November 18, 2025 • 28 mins
This week, Simon speaks with ICONYX, who hails from the East Kimberley from the Kukatja and Pintupi mobs and now lives in Boorloo (Perth) on Whadjuk Noongar Boodja. She is a passionate songwriter, has perfect pitch, plays piano and guitar, loves to sing, and is blind.
ICONYX started producing her own music under the mentorship of Boss Arts Creative. Enjoying all music, especially hip hop and pop, she has also covered Archie Roach's Mulyawongk and Gurrumul's Baru. ICONYX won the 2025 WAM Song of the Year in both the Indigenous and Act, Belong, Commit categories for her original Black On Trak.
On ICONYX's Linktree, accessible here, you can find articles about her as well as links to streaming services to hear her music.
--
Gemma jumps into the producer chair this week while Andrew is away. She and Simon kick off the show acknowledging a huge milestone for Vision Australia Radio Perth: 10 years of service! Find out more about our programs on the VAR website, and get in touch anytime: radio@visionaustralia.org or call 6246 4500.
Support Vision Australia Radio: https://www.visionaustralia.org/donate
See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
S1 (00:17):
Hello and welcome to In Plain Sight, a program where
we highlight people who are making a positive impact in
the community and disability sector.
S2 (00:25):
Shining a light on those who would be otherwise hidden
in plain sight.
S1 (00:29):
And it's a pleasure to bring you these stories on
a weekly basis with you here on Vision Australia Radio.
S2 (00:35):
Hi. Thanks for being here, folks. And today we've got
a special show and I have a special guest in
the studio, Gemma. Sydney, welcome to you. Hello.
S3 (00:44):
Hey, Simon. Thank you so much for having me this week.
S2 (00:47):
Well, thanks for being here. Our normal co-host and producer,
Andrew had to go off for some personal reasons this week.
So Gemma, who is the backbone of this organisation and
I'm going to take this space to publicly thank her
for not only helping us with this program so much,
but everything she does for Vision Australia Radio, not only
(01:08):
here in Perth but across Australia Network. So thanks for
being here today Gemma.
S3 (01:13):
Thank you. Thank you, Simon, for those kind words. I
really enjoy what I do and this is a wonderful
show to work on, and I love contributing in the
way that I can. So being here in person today,
in the studio with you is an extra pleasure.
S2 (01:27):
And we've got a great show lined up today with
a beautiful, warm interview that will be coming up later
in the program. But Gemma, you wanted to tell us
some things about Vision Australia Radio and some milestones.
S3 (01:38):
Exactly. Yeah. So I've been very busy lately diving into
the archives of Vision Australia, Radio Perth, because in October
we celebrated ten years of our service. So I started
back with VA Radio in October 2015 and things were
really different. Then of course, we had to build the
radio station from the ground up. Um, we had a
(02:00):
bunch of volunteers who came from Info radio prior, which
is wonderful, and they sort of had this big groundswell,
this movement approach, Vision Australia, and they came together and
decided to open as Vision Australia, Radio Perth. As I
said in October 2015. We started off in the back
offices of WA Deaf Society, and I recall having my
job interview with the then manager and chair of the
(02:22):
volunteer committee, and we were just surrounded by all these
boxes of radio equipment. It was almost like furniture in
the room was just these boxes. It was just an
office space and would soon be transformed in the coming
weeks by the very capable hands of our broadcast technician,
Dale Simpson. So just want to send a huge shout
out to Dale. He works across tirelessly across the entire
(02:44):
radio network and does an amazing job.
S2 (02:47):
And Dale would be well known to many of our
blind and vision impaired listeners. And hello Dale. I met
Dale many years ago back in Melbourne when we were
doing a leadership program is a key component of the
blind community.
S3 (03:00):
Absolutely. And it's been really great in doing this deep
dive into our archives to reflect on all that we
have achieved in the ten years we've been Vision Australia Radio.
All the people we've known, some of whom are still
volunteering with us, which is amazing. And of course all
the varied and rich programs we put together. Simon, can
you tell me a bit about your involvement with us
(03:20):
here at the radio station and maybe what it is
you enjoy about volunteering?
S2 (03:25):
Well, what I enjoy about volunteering, especially in this role
here at Vision Australia Radio, is that I'm not compelled
to do it. Um, I was given an opportunity to
create this program when I sold the premise to the
people here at the station. I love giving back to
(03:46):
the community. Um, and I love being part of the
broader community, um, both blindness and disability community. And I
also see it as an extension of my advocacy work,
in that I am helping promote advocacy for people with
disabilities in different formats, as well as like as we'll
(04:07):
see later on in our program, helping to promote people
who are have a disability or in this case, who
are blind and in the creative spaces as well. That's
why I came up with the title In Plain Sight,
to shine a light on those who would otherwise be
hidden in plain sight, to help promote people to the
(04:30):
broader community that might not know about what's happening in
the disability sector and the disability world. To highlight ordinary
people who are doing some extraordinary things in many cases.
And I love being part of a collaborative environment, and
I love being part of a creative environment. And I
really enjoy the teamwork and the support that we get
(04:52):
here at Vision Australia Radio.
