We here at Double J named King Stingray's debut record the best album of 2022, and now it has been awarded the coveted 18th Australian Music Prize.
The self-titled King Stingray sees the North East Arnhem Land band pocketing $30,000 in prize money after being named the top pick of nine incredible 2022 releases by a panel comprised of over 30 music industry judges.
Guitarist and co-songwriter Roy Kellaway said the group were "unbelievably stoked" to win, jetting into Sydney Wednesday night to accept the AMP alongside bandmate Dimathaya Burarrwanga in a Sydney ceremony.,
"We had so much fun making this record and we just hope that listeners can hear the joy that we had making it, as well as feel the joy for themselves. It really means the world to us to hear people enjoying the album."
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Hailing from the remote community of Yirrkala, King Stingray effortlessly fuse Yolŋu manikay (traditional songlines) with fun, spirited rock music. And their debut album feels like an instant Australian classic.
Songs like road-tripping ode 'Let's Go', bush disco belter 'Milkumana', and playful anthem 'Camp Dog' are charged by a love of country and community and are sung in both English and Yolŋu Matha language.
"We have so much love for this country," Kellaway told Double J in December.
"There's so much to be thankful for and I guess that's what our message is. We are celebrating life and joy and friendship, nature, and our environment, because the environment really gets us stoked. It really does."
They're not the first band to wed guitars to the yidaki (didgeridoo) and bilma (clapsticks) — they're picking up on the traditions laid down by classic Australian acts like Warumpi Band, Coloured Stone, and Yothu Yindi – a group they have familial ties to. (Frontman Yirrŋa Yunupiŋu is the nephew of band leader Dr. M Yunupingu and Kellaway is the son of bassist Stu Kellaway).
However, King Stingray have found huge success in bringing those traditions to a modern audience.
We first met the self-styled 'Yolŋu surf rockers' in 2020, when they uploaded incredible debut single 'Hey Wanhaka' to triple j Unearthed. They went on to be named the 2021 Unearthed Artist of the Year, won the National Indigenous Music Awards Song of the Year (for 'Milkumana'), and their first ARIA Award.
They've also earned a rep as a deadly live act, thanks to a hard-working touring schedule and the kind of synergy that only comes from playing countless gigs together.
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The Australian Music Prize judging panel listened to a staggering 490 albums before getting it down to a shortlist of nine of the best albums from the past year.
That shortlist included releases from the likes of beloved singer-songwriter Julia Jacklin, Korean-Australian rap collective 1300, the second album from previous two-time AMP winner Sampa The Great, and what turned out to be Camp Cope's swan song.
King Stingray join an AMP hall of fame that includes previous winners such as Genesis Owusu, The Avalanches, A.B. Original, Courtney Barnett, Gurrumul, Big Scary, and more.
- 1300 — Foreign Language
- Body Type — Everything Is Dangerous But Nothing's Surprising
- Camp Cope — Running With The Hurricane
- Julia Jacklin — Pre Pleasure
- WINNER: King Stingray — King Stingray
- Laura Jean — Amateurs
- Party Dozen — The Real Work
- Sampa The Great — As Above, So Below
- Tasman Keith — A Colour Undone