Mayakeniny with Maatakitj
About this event
Experience Mayakeniny with Maatakitj - a powerful celebration of Noongar song, dance and Country
Noongar song-maker and guitarist Maatakitj (Clint Bracknell) leads an ensemble of Noongar performers, immersing audiences in the Indigenous language and landscapes of Western Australia’s southwest corner and southern coast, Noongar boodjar. Combining old, new and everlasting styles of Noongar song and dance, this special Maatakitj performance on Coogee beach will share something deeply unique and grounded in place.
Like a futuristic corroboree, newly created Noongar songs and dances evoking marine creatures, birds, reptiles, rain and sunshine intermesh with the unique sunset colours of the west, hypnotic rhythms and desert blues guitar. Although suppressed for many years, Noongar language and performance traditions radiate throughout this work, presented by Boomerang and Spear and featuring celebrated Noongar creatives Kylie Bracknell, Della Rae Morrison, Rubeun Yorkshire, Jack Collard and Rickeeta Walley alongside Fremantle College’s Clontarf Crew and Deadly Sister Girls.
Before the powerful beachside performance, join us for a special community workshop presented by Boomerang and Spear from 3pm – 4pm, designed to deepen your connection to Noongar song, language and Country. All ages welcome. No prior experience required.
Co-Curated by Boomerang and Spear.
About Maatakitj
Maatakitj (AKA Clint Bracknell) is a Nyoongar song-maker and guitarist from Albany, Western Australia. His stage name means ‘legs like spears’ and his songs serve as public service announcements for Country. He has toured Australia with five-time Grammy Award winner Angelique Kidjo, composed for and performed with the world-renowned Kronos Quartet, and produced his debut album with ARIA Award winner Paul Mac.
Recent tours have seen Maatakitj play at Nannup Music Festival, Jamba Nyinayi Festival in Coral Bay, WA and at World Expo Osaka, Japan alongside and an ensemble of acclaimed Nyoongar performers.
As a Professor at The University of Western Australia, he activates deep connections between song, language, and landscapes.
After being nominated for ‘Best Original Score’ in the 2012 Helpmann Awards for his work on Shaun Tan’s The Red Tree (Barking Gecko), Bracknell went on to compose for Australian theatre over the ensuing decade. His composition and sound design credits include York (2021), Water (2019), Skylab (2018) and The Caucasian Chalk Circle (2016) for Black Swan STC, and Hecate (2020) and King Hit (2014) for Yirra Yaakin. His music is also featured on international advertising campaigns, television programs and the feature film H is for Happiness (2019).
Bracknell co-produced the podcast series Song With No Boss for ABC Radio National and is co-translator and lead voice actor in Fist of Fury Noongar Daa, the audacious and ground-breaking 2021 Nyoongar language dub of the 1972 Bruce Lee film. He also co-translated Hecate, the lauded 2020 Nyoongar-language adaptation of Shakespeare’s Macbeth. Both Nyoongar translation productions were firsts for Indigenous languages of Australia and continue to generate international interest. As co-director of Nyoongar creative company Boomerang and Spear with award-winning Nyoongar artist, his wife Kylie Bracknell, Clint co-convenes major live arts events and co-wrote the book Shakespeare on the Noongar Stage (2024).
Bracknell is an elected Fellow of the Australian Academy of the Humanities and serves on the First Nations board for Creative Australia. He was awarded the 2021 ECU Vice Chancellor’s Research Engagement Award and the 2020 John Barrett Award for Australian Studies. He presented the 2019 Australian Academy of the Humanities Hancock Lecture and is a current Future Fellow of the Australian Research Council. The Cambridge Companion to Music in Australia (2024), co-edited with Amanda Harris, is Bracknell’s latest book.
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