S3 (04:53):
Yeah, you say supportive. It is a really supportive crew
here and everyone you kind of meet, whether they're here
for the the live news programs or their own pre-recorded programs,
they're all part of the broader team and they love
hearing what everyone else is up to and tuning in
and then hearing it on the air. So it's a
really real pleasure to be part of this team.
S2 (05:12):
And I highly recommend to people if you're hearing this
program and either live on radio or on podcast, check
out the other podcasts that are available on Vision Australia Radio,
including my good friend Sam Richards program Studio One coming
out of the Adelaide studios there, and other Great Vision
Australia products.
S3 (05:32):
So, Simon, what have we got coming up on the
program today?
S2 (05:35):
Well, we've got a great program coming up today, but
just before we do that, I'd like to just quickly
mention a very special book launch that's happening on the
22nd of November by the wonderful Lily. Golden. Lily was
on our program a little while ago, and she is
a young person who is published her first book called blossom.
(05:56):
I'm really looking forward to going to that book launch
and supporting again, another person with a disability doing great
work in our community. But coming up in the program today,
we have a singer, a performer and an artist who
goes by the name of Iconics, And I talked to
her all about how she became the wonderful, successful artist
(06:18):
that she is today, and to tell a bit of
background behind some of her songs and her recording. And
it's a really great and warm conversation and I hope
you enjoy it. Here it is now. We have a
really special guest, someone I've been wanting to get in
the studio for a very long time. I've been following
her progress and her progression as an artist, a singer
(06:39):
and a performer, and it's a delight to have Iconix
in the studio with us today. Hi, Iconix.
S4 (06:44):
Hi. Thank you for having me.
S2 (06:46):
I'll start with one basic thing first. How old are.
S4 (06:49):
You? I'm 17 at the moment. I'm about to turn
18 in like 11 days. Almost.
S2 (06:55):
Well, happy birthday for that good one. I've read somewhere.
You originally from the East Kimberley. Is that right?
S4 (07:00):
Yes. So my mom's side is from the Kukatja people
in the eastern Kimberley. And then my dad is from
the Pintupi people just out of Alice Springs and all
through the central desert.
S2 (07:12):
Can you say those names again for us, please, a
bit slower.
S4 (07:15):
Sure. So Kolkata is my mum and Pinta is my dad.
S2 (07:20):
So for those who are who aren't familiar with those areas,
language groups whereabouts would that be? What closest towns or
areas would that be closest to?
S4 (07:28):
Oh, so Kolkata is closer to around Halls Creek, and
then out of there into Balgo and Mullan and all
of those little communities out there. Pintupi is Kiwirrkura, Kintore,
a little bit into Alice and all through there.
S2 (07:46):
Yeah, in the inland.
S4 (07:47):
Yeah.
S2 (07:48):
So Balgo, I've heard of that. There's, there was a
big mission there, wasn't there?
S4 (07:52):
I think so.
S2 (07:53):
Yeah, right. I'll have to get this out of the way,
because I am really bad at pronouncing and saying non-English words,
be them Italian, Greek or even Chinese. People think I
have a Chinese name. I should be able to speak Chinese.
I can't folks. Sorry about that. Um, so you'll have
to help me and feel free to correct me if
I ever say any of the words wrong. Being that
(08:15):
we are on Vision Australia Radio. Can you tell us
also the nature of your eye condition please?
S4 (08:21):
So I am completely blind and I have two prosthetic eyes.
S2 (08:25):
What caused that?
S4 (08:26):
I had retinoblastoma.
S2 (08:28):
Retinoblastoma?
S4 (08:29):
Yes. When I was tiny.
S2 (08:30):
Oddly quite common.
S4 (08:32):
Yeah. It's more common than I expected.
S2 (08:35):
It might be common from my point of view, because
I've been in and around the blindness community since I
was a kid. I was diagnosed with being vision impaired
at the age of 18. Oh, yeah. And one of
my best friends for a very long time until he
passed away. His name was David Regan. He was a
musician also, and he had that condition. And it was
basically cancer that affects the eyes. Yeah. And our mutual
(08:58):
friend Ryan.
S4 (08:59):
Oh, yeah.
S2 (09:00):
He has that as well. Yeah, yeah. So you're born
with that, and your eyes have to be removed because
of the cancer?
S4 (09:05):
Yeah.
S2 (09:06):
Yeah, yeah. And, um, you were saying you're from up
north up in the East Kimberley areas and that. So
when did you come down to Perth?
S4 (09:14):
14 to 18 months. I can never get the numbers
right and I'm probably going to get these wrong anyway. Um,
but I came down.
S2 (09:20):
When you were a small.
S4 (09:21):
Child. When I was a very small child. Yes. And
then I go back for holidays. But I've built a
life down here, so.
S2 (09:26):
Yeah, yeah, yeah.
S4 (09:27):
I've got all my music down here. So I'm really
psyched to live down here, even though it's cold.
S2 (09:32):
It is. Now we're going to be talking mostly about
your music and how you got there and all that.
I believe you've just come back from Sydney. Is that right?
S4 (09:41):
Yes, but I'm not allowed to talk about that.
S2 (09:44):
Okay.
S4 (09:45):
Till you're gonna find out all about that in March.
That's all I can say.
S2 (09:49):
All right. I wondered about that. It's. It's often the case. Uh,
that sounds really interesting. So. Yeah. Keep us informed of
what's going on there.
