SOAS Research Online

Abstract

This thesis studies how Indigenous storytelling through sounds, musics, and music-making actively reasserts Indigenous presence as a form of political resistance in the urban context of Sydney, Australia. It scrutinises the city’s sonic stimuli and how Indigenous musicians, activists, and storytellers position themselves within their urban environment. Built on the lands of various Indigenous populations, such as the Gadigal, the Wangal, the Bidjigal, and many more, Sydney is a place with vibrant Indigenous music scenes, yet it is often not perceived as an Indigenous place due to its urban character. Western imaginations often perceive Indigeneity as situated outside of the city, associated with “the outback” and nature. Moreover, research concerning Indigenous musics in Australia often focuses on music practices in remote community settings. While insights on these practices are highly valuable, to date, however, there have been few academic studies of Indigenous musics in urban contexts. This thesis aims to show how listening to both Indigenous musickers and the city offers insights about the Indigeneity of the city, and how Indigenous individuals navigate urban life through music and sound. By reflecting on the role of contemporary musical storytelling by Indigenous musicians in urban settings through in-depth interviews and ethnographic observations, this thesis further aims to deromanticise perceptions of Indigenous peoples and Indigenous ways of life. By examining urban space, music, sounds, and the links between those, this thesis demonstrates how Indigenous musicians and storytellers reclaim spaces in the city with an emphasis on Indigenous presence, politics, and storytelling. This research lies on the intersection of ethnomusicology and urban studies, and is strongly informed by postcolonial critical thinking. Following ethnomusicologists and sound artists such as Brandon LaBelle and Matt Sakakeeny, I demonstrate how music and sound have agency as they have the ability to challenge norms and reconfigure space. Therefore, an important notion in this project is space-reclaiming, which, unlike space-making, emphasises Indigenous sovereignty. Walking as both a concept and a method, inspired by Ama Oforiwaa Aduonum, has helped me to shape this dissertation’s focus on experience. Soundwalking provides insights into Indigenous storytellers’ daily lives in Redfern, the heart of Aboriginal activism in Sydney. Working with Indigenous hip-hop artists in Sydney during the Black Lives Matter protests, I draw on Halifu Osumare’s idea of hiphop’s Indigenisation to demonstrate how experiences of colonialism and racism connect marginalised populations globally, and how hip-hop storytelling plays a role in protest and in celebrating local Indigenous traditions. As Indigenous storytelling is a central theme throughout this thesis, I foreground Linda Tuhiwai Smith’s claim of research’s responsibility to share knowledge, and the importance of mutually beneficial outcomes between all parties involved in the research. This focus resulted in the digitisation of interviews in podcast format as a second research output. I reflect on the accessibility of cultural 4 expression through a framework of archiving to compare and scrutinise the implications of this podcast project. This shows that, sometimes, content refusal is a way to retain agency. Finally, I research urban Indigenous performance in environmentally conscious settings. These performances highlight the ways in which climate change and displacement of Indigenous peoples are interconnected, and how contemporary performance conveys this message while advocating for action. Through this range of frameworks, I aim to showcase how an ethnomusicological study of Indigenous musics and sounds in an urban context provides insights into Indigenous urban experiences and the political significance of Indigenous musicking.