Indigenous women performers like Kerri-
anne? Does the recording studio provide a vehicle for raising awareness of social jus-
tice issues that are important to Indigenous women performers? How does the studio
and recording technology function in this context as a vehicle for Indigenous women
performers to have their viewpoints and histories heard? What are their experiences
in the studio and how do they assert power, control and agency as Indigenous women
through recording their music?
Drawing on first-hand interviews and examples of recordings by four Indigenous
Australian1 women performers- Kerrianne Cox, Toni Janke, Shellie Morris, and
Lexine Solomon- this article is guided by these research questions. Home studios,
local small scale recording studios, and the Internet provide important spaces for
many Indigenous Australian women performers to enact agency in deciding how
their music will sound.2 They also enjoy creative freedom and individual expression
in producing recordings of their music. With reference to discourse on women and
music technology, this article examines how contemporary music recording technol-
ogy provides the tools with which Indigenous Australian women performers raise
awareness of political and social justice issues that affect Indigenous Australians. I
explore the importance of the studio and recording technology as a vehicle through
which to document family history and have their viewpoints heard. I also examine
Indigenous women musicians' experiences in the studio and how they attempt to re-
claim their power as Indigenous women through recording their music. Conclusions
will be drawn regarding the ways recording technologies and the recording studio
functions in this context as a space to create music.

2. Conversations with Indigenous Australian Women Performers:

A Research Approach

Interviews involved in-depth discussions with Indigenous Australian women who

record and perform contemporary music and are included here in an attempt to open
a space for Indigenous women recording artists to express their ideas, thoughts, and
memories in their own voices and with their own language, rather than through my
voice. Some interviews were via telephone while others occurred face-to-face de-
pending on the busy schedules and travel commitments of the performers. The exam-
ples of songs by Indigenous Australian women discussed are drawn from their com-
mercially available recordings. These recordings illustrate their statements, as well
as the links between their spoken words and their songs.

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 Katelyn Barney. Indigenous Australian Women & Recording Technologies • 107

I had previously interviewed all four of the performers during my doctoral re-
search, which focused on Indigenous Australian women musicians' perspectives of
the Aboriginalist gaze to examine how they perform around, within, and against this
discourse through their music. This article reflects my continuing research relation-
ships with Indigenous women performers, which in some cases have grown into
long-lasting friendships. Yet as a non-Indigenous female researcher, methodological
and ethical questions still run through in my mind: "How do I 'unlearn' my privilege
as a white woman scholar" (Holman Jones 1998:17) throughout the research pro-
cess? Is it possible us- a non-Indigenous researcher and Indigenous performers- to
have an equal voice in an article like this? Concerned with these issues of representa-
tion, authority, and authorship these questions raise in my own writing, I have at-
tempted to incorporate quotations of Kerrianne, Toni, Shellie, and Lexine from my
interviews with them throughout this article. My aim is to keep Indigenous women's
voices at the fore. I also attempt to weave varied speaking voices together as opposed
to putting forth a singular authoritative voice (see Holman Jones 1998; Lincoln and
Denzin 2000). I am aware that changing Indigenous performers' statements into
"correct" English is widely considered to be inappropriate when working with Indig-
enous Australian people as it is viewed to be a form of silencing that disavows Indig-
enous textual agency and authority (Grossman 2004). With this thought in mind, I
transcribed each interview word for word by typing both the words of the performer
and myself in the form of a dialogue. I then attempted to allow the performers whom
I interviewed to retain ultimate control over how their words were interpreted by
sending these quotations to the performers to obtain their approval and give them op-
portunity to change, alter, and edit their comments. Yet despite my intentions ulti-
mately this article remains my interpretation of their words. I am still left wondering
if I got it "right"? Certainly questions about being non-Indigenous and representing
Indigenous people still arise in this context. However, I continue to strive to include
Indigenous women's voices in my writing in order to resist the colonialist Aborigi-
nalist tendency to silence Indigenous voices and deny that Indigenous people can
speak for themselves.

3. About the Performers

Kerrianne Cox, Toni Janke, Shellie Morris, and Lexine Solomon have all released
several recordings, Kerrianne and Toni have released three each, while Shellie and
Lexine have recorded two. They are all independent artists. However, Indigenous
Australian people's experiences are diverse and Kerrianne, Toni, Shellie, and Lexine
come from different areas in Australia, sing about a wide range of themes, and ex-
press themselves as individuals. Kerrianne (Figure 1) is from Beagle Bay, Western
Australia, a small Aboriginal community on the west coast of the Dampier Peninsu-
la, 127 kilometres north of Broome in the remote northwest Kimberley region of
Western Australia, where she is the Chairperson of the Beagle Bay Community (Cox

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108 • the world of music 49( 1)- 2007

2005). Toni (Figure 2) is of both Aboriginal (Wuthathi) and Torres Strait Islander
(Meriam) descent and lives on Queensland's Gold Coast with her husband and two
young daughters. Torres Strait Islander Lexine (Figure 3) was raised in North Queen-
sland, has performed as a professional soloist, backing vocalist and choir director for
over twenty years and currently lives in Canberra, Australian Capital Territory (So-
lomon 2004). Shellie (Figure 4) is a Darwin based Indigenous Australian singer/
songwriter who has been performing her songs throughout Australia for the past 4
years. (Morris 2006). Before turning to explore how these four Indigenous Austra-
lian women performers make use of recording technology, it is useful to examine
briefly the discourse relating to women and music technology.

Fig. 1. Kerrianne Cox ( Cox 2001 ). Fig. 2. Toni Janke ( Photo by author , 30
December 2003, Woodford,
Queensland, Australia)

Fig. 3. Lexine Solomon (Photo by

Author, 4 November 2004 , Alice
Springs , Northern Territory , Australia) Fig. 4. Shellie Morris ( Morris 2006)

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 Katelyn Barney. Indigenous Australian Women & Recording Technologies • 109

4. Gendering Music Technology

During my undergraduate music studies at the University of Queensland, I undertook

a studio music course. It introduced me to the use of microphones, microphone
placement, digital sound editing, multi-track techniques, mixing, and the use of ef-
fects, and sequencing. Thinking back on my experiences in the class, I remember that
there were very few females enrolled and most of the male students seemed to have
more background in using technology and dominated class workshops and activities.
Were there gender and power issues at play in the classroom? Did the male students
really have more technological skills than the female students? Or did I just assume
that this was the case and depend on the male students for help? Within feminist the-
ory there has been an ongoing body of work exploring the relationships between gen-
der and technology (e.g., Rothschild 1982; Zimmerman 1983; Wajcman 1991, 2004;
Haraway 1991; Cockburn and Ftirst-Dilic 1994; Terry and Calvert 1997; Everts
1998; Leonard 2003; Bain and Rice 2006). These scholars assert men's monopoly of
technology has been an important source of their power, while women have often
been socially conditioned to avoid technology and their lack of technological skills is
an important element of their dependence on men. Yet researchers postulate increas-
ingly that technology can also be viewed as a potential ally or opportunity for wom-
en. Terry and Calvert (1997) note the capacity for empowerment and agency through
women's presence on the internet, and their use of technology as a marketing tool to
self-represent themselves while Bain and Rice (2006) demonstrate that women do
often show a strong interest in using and understanding technology.
There is also a limited amount of literature examining gender, music, and record-
ing technology (Sandstrom 2000; Pegley 2000; McCartney 2000; Marsh and West
2003; Dickson 2004; Mayhew 2004). The edited collection Music and Gender
(Moisala and Diamond 2000) includes a number of articles that explore gender is-
sues in relation to producing, recording, and engineering in the music studio and
women's participation in technological pursuits. Sandstrom's, Pegley's, and Mc-
Cartney's contributions to the collection all suggest technology is not a neutral tool
and issues of power and control are inherent in access to it. Sandstrom points out that
prior to the 1970s, men controlled the field of sound and recording and sound engi-
neering remains a gendered field (2000:292). McCartney discusses women's experi-
ences in studio work and the possibilities for creating a new musical language, but at
the same time notes that women sometimes criticise "the patriarchal ordering of the
studio, where minds command sound and bodies are neglected" (2000:319). Else-
where, Dickson suggests: "women are usually held to be more instinctive and pre-
technological, further away from harnessing the powers of machinery (musically and
elsewhere) than men" (2004: 173). However, Marsh and West (2003) emphasise how
women performers Madonna and Björk are able to challenge the gender hierarchy by
maintaining control in the recording studio. Although there is much discussion of
how technology is linked with gender and social inequality, very little literature relat-
ing to women and technology includes considerations of how race and class impact

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110 • the world of music 49( 1 ) - 2007

on women's access and experiences with technology (Leonard 2003). Certainly there
has been a scarcity of literature on Indigenous Australian women's engagement with
music technology and I now turn to examine Indigenous Australian women's experi-
ences recording their music.