S4 (09:57):
Definitely.
S2 (09:58):
Now, earlier this year, you launched your first full size
album called Black on Track. Is that what it's called?
S4 (10:05):
Yes.
S2 (10:06):
Now, one thing I noticed with that being vision impaired myself,
I don't often see the written word it's spelt in
what I would refer to as like pidgin English.
S4 (10:16):
Yeah.
S2 (10:16):
So just for those who haven't seen it, can you
spell those terms for us?
S4 (10:20):
So he black on track is black on track?
S2 (10:25):
Yeah. I had the same issue when I saw the
title of the film Brand New Day.
S4 (10:31):
Oh.
S2 (10:32):
And I hadn't seen it written and I was looking
up the TV guide. It was on TV. Yeah. Oh,
it's spelt like that.
S4 (10:40):
Not the way I don't think I've seen it written.
How's it spelt?
S2 (10:43):
It's spelt in a similar way. Yeah. In a, in
a sort of pidgin English type of way. Like de
for instance. Da.
S4 (10:49):
Oh.
S2 (10:50):
Brand is just b r a n or something like that.
S4 (10:53):
Nice.
S2 (10:54):
Yeah, yeah, yeah. I went to your single launch, your
album launch earlier this year, and it was a really
fabulous event. You were headlining, and I was really impressed
with some of the other artists that were appearing. And
I've since followed one of the other young women that
were there. I think she was a Torres Strait Islander.
S4 (11:14):
Oh, Bella.
S2 (11:15):
Bella. Yeah, she's really cool. She's.
S4 (11:17):
She's amazing.
S2 (11:19):
But I was really interested in the bus arts collective
that you're part of there. Oh, yeah. Can you tell
us a little bit about that?
S4 (11:26):
So they're a non-for-profit organization that originally started as Boss Music,
and it was run by Charlie Caruso. And then it
built into this bigger organization, which is now Boss Creative,
which is singing, dancing and acting. And it's run out
of studio in Wapa or one of the amphitheater rooms.
(11:47):
And so that's every Thursday we go down there and
we do. Oh, well, right now we're they're preparing for
War Dundee, which is a big corroboree. But throughout the
year we'll work on nadoc stuff. So there's always dancers
doing things. There's always singers doing different things. Uh, and
sometimes we'll have a bunch of us just go in
there for singing, a bunch of us doing acting, we
(12:10):
do monologues and all these different things. But, um, it
originally started back for maybe 8 or 9 years ago,
and it was really small back then, but it's grown
into this massive big thing now.
S2 (12:23):
And it's for children and young people. Is that right?
S4 (12:26):
It's mainly for young people, but there are people of
all ages there, mainly for indigenous people. Yeah, yeah yeah yeah.
S2 (12:33):
Cool. Now you launched with the cover of Archie Roach's song.
What's the name of that track you did.
S4 (12:42):
Julia Wong.
S2 (12:43):
Wong. Wong. Yeah. I found that to be not only
beautiful and powerful, but fascinating interpretation of that song. And
you perform it so soulfully. Um, can you tell us
about how you chose that song and a little bit
(13:03):
of story behind getting involved with that?
S4 (13:06):
So originally, I remember this song my singing teacher had
pitched to me years ago, and back then I was
a bit more into Justin Bieber, so it was a
bit like, ah, nah, we'll do something else for now. Um,
and then I decided I might as well mess around
with it a little, but it was a bit too
acoustic for me. So my singing teacher, who is Charly
(13:29):
Caruso from Boss Arts, she and I got into the
studio and she helped me build up my own version.
So we got some synths, we have got a bass
and it literally all started as a synth and bass track.
And then when we sent it to one of my producers,
he built it into the massive, soulful thing it is now.
(13:49):
And then they'd put me in the studio and we
recorded it, and then they sent it to Uncle Archie,
literally two weeks before he passed away, and he gave
me permission to officially release that on my album when
it came out. And I think he also gave me
permission to like, do some more of his music as well.
So I'm trying to figure out which one of his
songs I want to do next.
S2 (14:10):
Well, he's always seems to be such a generous person
in every indigenous performer I've ever heard. Interviewed always gives
tribute to him and his generosity.
S4 (14:19):
Yeah. For sure.
S2 (14:21):
You met some of his family? Yeah.
S4 (14:22):
I've met his wife, Ruby Hunter's family, and they live
in South Australia. When I go across to see family
over there. I've got a standing invitation to go and
have a cup of tea with them. Sit down. Um,
and I played that for them, but I played the
original on a guitar, and then I played the version
that I'd recorded. They loved both of those, so. And
(14:45):
that's two of her brothers and her sister in law. Well,
who are they? Yeah.
S2 (14:49):
So it's just like the stories I hear. You're going
over there and sitting at their kitchen table and sharing
a cup of tea. So that must have been a
great honour to it. Was to have that nod given
to you.
S4 (15:01):
Oh, definitely.
S2 (15:03):
On that album as well. You also do a track.
Is that.
S4 (15:07):
Right? Yes I do.
S2 (15:08):
What's the name of that track?
S4 (15:09):
Uh, it's called Baru and it's about a saltwater crocodile.
S2 (15:13):
That sung in their language, isn't.
S4 (15:14):
It? Yeah.
