
Emily Wurramara was born on Groote Eylandt (Northern Territory), home to Australia’s First Nation’s People the Warnindhilyagwa. Now based in Brisbane, she sings in both traditional language - Anindilyakwa and in English.
Her songs tell of the contrasting worlds of Groote Eylandt and her life on mainland Australia. They range from the experiences of her family as First Nations Australians, to concerns of protecting and cherishing our native bushland and beaches.
In 2016 her debut EP, Black Smoke was released. It spent 10 weeks on the Australian Music Radio Airplay Project (AMRAP) charts, reached number 17 on triple j’s Unearthed and resulted in her signing to Australia’s Mushroom Records.
In 2018 she released her first full-length album, named Milyakburra after the island of her grandparents. Its single, 'Ngarrukwujenama (I’m hurting)', was written in response to the mining on her island home and has been awarded the Queensland Music Award’s Indigenous song of the year (2018).
The National Film and Sound Archive of Australia acknowledges Australia’s Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples as the Traditional Custodians of the land on which we work and live and gives respect to their Elders both past and present.