5. Indigenous Australian Women Performers, Recording Practices, and

Independence

Elsewhere (Barney 2006), I have discussed the history of Indigenous Australian

women recording contemporary music and some possible reasons for the growth in
recordings by Indigenous women from the 1990s onwards. The number of record-
ings by Indigenous women continues to grow with Indigenous Australian women
performers releasing at least fifty singles, CDs/albums, or compilations from 2000 to
2006 {ibid. 2006). The majority of Indigenous Australian women performers record
through small independent record labels or with the assistance of Commonwealth or
state government funding.4 While this could be read as an exclusion and marginali-
sation of Indigenous women by the music industry, a number of Indigenous women
performers assert that they consciously choose not to release their music through ma-
jor record companies. They do so to maintain control and power over how they are
represented and their artistic expression. Kerrianne states:
First of all, it's an achievement to say that I can do it.... It encourages me to write more
and produce more and make a strong business as an independent sole trader as well on
that other level. And you don't hear about a lot of Aboriginal people owning their own
business, making their own money, working independently for themselves. So that in
all, I'm proud of that and that I can support myself. It's about bringing back control. . . .
And I'm free this way. I'm free, I don't have anyone telling me what to do. ... I don't
want to feel trapped by anybody and I felt that at the very beginning when I had met
quite a few majors [recordings companies] who just wanted to turn me into a little Bar-
bie doll (Cox 2007).

Similarly, Shellie believes that by remaining independent she can "be who I want
to be. I haven't got anyone breathing over my shoulder determining what I should
sing about, how I should write it, and how I should look. I prefer total independence"
(Morris 2007). Toni also asserts she prefers to be an independent artist "mainly be-
cause it's a lot easier to control the artistic process" (Janke 2007).
Lexine is also an independent artist and distributes her music through the Central
Australian Aboriginal Media Association (CAAMA) [see Ottosson, this issue]:
I've found that for myself as a musician/song writer/singer/performer I just have more
control [as an independent]. . .it just means I can decide where the music goes. I know
with CAAMA, as you know I worked there, there was always a striving to try to see
women get signed on the label (Solomon 2007).

A resounding theme in their comments is that by being independent artists Indig-

enous women can sustain control and power over the recording process. Kerrianne

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 Katelyn Barney. Indigenous Australian Women & Recording Technologies • 111

states: "I'm in charge from the very beginning [of the recording process], showing
the direction, you know you've got to have a leader" (Cox 2007). Similarly, Lexine
notes: "As a female, and Indigenous, it's really important to me that I'm creating my
own music- only I know what I am looking for- I become the executive producer
of my work" (Solomon 2007). Toni also comments that "particularly as an Indige-
nous woman, I've found that there have been issues along the way in the studio
where I've had to say 'no'.. . . It's hard to be assertive, it's something I've had to re-
ally push myself. ... People get nervous, particularly if culturally, you've never been
in a studio before, let alone the big city that the studio is in" (Janke 2007).

6. Home Studios, Local Small-Scale Recording Studios, and the Internet

Using small independent studios and home studios are ways of overcoming the is-
sues raised above so Indigenous women can remain in control of the recording pro-
cess. Kerrianne, Toni, Shellie, and Lexine have all recorded in either home studios or
local small recording studios. Toni did her third recording, Jewel of the North (2004)
[Figure 5], in a local recording studio near her home on the Gold Coast:
That was recorded at Big Note Productions. I've found good people to work with who
have more than I could ever get in terms of access to equipment. . .it's a matter of find-
ing good people who will work with you (Janke 2007).