S2 (15:16):
Yeah. Because they're from the land, aren't they?
S4 (15:19):
Yeah. Arnhem land.
S2 (15:20):
Is it correct to say that they're related to the
Yothu Yindi?
S4 (15:25):
Yes, that is them.
S2 (15:27):
Yeah. That's an amazing family. And it's Baker Boy also
connected with that.
S4 (15:31):
I think so. I believe so. I need to research that.
S2 (15:36):
Yeah, yeah. Nice.
S3 (15:38):
You're listening to In Plain Sight on Vision Australia Radio.
This week, Simon Chong is speaking to Iconix, a young
artist from the East Kimberley who is a passionate songwriter,
multi-instrumentalist and producer with family roots in Kukolja and Pintupi
people who now lives on Wadjuk Noongar, Abuja in Perth.
Iconix won two awards at the 2025 song of the
(16:01):
year for Outstanding Indigenous and Act Belong commit categories for
her song Black on Track. So now it's over to
Simon and Iconix.
S2 (16:12):
I've heard that you have always been involved with music
since you were a little kid.
S4 (16:16):
Yeah, it originally started with a little pack of those
bells you can buy at Kmart or like little music stores.
And that's how they found out. I had perfect pitch
because they told me what colors the bells were, and
then they would play the bell and they'd make me
identify what that was. And it was literally just a
scale of C to C, and then they'd start playing
two at the same time, then three at the same time,
(16:38):
and then it went from name the color to find
the bells. Find the exact ones. Oh, yeah. Um, and
that's how they found out I had perfect pitch. And
then they decided, you know what? Why not cultivate that?
And they gave me piano lessons for about 11 years.
S2 (16:51):
Okay.
S4 (16:52):
Yeah.
S2 (16:53):
So you play several instruments, is that right?
S4 (16:55):
Yes. I've played the piano for 12 years now. Uh,
I stopped lessons last year, uh, because I started a
new school, and I was focused on my studies. I
play guitar for the last seven years. I started when
I was ten, and I had lessons for two years,
and then I'm a vocalist and then I'd like to
say I play drums, but I think everyone can play drums.
(17:16):
You just need sticks and start whacking something.
S2 (17:19):
Oh no, that's not true. If I started whacking drums,
it would just sound horrible noise.
S4 (17:23):
Oh, well, you need some sort of rhythm. Um, I
can play a little bit of drums then. And then
I have these hand-carved, uh, flutes that I play, and
they're wooden, and they sound really pretty. And they're ones
Native American, and one is South American. Well, Native South American,
but they both sound very pretty.
S2 (17:44):
Where, where and how did you get those?
S4 (17:46):
Uh, so one's from Melbourne Music Store, but I met
a lady who had, uh, one and I, uh, the
Native American one, and I thought it sounded really pretty,
so I bought one for myself. And then the other one,
my principal has a contact in non-GAAP or Northam or
one of them. And she said, I can help you
(18:09):
get in contact. I can help you organize all of
all this. So then it cost me about $900, but
it was $900 well spent. It's really pretty.
S2 (18:18):
So it's wooden?
S4 (18:19):
Yes. All hand-carved. And then the man who made it
has made intricate carvings on onto the flute. He made
mine look like a dream catcher, but he's made it
very raised and very tactile, so I can feel everything.
So that's really cool.
S2 (18:34):
That's wonderful.
S4 (18:35):
It's amazing.
S2 (18:36):
So that's an interesting point, because even on your album, uh,
black on Track, it has such a variety of music. Now,
I must admit, my old man bias here, I like singing,
sort of can warm to some hip hop and so on.
But I really like the track, and I do really
(18:59):
admire and like some of the protest songs that you've
got on there, I bet, especially when you are singing
those kinds of songs in Aboriginal communities or predominantly Aboriginal audiences,
they must get a good response.
S4 (19:13):
Oh, they really do. Especially justice does.
S2 (19:16):
Tell us about.
S4 (19:17):
That. Uh, so justice, I wrote back when Cassius Turvey
Rest in peace, when all of that went down and
I was at a private school, and I didn't feel
that it really wasn't nice. Um, but I wrote it
in English class instead of doing my work, because what
am I really gonna do in English, frankly? Um, I
(19:40):
wasn't happy with how the school was handling it and
how the response from other teenagers in that school, and
they were going to have a memorial, but they wanted
us to stand up the front. And it kind of,
to me, felt a bit tokenistic. I don't think they
intended that, but it was very much, oh, we'll say
(20:00):
a prayer for the family. You guys come up, stand here.
If any of you know him, say something. And I
was like, hmm, that's not what I'm gonna do.
S2 (20:09):
So when you say you guys are with other indigenous kids.
Kids in the school?
S4 (20:13):
Yeah. And they tried, like to get us to meet
up and do all this stuff together, but it really
didn't work. And, like, one person was there one day
and someone else wasn't there another day. And, yeah, it
was a bit difficult to organize. So I wrote justice
while sitting in the back of an English classroom listening
to kids just talk about and go on about this thing.
(20:33):
And they weren't even being respectful about it. They kept
saying his name. And this is before we were given
permission to say Cassius's name. And they were not respecting.
