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APY Lands hip hop group Dem Mob found themselves ticking off some major bucket list items at the end of May, when they became the first Indigenous Australian group to perform at the massive Primavera Sound festival in Barcelona, Spain.
The band had never played in Sydney or Melbourne before, and now they were playing not just their first show in Europe, but making their first trip overseas. The opportunity arrived not long after they impressed crowds at WOMADelaide earlier this year, and saw them share the stage with the likes of Kendrick Lamar, Halsey, Calvin Harris and Blur.
Dem Mob perform at Primavera Sound in Barcelona.Credit: Hara Amoros
“Their shows were on point,” rapper Elisha Umuhuri says of watching performers like Lamar.
“It really set the standard on what we want to aim for next. Resilience within that, being strong and trusting in one another; to be able to push tracks out, make moves according to what we want to do. The biggest thing is figuring out how we get to the next level. I’ve been reflecting upon how we perform our sets. I’m being open-minded to putting in the work to be able to navigate new ways in making an impactful show.
“It was a blessing to have so many people engaged with our music and with what we had to say, and with our story.”
By bringing their ancient Pitjantjantjara language to Spain for the first time, Dem Mob not only represented their culture on a globally recognised stage, but they also maintained their connection to home, proving that music can be a truly universal language.
Umuhuri says that, thanks to social media, young people from their remote community were able to follow along with their journey.
“I’m back in community now, and it’s been good to see the kids are very interested in all the things we’ve been doing. To watch their faces light up and see how engaged they were when I was sharing stories about what Spain was like, was crazy. It was great.”
Dem Mob’s story starts in the far north of South Australia, deep in the Anangu Pitjantjatjara Yankunytjantjara (APY) Lands.
Initially developed as a duo project between members Elisha Umuhuri and Jontae Lawrie, Dem Mob started out as a way for Umuhuri and Lawrie to explore their creativity and find a sense of personal fulfillment and purpose while attending Ernabella Anangu School.
“This whole thing started as a way to get Jontae through school,” their music teacher, now Dem Mob DJ, Matt Gully says. “Now he’s teaching other kids! Same with Elisha, although he’s always been in that space.”
Dem Mob are Elisha Umuhuri, Matt Gully and Jontae Lawrie.Credit: Jimblah of BLKMPIRE
Through Dem Mob’s music, the listener learns more about the band’s lives, culture, and land. Lyrically, their music is insightful, without sacrificing any sense of fun or any of the high-impact energy of the band’s influences, notably artists like Baker Boy, J. Cole and Yothu Yindi.
In 2020, hype around Dem Mob began building, and they were invited to perform at WOMADelaide in Adelaide for the first time. From there, Dem Mob would go on to score South Australian Music Awards nominations in 2020 and 2021, before staging an impressive return to WOMADelaide earlier this year.
WOMADelaide festival in South Australia has been a major supporter of Dem Mob.Credit: Tyr Liang
That performance at WOMADelaide caught the attention of Elena Barreras, director of Primavera Pro, Primavera Sound’s music conference. Barreras, who was invited to tour Adelaide during its busy festival season by UNESCO Adelaide City of Music (ACOM) general manager, Joe Hay. Off the back of that trip, Dem Mob and the Centre for Aboriginal Studies in Music (CASM) were invited to attend the conference in Spain.
A big part of the group’s drive as performers is being able to give back and show young people different pathways to success.
“We know what it was like when we were teenagers, and we were inspired by an artist,” Gully says.
“A lot of the time, it is someone who you actually have access to. To be able to keep that going, is really cool.”
Dem Mob were able to give back as part of their trip to Barcelona, by participating in a workshop with young people that culminated in a free concert. The opportunity to work with young people in this way mirrored the workshops the band regularly run in the APY Lands.
“That first day with the kids just set the tone, and it made me feel very grateful to even go and meet them, and talk to them,” Umuhuri says. “That whole experience was our highlight, I think.”
Gully adds: “We shared our strategies with them, which was really cool. It was cool to do that on an international level. That was the first thing we did when we got over there, and it really gee’d us up for the rest of the trip. It’s an important part of who we are. We’re trying to help the youth, but we need to walk what we talk as well, so performing is part of it. We have to make sure that we’re keeping up!”
Now, with their Primavera experience firmly banked in their memories, the work continues for Dem Mob back in Australia. New music is in the works, as are new programs and ideas to help build pathways for the young people in their community.
Dem Mob in action in Barcelona.Credit: Melisa Margarita
For Dem Mob, they know that evolution only comes with resilience, reflection and continuing to push forward.
“Being from a remote community, we’re learning how to navigate the city life and just getting around the city itself was challenging,” Umuhuri says. “The opportunities we’ve had so far over the last couple of months have been crazy.
“We took the opportunity to move down to Adelaide in the hopes of being able to grab more opportunities in ways we weren’t able to do back home, which was exciting. We’re very blessed to have been able to do what we’ve done in the last few months.”
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