Fig. 5. Toni Janke, Jewel of the North Fig. 6. Lexine Solomon , This is Woman
(2004) (2002)

Lexine also found appropriate producers to work with in a home studio and
states: "I recorded that debut album of mine This is Woman (Figure 6) in a small
home studio but I got to achieve the sounds I was looking for" (Solomon 2007). Ker-
rianne did some of her third recording in a mobile studio and observes: " Return to

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112 • the world of music 49( 1)- 2007

Country [Figure 7] was first recorded on a mobile studio in Beagle Bay so it was re-
ally exciting to get a lot of my own songs out in the country. I've always dreamt of it,
to record all my songs here" (Cox 2007).
Shellie has her own home studio and a mobile studio she takes with her when do-
ing music workshops with Indigenous communities in remote Australia:
Tve got two recording studios, one I take bush [to remote areas] and one that's at
home. My partner is a Tasmanian Aboriginal musician so he's a great engineer. We
have our own studio and we're quite self sufficient.... It's a battle and takes copious
amounts of money. Even to set up the studio, literally five years of both of us working
really hard to buy all that equipment, and to be able to use it now is a dream and offer-
ing a hand to others (Morris 2007).

She recorded Waiting Road (2006) [Figure 8] in her own home studio and notes
the advantages of being able to record herself in her own time:
Because I travel so much, doing music workshops and things like that, the advantage
was when I'm home we can do it. To take a month off when you're self-employed, you
can't just take time off like that. . .yeah it took us two years from when we started but
that's because I work so hard and travel a lot. But the reward is all there. Very proud of
the end result (Morris 2007).

Shellie also uses her mobile studio to record songs written by Indigenous com-
munities during her workshops, emphasising she does not direct the community on
how they should write songs but useš her recording equipment as a vehicle to give
communities space to express themselves:
I've got the recording studio but I don't take my agendas with me, I don't say you have
to write this song, it's all about what they want to do as a community, and that's em-
powering.... I've recorded 1,000s [of CDs with remote communities].... I leave the
community recordings with the community because I don't want to be like a record la-
bel. It's more about self-esteem with me for the communities (Morris 2007).

She also contends: "I still think I'm the only one [Indigenous woman] who does
all the workshops and has her own studio" (Morris 2007).
It is also a goal for some other Indigenous Australian women performers to set up
their own studio. Kerrianne plans to establish her own recording studio and believes
that her small independent recording studio will be another step that demonstrates
her independence:
Saying to the big people and the youngest ones, "hey, let's record, let's get some songs
going, I'd love to be here to tell your story. I'd love to be a vehicle to support you on
your journey". ... The recording studio is really exciting, that's one element to getting
up a really strong business now. . . . The small independent label will be another kind of
reflection of my independence and my support to other independent people to solely
own their work (Cox 2007).

Like Shellie, Kerrianne aims to give Indigenous people in remote areas the op-
portunity to record their music:

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 Katelyn Barney. Indigenous Australian Women & Recording Technologies • 113

Fig. 7. Kerrianne Cox, Return to Fig . 8. Shellie Morris , Waiting Road

Country (2006) (2006)

I'll more just be a vehicle to give that strength and guidance for that emerging artist
who wants to go through my small label out into the world.. . . A lot of people here [in
Beagle Bay, Western Australia] don't have much money, very isolated. I've lived that
life.... I've made that journey and I'm just hpre to connect everything to make it all
possible for my mob to say 4 this is how we can establish ourselves' and at the same
time I'm saying to myself 'Well, Kerrianne, what can you contribute too, from your
music and to your people?' and I can contribute by creating a performing space but
also if anyone wanted to create their own recording studio as well I would also give
them that support and guidance to see that up here (Cox 2007).

She hopes to make it possible for Indigenous performers in the Beagle Bay region
to record in familiar local environs rather than having to travel long distances to re-
cording studios and uses a powerful metaphor to express her goals:
Like I said when I came home, Katelyn, I wouldn't go to the mountain, I'd make the
mountain come here.... It will be another mountain called the recording studio (Cox
2007).