And I would say, please stop. Culturally, I'm not okay
with that. And so they just kept going and going
and going. So I decided instead of getting angry, well,
I did get angry, but instead of getting angry in
the way of telling them to f off and getting
(20:56):
in trouble myself, I decided why not just write it
down in a song? And then I did more research
and I came up with, there were more people who
had died in custody, and there's always going to be
people that died in custody. But there are lots of names.
And I thought, why just leave it at one person.
When I could write it for all the people who
have suffered, and all the people who have had to
(21:16):
deal with people who have died either in custody or
from brutality or racism. So then I went, okay, how
can I put this? So I kind of pivoted it
and changed it.
S2 (21:27):
That's great. Yeah, it is a powerful song, and it does,
because we know that you're in a First Nations person
here in Australia, but it does have a resonating tone
about it.
S4 (21:37):
Yeah.
S2 (21:38):
In a universal kind of sense.
S4 (21:40):
Oh, yeah. And I'm hoping that people like internationally would
also get a message from this.
S2 (21:45):
Yeah.
S4 (21:46):
As well.
S2 (21:47):
You were recently at a big festival in the Northern Territory.
S4 (21:51):
Yeah.
S2 (21:52):
Can you tell us about that? That sound? I was
following you on social media and so forth, and I
looked and sounded amazing. What was going on up there?
What festival was that and what was your involvement there?
S4 (22:00):
So I went to the Freedom Day festival in Kalkarindji,
and it was to commemorate the walk off that they
did back in the 80s. I think it was. Yeah.
And it was Wave Hill walk off. So we all
did a walk off, but, um, it was amazing. It
was like. It was like band camp, but full of blackfellas. And, um,
(22:21):
my mum basically said, I don't know where you are
half the time. And then I just go outside and
you can just hear a guitar coming from one side
or singing from a different side, and there's always little
kids running around and someone's cooking kangaroo and someone's got
damper cooking. But it was a lot of fun. There
were people like Saltwater Band, was there teenage Lajamanu band
(22:43):
like people like Paul Kelly have done this. It's an
amazing event, but.
S2 (22:48):
Well, Paul Kelly and Kev Carmody got that story up
and running and most of us mainstream folks, that's how
we know about the walk off at Wakefield there. Yeah.
S4 (22:58):
And so this year was the I think it was
the 50 or 60 years since the walk off, next
year's since they got the land back.
S2 (23:07):
Yeah.
S4 (23:08):
So that's going to be amazing. And I've already spoken
to like my producer and my manager going, can I
get back next year? Because that was so much fun.
S2 (23:17):
That's excellent.
S4 (23:18):
Yeah.
S2 (23:19):
Um, how would you describe your music? Do you have
a particular style? Because, like I said, you're you're a singer,
but you like hip hop because you're a young and
you're and you're cool and all that, and you have
a lot of different styles. How would you describe your
style and your preferred artistic method?
S4 (23:38):
I'm not even sure because I fall across a lot
of genres. It's not really a fixed style. I like
hip hop the best, but that's just because I love, um.
I love the flow and everything. I do love writing
more lyrical stuff. Um, more melodic. Sorry. Yeah, obviously everything's lyrical. Um,
more melodic style. I couldn't really give you a specific style.
(24:02):
It's more. I reckon it's just music. It's. Yeah, it's emotional.
It is.
S2 (24:09):
It's definitely emotional. And you do bring both those aspects
of the music, which can trigger people emotionally, but the
lyrics and even the lyrics that are in in language
that is not English, you can still feel that, you know.
Tell me again the name of that Archie Roach song.
S4 (24:28):
Uh.
S2 (24:30):
Well, even when you sing those lines about the tears
fall down.
S4 (24:35):
Crying are salty, salty tears into the sea. Yeah, yeah.
S2 (24:38):
I can really feel it. You know, maybe because I
hear the words and I understand the lyrics and have
a feeling of why Archie might have wrote that. It's very,
very moving. I'm really enjoying chatting with you because I'm
a music nerd. I could chat to you for hours, but.
S4 (24:53):
Oh for sure.
S2 (24:55):
Unfortunately, we've only got such a short time now, I
kind of. Can you tell us anything major happening for you,
concert wise or gig wise, that you'd like to tell
us about this year or early next year or something?
S4 (25:06):
You might have a new album out within the next
6 to 8 months.
S2 (25:10):
Okay.
S4 (25:10):
Uh, Ah, that might be coming out.
S2 (25:13):
Um, I see that your, uh, record label is Skinny
Fish Records.
S4 (25:17):
Yeah.
S2 (25:17):
Yeah, that's really cool. So check them out, folks. Skinny
fish records. We haven't got time to go into the
depths of what that's all about. But they were involved
with Gurrumul's work, is that right?
S4 (25:27):
Yeah. For sure. And Michael Honan, his manager, is now
my new manager, so that's amazing.
S2 (25:32):
Wow. That's beautiful, that's beautiful. And tell us, where can
we find Iconics and her music.
S4 (25:38):
So Spotify, if you have TikTok, you can find me
at iconics. Same on Instagram and Facebook, YouTube music, uh, Amazon,
all the, uh, all the music sites.
