North meets south and freshwater meets saltwater when Darwin based Arafura Music Collective and Sydney mavericks Ensemble Offspring collaborate for the first time.

Stories of Water and Earth features Yuwaalaraay woman Nardi Simpson and Djapa woman Melanie Mununggurr as special guests, weaving together instrumental chamber music, beat poetry and dreaming stories.

At the heart of Ensemble Offspring is an unwavering commitment to the creation of living new music. They stand at the forefront of musical innovation in Australia as the country’s most fearless and virtuosic instrumentalists. Based in Garramilla (Darwin) on Gulumoerrgin (Larrakia) land, Arafura Music Collective foster connections across genres, cultures, generations and communities through their joyful, intimate chamber music performances. Joining them as a composer and featured performer is Nardi Simpson. Her skill as a storyteller offers an opportunity to hear the language of the land, explore the beauty of singing to land and experience music inspired by the land.

Stories of Water and Earth combines a performance by Nardi sharing Yuwaalaraay womens’ creative and cultural practice, with a new long-form commission from Netanela Mizrahi and Djapu mother, poet, storyteller and performer Melanie Mununggurr. Melanie’s writing is all-encompassing of her identity as Yolŋgu, the triumphs and struggles of motherhood, neurodiversity, being queer and connections to land and culture.

Stories of Water and Earth is both a story and a musical journey of language, culture and singing.