The recording artists all use the internet as a tool to have their recorded music
heard by including MP3s5 on their websites and other internet sites. Shellie high-
lights that "I've got some stuff on iTunes,6 My Space7... the internet allows all that
networking" (Morris 2007). Lexine points out: "I always often receive e-mails from
people saying 'I heard your singing', and asking 'how do I get your music' and I just
tell them to download it" (Solomon 2007). Kerrianne also says "people can go
straight to my website and they can directly go into [my recordings] Return to Coun-
try , Just Wanna Move , or Opening " (Cox 2007). Toni agrees that the internet is "def-
initely really good for independents.. . . I have samples on my website from my three
CDs Hearts Speak Out , The Brink and Jewel of the North and there's a couple of oth-
er sites that have samples" (Janke 2007).

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114 • the world of music 49( 1)- 2007

7. The Importance of Recording: Documentation, Preservation, and Raising

Awareness

Kerrianne, Toni, Shellie, and Lexine emphasise numerous reasons for recording their
music, including historical documentation, preservation, and raising public aware-
ness of a range of social justice issues relevant to Indigenous Australians. Lexine
feels that "recording is definitely a powerful medium to record your music and have
your say" (Solomon 2007). Similarly, Kerrianne states:
I think recording is really important. Sometimes you can't fly and go places you want
to be so with technology these days you can bring your music all over the world. I ha-
ven't made it to Europe but I know there's a lot of people in Europe who really value
my music and my message (Cox 2007).

While Indigenous Australian women performers record songs about a diverse

range of topics, there are several key themes Kerrianne, Toni, Shellie, and Lexine
discussed during my interviews with them which they view as important when
recording: family, sexual abuse and incest, Stolen Generations,8 and environmen-
talism.

7.1 For Family

The recording artists stress that one'key reason for recording their music is the pres-
ervation of their families' stories for future generations. Toni states: "For me, as an
Indigenous woman, recording is something I do for posterity, for heritage, for docu-
mentation for my children, and for their kids, it's not really about CD sales, it never
has been" (Janke 2007). Similarly, Lexine emphasises that her debut recording, This
is Woman , "was specifically written for my family so that they could find answers in
their lives. ... It was important that they got to remember, because I think by then, as
you know, my parents had died, my mother had been gone twenty years, so it was
very important for my family, it was important that I could deliver it to them" (So-
lomon 2007). Shellie also notes that for her an important reason she records her mu-
sic is for "documentation, a record of everything musically I've achieved in my life,
also for my family history and it's preservation of the stories, where I was at the time,
some of it's good, some of it's bad" (Morris 2007).
Kerrianne, Toni, Shellie, and Lexine highlight another important motivation for
recording their music is to document and raise awareness of aforementioned issues
affecting Indigenous Australians: sexual abuse, incest, the forcible removal of Ab-
original children from their parents and environmentalism.9

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 Katelyn Barney. Indigenous Australian Women & Recording Technologies • 115

7.2 Sexual Abuse and Incest

The title track on Kerrianne's second recording Opening (2001) centres on the issue
of sexual abuse. In "Opening" Kerrianne sings: "You shine your inner beauty/Open
is your heart/Reach out to me/Silence and scarring/ You unearth in me/I look at you
and I see me/Pain/Face fear, and understand it." Her CD liner-notes state poignantly:
I was sexually abused as a child and did not acknowledge it until I was sixteen. It was
an emotional and mental shock to me. After all those years of suppressing it deep
down inside, my demons finally surfaced.

7.3 Stolen Generations

Shellie states that while the majority of the songs on her recording Waiting Road are
about love and her own life experiences, she also includes a song that is dedicated to
her grandmother, Hilda Muir, who was forcibly removed from her family in Bor-
rooloola, Northern Territory as a child:
There's a song I wrote for my grandmother who was Stolen Generation... the song's
called "Waiting by the Road" because my Nana' s mother was waiting by the road, be-
cause the police said they were going to bring her back (Morris 2007).

Hutnyk argues: "music is politically engaged not solely because of its ability to
make a space or because of its lyrical content, but both because it affirms community
and because it tells histories" (2000:147-48). In "Waiting by the Road" Shellie sings
about her grandmother's and great-grandmother's history: "You're waiting by the
road/They took your girl away/Policeman on a horse/You waited every day.. . . They
said they'd bring you back/But that was just their lies/ You waited by the road/Cried
and cried and cried".

Kerrianne has also recorded a song, "Stolen Children,", about this issue: "Stolen
children/Whose mothers cried/For her long lost children/Til the day she died/She
longed to know her children were alright/She longed to hold her children so very
tight/ And to tell them all of their dreaming." Given the wide reaching effects of the
official government policy of removing children on the lives of Aboriginal people, it
is not surprising the Stolen Generation is a recurrent theme in the recordings of In-
digenous Australian performers (for example Bob Randall's "Brown Skin Baby"
[Randall 1983], 10 Archie Roach's "Took the Children Away" [Roach 1990], and
Leah Purcell's "Run Daisy Run", Dan Sultan's "Roslyn" [Sultan 2005], June Mills'
song "Sweet Child of Mine" [Mills 2005]).

7.4 Environmentalism

Toni explores a diverse range of styles and themes on her recordings The Brink
(2001) and Jewel of the North (2004). Her song "Chaos" on her latest recording Jew-

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116 • the world of music 49( 1 ) - 2007

el of the North targets the issue of environmentalism: "What has this crazy world be-
come ?/You're just a pack of fools/Look around you/Can't you see you've broken all
the rules?/Is there any semblance of life/Too hard to recognise." Toni emphasises the
song is:
a commentary about the world, religion, how we have ruined this Garden of Eden.
And yet I write it broadly enough too because that is what I think our Indigenous an-
cestors would say, "people have totally stuffed up this land, this paradise, this beauti-
ful country, and turned our home land and planet into total chaos." There is a political
message in there but it's linked with spirituality and Christianity (Janke 2007).

Her song touches on many issues relating to the environment and spirituality and
recording provides a medium for Toni to express her views. Kerrianne's song "Life's
Pain and Joy" (Cox 2001) also discusses issues relating to caring for the environment
and begins with the sounds of bird calls: "Listen to the spirits they're calling/Relate
to the land and people/Wake up in the morning hear the birds singing/ Another day in
heaven/Let's make a change/This is life's pain and joy". Her CD liner-notes point
out: "We are born into this great mother earth, she has much to offer us. And still we
hurt her with our greed to develop and destroy the magic and beauties of this glorious
planet we inhabit. When will we ever stop to let her heal".

7.5 Journeying and Healing

Kerrianne, Shellie, and Lexine all view their recordings as an important journey,
which they link to many emotions and to healing. Lexine states: "I'm really protec-
tive of it [the recording] because it is a journey and a story" (Solomon 2007). Kerri-
anne highlights how " Just Wanna Move and Opening [her first two recordings] be-
came a journey point to make that journey back home to help my people and give
something back. I've been on this two year process of implementing every wonderful
thing I've learning in the world" (Cox 2007). Similarly, Shellie observes: "I know for
me it's been an amazing journey" (Morris 2007).
Kerrianne emphasises that healing has occurred within herself through recording
her music:

It was definitely my journey of healing from Just Wanna Move , I felt suicidal, I felt
like I didn't know who I was. . .coming from a history of being sexually abused. . .be-
ing able to liberate myself to total healing and empowerment through my music. My
music was my great friend. My music helped me to heal the most angriest part of me-
the raging bull! I'm finding as each album goes along it gets easier, due to my healing
process (Cox 2007).

She also notes that her recordings continue to refresh and reinvigorate her and
make her feel strong:

Every now and then I put on Just Wanna Move and Opening , my earlier work, and my
new one [Return to Country] and they still revitalise me.... They still remind me

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 Katelyn Barney. Indigenous Australian Women & Recording Technologies • 117

where I came from and that to honour myself and say, "Kerrianne, you're doing really
well, you're achieving a lot in your life," and I've managed to fulfil quite a few of my
dreams (Cox 2007).

The recording process itself can be an emotional journey. Kerrianne remembers:

"I found myself crying when I was recording in such an intimate place and just that
whole release and the comfortableness to be able to express it" (Cox 2007). Lexine
also remembers:

I had to sing it [one of my songs] to the producer and I got through two lines and I just
burst into tears.. . . When the tears come it breaks it, like water falling on hard ground,
and all of a sudden it is fallow ground, it's all just broken up and finally something can
grow out of it. I just felt a great relief that day (Solomon 2007).

Singing and recording their music have the power to resonate with emotion and
healing and as Henderson suggests "music is affective because songs contain sensate
memories of other songs, other selves, other moments" (1996:449). Certainly re-
cording their contemporary music allows Indigenous women to communicate their
histories and their emotions and achieve a sense of relief and healing.