S2 (25:50):
Yeah. You have some wonderful videos on YouTube. Yeah, I
really I really like those. Um, and please, people stream
the music. Sure. But if you can buy the music too,
wherever you can not. I'm not talking about Iconics here,
but for everybody, it's really important to support, um, music firstly,
(26:11):
but secondly local music. Not just Australian, but in this
case we're talking about West Australian local artists and we
love streaming music. We love having it wherever we are
and play it whenever we can, but it's for the artists.
It's good to also support in that way by buying
music and buying physical music and attending shows.
S4 (26:31):
For sure.
S2 (26:32):
And pay to go to attend to a show that's
that's always good. We probably should have to finish up soon.
Is there anything you'd like to, uh, finish up with
Iconix before we say goodbye? Is there anyone you would
like to give a shout out to or say hello to,
or whatever?
S4 (26:46):
Like you said, definitely check out my music. But also
check out Belarus music.
S2 (26:50):
Belarus.
S4 (26:51):
Very, uh, if you like emotional stuff. Her music's very emotional.
And then for like, I don't know, just enjoy music,
I guess.
S2 (27:01):
Yeah. And as I said, check out, um, anything you
can see online about the Boss Arts creative and Skinny
fish music. And I'd like to thank iconic stick coming
into the studio today and joining us. It was really
fun and interesting chat, and I've really been looking forward
to meeting Iconics and to talking with her, and it's
been really lovely and I wish you the best of
(27:23):
luck and everything you're doing. I'm looking forward to finding
out more about what's coming up early next year for sure.
S4 (27:29):
Thank you for having me.
S1 (27:39):
That concludes in Plain Sight for this week. Join us
at the same time next week on Vision Australia Radio
via Radio Digital and online at Radio.com. You can also
listen on demand by searching for In Plain Sight by
Vision Australia Radio. Wherever you get your podcasts, or ask
your smart device to play in Plain sight by Vision
(28:01):
Australia Radio. Thanks for listening.
S2 (28:03):
Thank you.
Hello and welcome to In Plain Sight, a program where
we highlight people who are making a positive impact in
the community and disability sector.
S2 (00:25):
Shining a light on those who would be otherwise hidden
in plain sight.
S1 (00:29):
And it's a pleasure to bring you these stories on
a weekly basis with you here on Vision Australia Radio.
S2 (00:35):
Hi. Thanks for being here, folks. And today we've got
a special show and I have a special guest in
the studio, Gemma. Sydney, welcome to you. Hello.
S3 (00:44):
Hey, Simon. Thank you so much for having me this week.
S2 (00:47):
Well, thanks for being here. Our normal co-host and producer,
Andrew had to go off for some personal reasons this week.
So Gemma, who is the backbone of this organisation and
I'm going to take this space to publicly thank her
for not only helping us with this program so much,
but everything she does for Vision Australia Radio, not only
(01:08):
here in Perth but across Australia Network. So thanks for
being here today Gemma.
S3 (01:13):
Thank you. Thank you, Simon, for those kind words. I
really enjoy what I do and this is a wonderful
show to work on, and I love contributing in the
way that I can. So being here in person today,
in the studio with you is an extra pleasure.
S2 (01:27):
And we've got a great show lined up today with
a beautiful, warm interview that will be coming up later
in the program. But Gemma, you wanted to tell us
some things about Vision Australia Radio and some milestones.
S3 (01:38):
Exactly. Yeah. So I've been very busy lately diving into
the archives of Vision Australia, Radio Perth, because in October
we celebrated ten years of our service. So I started
back with VA Radio in October 2015 and things were
really different. Then of course, we had to build the
radio station from the ground up. Um, we had a
(02:00):
bunch of volunteers who came from Info radio prior, which
is wonderful, and they sort of had this big groundswell,
this movement approach, Vision Australia, and they came together and
decided to open as Vision Australia, Radio Perth. As I
said in October 2015. We started off in the back
offices of WA Deaf Society, and I recall having my
job interview with the then manager and chair of the
(02:22):
volunteer committee, and we were just surrounded by all these
boxes of radio equipment. It was almost like furniture in
the room was just these boxes. It was just an
office space and would soon be transformed in the coming
weeks by the very capable hands of our broadcast technician,
Dale Simpson. So just want to send a huge shout
out to Dale. He works across tirelessly across the entire
(02:44):
radio network and does an amazing job.
S2 (02:47):
And Dale would be well known to many of our
blind and vision impaired listeners. And hello Dale. I met
Dale many years ago back in Melbourne when we were
doing a leadership program is a key component of the
blind community.
S3 (03:00):
Absolutely. And it's been really great in doing this deep
dive into our archives to reflect on all that we
have achieved in the ten years we've been Vision Australia Radio.
All the people we've known, some of whom are still
volunteering with us, which is amazing. And of course all
the varied and rich programs we put together. Simon, can
you tell me a bit about your involvement with us
(03:20):
here at the radio station and maybe what it is
you enjoy about volunteering?
S2 (03:25):
Well, what I enjoy about volunteering, especially in this role
here at Vision Australia Radio, is that I'm not compelled
to do it. Um, I was given an opportunity to
create this program when I sold the premise to the
people here at the station. I love giving back to
(03:46):
the community. Um, and I love being part of the
broader community, um, both blindness and disability community. And I
also see it as an extension of my advocacy work,
in that I am helping promote advocacy for people with
disabilities in different formats, as well as like as we'll
(04:07):
see later on in our program, helping to promote people
who are have a disability or in this case, who
are blind and in the creative spaces as well. That's
why I came up with the title In Plain Sight,
to shine a light on those who would otherwise be
hidden in plain sight, to help promote people to the
(04:30):
broader community that might not know about what's happening in
the disability sector and the disability world. To highlight ordinary
people who are doing some extraordinary things in many cases.
