Born from a place of Collaboration, Consultation and Creation, Xpress is built upon the backbone of Relationships. With a focus on strengthen people’s ability to step into opportunities & develop their networks, plus the ethos of passing on the knowledge. Putting the strength in the hands of those who are telling the story.
For the entire year we funded Mentors & Artists who chose each other.
Who are now co-writing and performing together.
Who have formed family bonds & respect.
Who are taking the music back out into community.
Who are reaching & teaching each other.
Massive thank you for the incredible Mentors who have made this project happen Dan the Underdog and Darcy Davis, with special mention to Tristrum Watkins as an advisor. Special mention also to Graham Wilfred Junior for contributing his DJ skills to support the Artists music.
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Dan the Underdog bio:
Dan the Underdog is an award winning Northern Territory based MC/producer. He has been pivotal in establishing the Northern Territory Hip Hop scene. Whether as a solo act or as part of a crew, he has always been about dope beats and a live stage show.
Dan the Underdog is Adelaide Born, Buffalo Bred, & NT Based, all of which come through in his music and storytelling, he makes real Hip Hop music that people from all walks of life can relate to, while always giving his listeners punchlines and details that bring them into his world. His day job is running Music Workshops in Juvenile Detention & Bail Centres, indigenous communities, schools, and drop-in centres to develop tracks for various workshops & projects, helping countless numbers of youth organisations win competitions and get funding, but more importantly, build up the self esteem of the young people involved.
You can check his solo music, group projects, and production credits at Dantheunderdog.com where you can also sign up for his mailing list and follow his socials.
Website: https://dantheunderdog.com
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Darcy Davis Bio:
Alice Springs born and bred record producer and musician Darcy Davis has been immersed in music since beginning piano lessons at age 4. Following in the footsteps of his father Bill Davis who is a piano player, record producer and co-founder of the Central Australian Aboriginal Music Association (CAAMA).
Darcy has come to be recognised as a master of the keyboard and recording producer in his own right with his original acts Dr Strangeways (Space Rock), D-Day (Hip Hop) and The Purple Patch (Blues Rock). Add to this Darcy’s skill, as a live DJ mixing beats and bringing bangers to the doof’s, you have a musical talent from Central Australia not easily eclipsed in a generation.
On a quest for mastery over his multiple musical disciplines, Darcy has put in countless hours refining his skills as a keyboardist, sound engineer and producer. Darcy also has a Diploma in Music Performance and 3 years completed towards a Music Production Degree at Berklee College of Music, Boston, USA. Darcy has produced records for many artists at his father’s hand-built rammed earth, and aptly named “Red House Recording” studio. Collaborating recently with Harry Angus (Cat Empire/Jackson Jackson) on the production and recording of the Children’s Ground album of children’s songs in Eastern Arrernte language was a career highlight.
Recently Darcy worked with Aboriginal musicians from the Anangu Pitjantjatjara Yankunytjatjara (APY) lands recording and producing the soon to be released UPK 7 Compilation album of songs in language by various artists. A continuation of the original UPK project started in 1989 by Bill Davis and CAAMA Music.
From the most distant traditional lands to the remote townships to the biggest cities in Australia, Darcy Davis is making noise of the best kind. Whether it is producing kids albums with folk music royalty like Sally Balfour (Clara The Crocodile), rapping as D-Day and playing keys with Territory reggae hip hop artist Katanga Junior or rocking the B3 organ with The Purple Patch (Classic Rock), Darcy’s sonic fingerprint is in the Sound.
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Make sure to show your love and support for Indigenous music with a like and follow for them. It only takes a second to click a link and give their homegrown, self-produced original music a spin.
If you’re lucky enough to be in Mparntwe, Alice Springs, you can come to the Xpress workshop this Friday and showcase on Sunday.
Xpress events are completely free, so no excuses!
Get more info or register here:
https://www.globalsoundschool.com/xpress
Joining forces with the Red Dirt Poetry Festival you can check out the festival program here:
