Australia’s music spans the world’s oldest continuing Indigenous traditions and a vast modern scene, with Aboriginal instruments, songlines, rock, pop, classical, and multicultural influences all shaping its sound.
The music of Australia is the music produced in the area of, on the subject of, or by the people of modern Australia, including its preceding Indigenousand colonial societies. Indigenous Australian music is a part of the unique heritage of a 40–60,000 year history which produced the iconic didgeridoo. Contemporary fusions of Indigenous and Western styles (exemplified in the works of Yothu Yindi, Christine Anu and Geoffrey Gurrumul Yunupingu) mark distinctly Australian contributions to world music. During its early western history, Australia was a collection of British colonies, and Australian folk musicand bush ballads such as Waltzing Matilda were heavily influenced by Anglo-Celtic traditions, while classical forms were derived from those of Europe. Contemporary Australian music ranges across a broad spectrum with trends often concurrent with those of the US, the UK, and similar nations – notably in the Australian rock and Australian country music genres. Tastes have diversified along with post-World-War-II multicultural immigration to Australia.
Overview adapted from Wikipedia’s “Music of Australia” article.
Aboriginal artist Jeremy Donovan demonstrates the didgeridoo’s layered drone and rhythmic articulation, connecting the instrument with living Indigenous cultural practice.
Yothu Yindi’s “Treaty” brings Yolŋu musical identity, language, and political expression into an iconic Australian rock song.