And I love being part of a collaborative environment, and
I love being part of a creative environment. And I
really enjoy the teamwork and the support that we get
(04:52):
here at Vision Australia Radio.
S3 (04:53):
Yeah, you say supportive. It is a really supportive crew
here and everyone you kind of meet, whether they're here
for the the live news programs or their own pre-recorded programs,
they're all part of the broader team and they love
hearing what everyone else is up to and tuning in
and then hearing it on the air. So it's a
really real pleasure to be part of this team.
S2 (05:12):
And I highly recommend to people if you're hearing this
program and either live on radio or on podcast, check
out the other podcasts that are available on Vision Australia Radio,
including my good friend Sam Richards program Studio One coming
out of the Adelaide studios there, and other Great Vision
Australia products.
S3 (05:32):
So, Simon, what have we got coming up on the
program today?
S2 (05:35):
Well, we've got a great program coming up today, but
just before we do that, I'd like to just quickly
mention a very special book launch that's happening on the
22nd of November by the wonderful Lily. Golden. Lily was
on our program a little while ago, and she is
a young person who is published her first book called blossom.
(05:56):
I'm really looking forward to going to that book launch
and supporting again, another person with a disability doing great
work in our community. But coming up in the program today,
we have a singer, a performer and an artist who
goes by the name of Iconics, And I talked to
her all about how she became the wonderful, successful artist
(06:18):
that she is today, and to tell a bit of
background behind some of her songs and her recording. And
it's a really great and warm conversation and I hope
you enjoy it. Here it is now. We have a
really special guest, someone I've been wanting to get in
the studio for a very long time. I've been following
her progress and her progression as an artist, a singer
(06:39):
and a performer, and it's a delight to have Iconix
in the studio with us today. Hi, Iconix.
S4 (06:44):
Hi. Thank you for having me.
S2 (06:46):
I'll start with one basic thing first. How old are.
S4 (06:49):
You? I'm 17 at the moment. I'm about to turn
18 in like 11 days. Almost.
S2 (06:55):
Well, happy birthday for that good one. I've read somewhere.
You originally from the East Kimberley. Is that right?
S4 (07:00):
Yes. So my mom's side is from the Kukatja people
in the eastern Kimberley. And then my dad is from
the Pintupi people just out of Alice Springs and all
through the central desert.
S2 (07:12):
Can you say those names again for us, please, a
bit slower.
S4 (07:15):
Sure. So Kolkata is my mum and Pinta is my dad.
S2 (07:20):
So for those who are who aren't familiar with those areas,
language groups whereabouts would that be? What closest towns or
areas would that be closest to?
S4 (07:28):
Oh, so Kolkata is closer to around Halls Creek, and
then out of there into Balgo and Mullan and all
of those little communities out there. Pintupi is Kiwirrkura, Kintore,
a little bit into Alice and all through there.
S2 (07:46):
Yeah, in the inland.
S4 (07:47):
Yeah.
S2 (07:48):
So Balgo, I've heard of that. There's, there was a
big mission there, wasn't there?
S4 (07:52):
I think so.
S2 (07:53):
Yeah, right. I'll have to get this out of the way,
because I am really bad at pronouncing and saying non-English words,
be them Italian, Greek or even Chinese. People think I
have a Chinese name. I should be able to speak Chinese.
I can't folks. Sorry about that. Um, so you'll have
to help me and feel free to correct me if
I ever say any of the words wrong. Being that
(08:15):
we are on Vision Australia Radio. Can you tell us
also the nature of your eye condition please?
S4 (08:21):
So I am completely blind and I have two prosthetic eyes.
S2 (08:25):
What caused that?
S4 (08:26):
I had retinoblastoma.
S2 (08:28):
Retinoblastoma?
S4 (08:29):
Yes. When I was tiny.
S2 (08:30):
Oddly quite common.
S4 (08:32):
Yeah. It's more common than I expected.
S2 (08:35):
It might be common from my point of view, because
I've been in and around the blindness community since I
was a kid. I was diagnosed with being vision impaired
at the age of 18. Oh, yeah. And one of
my best friends for a very long time until he
passed away. His name was David Regan. He was a
musician also, and he had that condition. And it was
basically cancer that affects the eyes. Yeah. And our mutual
(08:58):
friend Ryan.
S4 (08:59):
Oh, yeah.
S2 (09:00):
He has that as well. Yeah, yeah. So you're born
with that, and your eyes have to be removed because
of the cancer?
S4 (09:05):
Yeah.
S2 (09:06):
Yeah, yeah. And, um, you were saying you're from up
north up in the East Kimberley areas and that. So
when did you come down to Perth?
S4 (09:14):
14 to 18 months. I can never get the numbers
right and I'm probably going to get these wrong anyway. Um,
but I came down.
S2 (09:20):
When you were a small.
