May: Kahl Wallis / Allara

About May: Kahl Wallis / Allara

Kahl Wallis

Lead singer and songwriter for indie/alternative band The Medics, environmental and social activist, storyteller, and now solo performer, Kahl Wallis is a young Aboriginal man on a mission.

After releasing their debut album Foundations in 2012, Kahl’s band The Medics took out top honours at the 2012 National Indigenous Music Awards with wins for Best New Talent, Album of the Year, and Song of the Year for 'Griffin', and were crowned Best New Talent at the 2013 Rollingstone Awards. They have performed at a number of festivals across the country including Big Day Out, Splendour in the Grass, Woodford Folk Festival and Groovin’ The Moo, and in 2014 they were invited to tour internationally to Brazil.

In late 2014 Kahl decided to strip back into raw acoustic mode to explore his songwriting and cultural roots further. He was soon invited to tour with Blue King Brown, opening for them as a solo artist at their shows across the country. With his solo project only just beginning to gather speed, Kahl was extremely honoured to receive the Dreaming Award at the 2015 National Indigenous Arts Awards, presented by the Australia Council for the Arts. The award came with a $20,000 cash prize for him to record his debut solo album, currently scheduled for release in 2017.

Between recording as a solo artist, touring, participating in community projects, and working on his second record with The Medics, Kahl also works as a music mentor and healthy-lifestyle facilitator with The Jimmy Little Foundation, delivering workshops to Indigenous children in remote communities.

Kahl identifies with his grandfathers country, the Wuthathi Nation from the white sands of Shelburne Bay in Cape York Peninsula, and his Grandmothers mob, the Lardil people from Mornington Island in the Gulf of Carpentaria. He takes his last name 'Wallis' from his great-great-grandfather of the Polynesian islands of Wallis and Futuna.

Keep an ear to the ground for debut recordings from Kahl, as well as the much-anticipated second record from the Medics - exciting times lay ahead!

"Kahl's music comes from a pure source, it's a great joy to listen to him deliver with such authenticity and power. He is a special artist and one to watch out for!" - Carlo Santone, Blue King Brown.

Allara

Allara Briggs Pattison is a Yorta Yorta, musician, composer, film maker, Wayapa Wuurrk-er and climate justice activist.

Lose yourself in a swirl of sound as one woman creates a sweet tangle of electric bass, double bass and looped tones. All fused with her bright glowing spirt, Allara’s emotive compositions resonate with dark frequencies and soaring melodies. Orchestral bowed harmonies swell over electronic beats and traditional clap stick rhythms creating a truly unique sound. Reflecting on a journey through her own deepest passions instrumentally and via her word smith skills and smooth earthy vocals this collision of hip hop, neo soul, blues, and reggae is an empowering thematic exploration of culture, spirituality, and the environment.