Have you ever heard a thrashing heavy metal version of Beds Are Burning? How about a full choral arrangement of Neon Moon? Don't Dream It's Over with a didgeridoo solo?
If you answered no to one or more of those questions, then now is the perfect time for you to discover the Deadly Hearts series.
Running from 2017 to 2020, Deadly Hearts is:
- A celebration of First Nation music in Australia, past and present
- Three wonderful albums full of First Nations artists putting their stamp on beloved tunes
- A woefully under-appreciated collection of absolute bangers.
The first two releases were centred around a simple question: What song has spoken most strongly to you about growing up an Indigenous Australian?
There was a small shake-up in 2020, when Deadly Hearts — Walking Together artists were simply asked to take on a song that was iconic to them.
And so, artists from Adelaide to East Arnhem Land, from Brisbane to regional NSW went away with these prompts and brought back undeniable fire.
Inspired updates on bona fide classics
You might have heard the song Black Boy by legendary collective Coloured Stone. Well, on Deadly Hearts the jangly folk song is stripped bare by Warnindhilyagwa musician Emily Wurramara.
The resulting cover is a delicate and powerful re-imagining of what Wurramara says is ultimately a song of triumph.
"The simplicity of 'Black boy, black boy, the colour of your skin is your pride and joy' resonates with me and is a steady reminder to be strong, resilient and proud of my culture," Wurramara told ABC Music back in 2017.
"When I listen to this song I hear a mother talking to her son; an older sister talking to her brother, sending him strength and a constant reminder to be proud of the skin you're born in."
If you want an even more radical overhaul of a stalwart Aussie tune then you can't go past Southeast Desert Metal's cover of Beds Are Burning.
Crunching guitars, guttural howls and flashy riffs — odds are you've never heard Midnight Oil quite like this.
Southeast Desert Metal proudly call themselves the "most isolated heavy metal band in the world", hailing from the Central Australian town of Santa Teresa, also known as the Ltyentye Apurte Community, just a casual 80 kilometres out of Alice Springs.
Vocalist Chris Wallace said he connects with the message of Beds Are Burning.
"Midnight Oil wrote a lot about Indigenous rights. That's something I write about in my own songs. Indigenous people are still struggling today," Wallace told ABC Music in 2020.
"This land was stolen from us. In this song we're saying it's time to give it back."
Generations within the series
While some Deadly Hearts artists chose to look in the back catalogue for inspiration, others went for more contemporary sources.
Like Tia Gostelow's cover of Around Here, the tongue-in-cheek song originally by Thelma Plum.
"Around Here is the first song I heard of Thelma's and I remember just having it on repeat 24/7," Gostelow told ABC Music in 2019.
"It's a song that is so sentimental to me, so I feel privileged that I'm able to put my own spin on it."
A king's ransom to the first person that can get Gostelow and Plum on stage together to duet this thing!
Just straight-up great tunes
Remember how I said the third Deadly Hearts widened the prompt to a song the artists saw as iconic?
Well, dear reader, EVERY song on this album slaps.
But this article is already too long so let me just take you through my favourite favourites.
Mitch Tambo brings the absolute heat with a joyous version of Vanessa Amorosi's Absolutely Everybody sung in Gamilaraay language AND with a sick didge breakdown.
Just try not to cry at the perfect, buttery harmonies between Miiesha and The Woorabinda Singers in Neon Moon. Then tear up once again when you realise the choir is made up of people from her central Queensland hometown!
"Being asked to be on Deadly Hearts, I knew I wanted to have my community involved as much as possible," Miiesha told ABC Music in 2020.
"We go mad for country music up here so we picked one of our favourites — Neon Moon by Brooks and Dunn — and got a Woorabinda Choir together to show off some of the deadly talent up this way!"
Triple j mainstay Sycco delivers a cover of Pnau's Solid Gold that is just begging to be blasted while getting ready with your gals before a big night out (aka the best part of a big night out).
You are legally required to snuggle up on a squishy armchair, wistfully staring out of the window when you listen to Mi-kaisha's piano lounge take on How Deep Is Your Love by the Bee Gees.
"I chose this song because I felt our world needed some love and light," Miiesha said. "It has been an incredibly challenging season for our mob and I just wanted to encourage my community to keep their heads up and to take care of themselves."
Then you've got Isaiah Firebrace and Stan Walker teaming up for an in-language cover of Crowded House's Don't Dream It's Over.
AND
Aodhan throwing the love back to Tia Gostelow with a ethereal redo of her track Always.
AND
Ziggy Ramo's razor-sharp bars on his version of Tjitji by Miiesha (which she also features on!).
And, and, and…
OK! We get it, how do I listen to Deadly Hearts?
So glad you asked! Links to your preferred platform are below.
This could be the best decision you've ever made.
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2024-01-25 01:14:33Z
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