Terry Guyala’s music moves like the wet season sky over Arnhem Land: heavy with tradition, yet lit by flashes of 80s and 90s pop shimmer.
His band, Drifting Clouds, drapes Yolŋu language over synth-soaked beats and guitar lines that feel both familiar and new.
Zeppelin Hamilton’s Velvet Trip, on the other hand, is a kaleidoscope – a blend of soulful grooves, psychedelic swirls and an energy that refuses to sit still.
Each song feels like stepping into a vivid dream, one where identity and experimentation meet in a burst of colour and sound.
Different worlds, different palettes – but together, Guyala and Hamilton are part of a wave of young Blak artists creating a new and exciting sound.
Together, they embody a wave of First Nations musicians pushing beyond industry pigeonholes to create music that is experimental and unapologetically their own. Sovereign.
For Hamilton, performing at this year’s National Indigenous Music Awards (NIMAs) was a surreal milestone.
“It’s a bit of a pinch-myself moment,” he said.
“A lot of the artists on the bill have been people I’ve aspired to my whole life … but Drifting Clouds is the pick for me. I’m such a big fan of Terry’s music.”
Hamilton says his work often challenges stereotypes about what First Nations music should sound like.
“The music I make is often not associated with the way First Nations music is sometimes pigeonholed within the industry.
“To be able to showcase my own identity within this space is really empowering.”
That identity comes alive on stage through Velvet Trip’s signature “transcendental psychedelic experience” – a soulful soundscape that invites audiences to see and hear Blak music in a new way.
Guyala’s Drifting Clouds, meanwhile, blends Yolŋu language with an unexpected fusion of old-school pop and contemporary sounds.
“I listen to Billy Idol and Billy Ocean – all stuff from the 80s,” Guyala said.
“I wanted to try something different, from old school to new school.”
For Guyala, lyrics and visual storytelling are just as important as the music.
“I love my lyrics, and I also like the videos,” he said.
Performing at the NIMAs for the first time, Guyala described the crowd as “unreal” – with community gathered right up the front, singing back every lyric.
Both musicians celebrate the exciting and ever-growing diversity shaping First Nations music, proving that the next era of Blak music has arrived.
“We just make one type of music? No way,” Hamilton said.
“It’s amazing to come here and hear a whole spectrum of genres. There should be more -and there will be more.”