7.6 Power , Control, and Empowerment

Indigenous Australian women performers are acutely aware of issues of power and
control in the music studio, and how recording work continues to be male dominated.
Kerrianne notes: "in the past a lot of men had control over accessing those kinds of
technologies. We were very limited back then but the technology is becoming more
accessible to everybody" (Cox 2007). Like the feminist writers who address gender
and music technology, Indigenous women performers all fight consciously the ste-
reotype that women are not competent in the studio and can all recall negative expe-
riences with male producers or engineers during recording. Toni recalls:
Especially in my 20s, some of the experiences I had were quite belittling or degrading
where you felt you didn't know what you were doing. It can be very intimidating, if
it's your first time in the studio (Janke 2007).

Lexine had similar experiences when first working in the studio and states: "I
think at first I felt like 'oh, she doesn't know what she's doing'.... I put my foot
down, (I have to be confident)- I know what I want" (Solomon 2007). Kerrianne
also points out:
You see that the controls are still very much there with men. There was a natural sense
of "this is our stuff, we'll handle all that". . .men's stuff. I didn't feel like I was being
pressured or disrespected in any way by them but you could see that little element
(Cox 2007).

It also gives Indigenous Australian women a sense of power and control to be

able to record their music independently and not rely on major labels to record, pro-

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118 • the world of music 49( 1)- 2007

duce and distribute their music. As Langton (1993) notes, control over the means of
production can be viewed as a key goal for Indigenous people. Shellie states:
I feel very proud. I do have a wonderful man who believes that women are just as fan-
tastic as men and it has enabled me to walk into a room with a boy band and I'm the
person that's recording them, there's no better feeling than that.... There's a great
amount of respect that forms as an Indigenous woman who is going to be recording
their music and I feel it's a really great strength and a lot more women should be doing
it, or able to (Morris 2007).

Kerrianne feels: "I'm a very empowered person. I feel more empowered that I
ever have before" (Cox 2007). Toni points out:
It gives me a lot of satisfaction to know that artistically yes it's hard work and it's cost-
ly but it's all those little decisions, what the cover should look like, how you lay out
your words, what you want to do, in terms of recording. . . . Power comes not just in the
production stage, in terms of asserting how you want your song to sound in recording,
but power also comes in terms of you being the writer and you having a lot of artistic
input into your work (Janke 2007).

8. Conclusion

I would like to conclude by returning to the narrative I began at the start of this
cle. I have completed my interview with Toni on the Gold Coast and am driving
to Brisbane. I think about all the recordings I have by Indigenous Australian w
performers. What messages do their recordings send to me? Listening to their rec
ings reminds me of our conversations, and discussions, and their performance
watched. Their recordings sometimes make me smile as I think of how we la
over coffee, and at other times they sadden me when I listen to their songs dep
the obstacles they have faced as Indigenous women. Many of the recordings
purchased from Indigenous women performers include personal messages from
performers: "Keep up the good work Kate", "Dear Katelyn, Love Toni xx", "I
you find my recordings useful" and their recordings provide documentation f
too that I have had the honour of meeting them, and listening to their amazing st
and experiences. Talking to these strong, proud Indigenous Australian women a
their recordings has taught me that they record their music for a diverse range o
sons and they feel strongly about the importance of maintaining power and cr
control in the recording process.
Certainly there are still a number of Indigenous women performers who hav
yet had the opportunity and access to technology to record their music. Yet in
context of easier access to recording technology and studios, recording has bec
and will continue to be, an important medium for Indigenous women performer
Kerrianne Cox, Toni Janke, Shellie Morris, and Lexine Solomon to express th
selves and document family heritage for future generations. Kerrianne high
that "music technology these days is really exciting, it's different than back

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 Katelyn Barney. Indigenous Australian Women & Recording Technologies • 119

when lots of people didn't have access to these kinds of recording studios. People
have more access to fully produce their work these days" (Cox 2007). Toni also
points out: "studios have changed now everything is so high-tech, user friendly, it's
easier to the able to go into the studio" (Janke 2007). In their recordings, Indigenous
women sing about a diverse range of topics and their recordings play a powerful role
in helping have their voices heard on a national and international platform. Perform-
ers like Shellie use their recording equipment as a vehicle to give Indigenous com-
munities in remote parts of Australia the opportunity to express their perspectives.
Kerrianne is particularly excited about her forthcoming home studio and says: "I'm
looking forward to getting the recording studio out there and to be able to create an
opportunity for isolated people to connect into the other world" (Cox 2007).
Recording also plays an important role in healing and allows Indigenous women
to express their family histories, emotions, and issues about which they feel strongly.
As Kerrianne emphasises, "recording music is a great medium to tell your story, to
get the message out there. It's a great way of crushing indifferences as well, and part
of healing" (Cox 2007). Home studios, local small-scale studios and the Internet
function in this context as spaces for Indigenous women to assert control over the re-
cording process and create music that is sending a message of confidence, social
power, and agency.

Acknowledgements

To Kerrianne Cox, Toni Janke, Shellie Morris, and Lexine Solomon: thank you so
much for your continuing participation in my research and for your insightful com-
ments in relation to this topic. Many thanks also to Liz Mackinlay, Matt Hade, and
Trish Barney for their advice and editorial assistance.

Notes

1 In this paper the terms "Indigenous Australian" and "Indigenous" are used to refer to both
Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people. The term "Aboriginal" refers to Indigenous Aus-
tralians whose culture is tied to country on mainland Australia, while "Torres Strait" describes
those Indigenous Australians whose country are the islands in the Torres Strait. However,
about two thirds of Torres Strait Islanders live on the mainland and statistically many identify
as both Torres Strait Islander and Aboriginal (Fuary 1993).

2 It is important to note that Indigenous Australian male performers are also engaging in self-
recording practices (see, for example, Neuenfeldt and Oien 2000; Dunbar-Hall and Gibson
2004). However, the focus in this paper is on the recording practices of Indigenous Australian
women.

3 Drawn from Said's (1978) theory of Orientalism, the term "Aboriginalism" ha

scholars in the Australian context to refer to specific ways of representing Indi
lian people. Broadly defined, it refers to the tendency of (largely non-Indigeno

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120 • the world of music 49( 1 ) - 2007

use "culture" as the key analytical tool for knowing social difference and for explaining issues
in colonial contexts (McConaghy 2000:43). Music performance is one arena where Aborigi-
nalism is visibly and sonically at play.

4 This could be regarded as a trend in the process of general Indigenous music history in Austra-
lia, see Barney 2006:44-52.

5 MP3 (MPEG-1 Audio Layer 3) is an audio-specific compression format. It provides a repre-

sentation of pulse-code modulation-encoded audio in a compressed space by eliminating
sounds that the human ear cannot perceive, and recording the remaining information in an effi-
cient manner (Levine 2004:54).

6 iTunes is the name of the consumer electronics corporation Apple's online music shop where
people can buy music to download. It is also the name of a digital media player application
developed by Apple for playing and organising music and video files (Levine 2004:108).

7 MySpace is a social networking website offering an interactive, user-submitted network of

friends, personal profiles, groups, photos, music, and videos. MySpace also features an inter-
nal search engine and an internal e-mail system (see http://www.myspace.com/).

8 The term "Stolen Generations" refers to an issue which affects Indigenous Australian women
and men on a national scale: the forcible removal of Aboriginal children from their parents, a
practice which continued from the early 19th century to the 1970s as part of a long term gov-
ernment plan to assimilate Indigenous people into the dominant non-Indigenous community
(Bird 1998:1).

9 For further discussion of how Indigenous Australian (mostly male) performers use contempo-
rary music as a tool for Indigenous political concerns see Dunbar-Hall 1996, 2005; Gibson
1998; Dunbar-Hall and Gibson 2000; Dunbar-Hall and Gibson 2004; Reed 2002a, 2002b;
Ryan 1998.

10 Walker (2000:217) points out that although Randall wrote "Brown Skin Baby" around 1962
he did not record the song until 1983.

11 It is important to note that although the performers are striving to maintain power and creative
control in recording their music, this does not exclude the opportunity for constructive feed-
back. Kerrianne, Toni, Shellie and Lexine all work with other musicians, producers, and engi-
neers, and take constructive criticism and feedback from others seriously.

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