S4 (09:21):
Child. When I was a very small child. Yes. And
then I go back for holidays. But I've built a
life down here, so.
S2 (09:26):
Yeah, yeah, yeah.
S4 (09:27):
I've got all my music down here. So I'm really
psyched to live down here, even though it's cold.
S2 (09:32):
It is. Now we're going to be talking mostly about
your music and how you got there and all that.
I believe you've just come back from Sydney. Is that right?
S4 (09:41):
Yes, but I'm not allowed to talk about that.
S2 (09:44):
Okay.
S4 (09:45):
Till you're gonna find out all about that in March.
That's all I can say.
S2 (09:49):
All right. I wondered about that. It's. It's often the case. Uh,
that sounds really interesting. So. Yeah. Keep us informed of
what's going on there.
S4 (09:57):
Definitely.
S2 (09:58):
Now, earlier this year, you launched your first full size
album called Black on Track. Is that what it's called?
S4 (10:05):
Yes.
S2 (10:06):
Now, one thing I noticed with that being vision impaired myself,
I don't often see the written word it's spelt in
what I would refer to as like pidgin English.
S4 (10:16):
Yeah.
S2 (10:16):
So just for those who haven't seen it, can you
spell those terms for us?
S4 (10:20):
So he black on track is black on track?
S2 (10:25):
Yeah. I had the same issue when I saw the
title of the film Brand New Day.
S4 (10:31):
Oh.
S2 (10:32):
And I hadn't seen it written and I was looking
up the TV guide. It was on TV. Yeah. Oh,
it's spelt like that.
S4 (10:40):
Not the way I don't think I've seen it written.
How's it spelt?
S2 (10:43):
It's spelt in a similar way. Yeah. In a, in
a sort of pidgin English type of way. Like de
for instance. Da.
S4 (10:49):
Oh.
S2 (10:50):
Brand is just b r a n or something like that.
S4 (10:53):
Nice.
S2 (10:54):
Yeah, yeah, yeah. I went to your single launch, your
album launch earlier this year, and it was a really
fabulous event. You were headlining, and I was really impressed
with some of the other artists that were appearing. And
I've since followed one of the other young women that
were there. I think she was a Torres Strait Islander.
S4 (11:14):
Oh, Bella.
S2 (11:15):
Bella. Yeah, she's really cool. She's.
S4 (11:17):
She's amazing.
S2 (11:19):
But I was really interested in the bus arts collective
that you're part of there. Oh, yeah. Can you tell
us a little bit about that?
S4 (11:26):
So they're a non-for-profit organization that originally started as Boss Music,
and it was run by Charlie Caruso. And then it
built into this bigger organization, which is now Boss Creative,
which is singing, dancing and acting. And it's run out
of studio in Wapa or one of the amphitheater rooms.
(11:47):
And so that's every Thursday we go down there and
we do. Oh, well, right now we're they're preparing for
War Dundee, which is a big corroboree. But throughout the
year we'll work on nadoc stuff. So there's always dancers
doing things. There's always singers doing different things. Uh, and
sometimes we'll have a bunch of us just go in
there for singing, a bunch of us doing acting, we
(12:10):
do monologues and all these different things. But, um, it
originally started back for maybe 8 or 9 years ago,
and it was really small back then, but it's grown
into this massive big thing now.
S2 (12:23):
And it's for children and young people. Is that right?
S4 (12:26):
It's mainly for young people, but there are people of
all ages there, mainly for indigenous people. Yeah, yeah yeah yeah.
S2 (12:33):
Cool. Now you launched with the cover of Archie Roach's song.
What's the name of that track you did.
S4 (12:42):
Julia Wong.
S2 (12:43):
Wong. Wong. Yeah. I found that to be not only
beautiful and powerful, but fascinating interpretation of that song. And
you perform it so soulfully. Um, can you tell us
about how you chose that song and a little bit
(13:03):
of story behind getting involved with that?
S4 (13:06):
So originally, I remember this song my singing teacher had
pitched to me years ago, and back then I was
a bit more into Justin Bieber, so it was a
bit like, ah, nah, we'll do something else for now. Um,
and then I decided I might as well mess around
with it a little, but it was a bit too
acoustic for me. So my singing teacher, who is Charly
(13:29):
Caruso from Boss Arts, she and I got into the
studio and she helped me build up my own version.
So we got some synths, we have got a bass
and it literally all started as a synth and bass track.
And then when we sent it to one of my producers,
he built it into the massive, soulful thing it is now.
(13:49):
And then they'd put me in the studio and we
recorded it, and then they sent it to Uncle Archie,
literally two weeks before he passed away, and he gave
me permission to officially release that on my album when
it came out. And I think he also gave me
permission to like, do some more of his music as well.
So I'm trying to figure out which one of his
songs I want to do next.
S2 (14:10):
Well, he's always seems to be such a generous person
in every indigenous performer I've ever heard. Interviewed always gives
tribute to him and his generosity.
S4 (14:19):
Yeah. For sure.
S2 (14:21):
You met some of his family? Yeah.
S4 (14:22):
I've met his wife, Ruby Hunter's family, and they live
in South Australia. When I go across to see family
over there. I've got a standing invitation to go and
have a cup of tea with them. Sit down. Um,
and I played that for them, but I played the
original on a guitar, and then I played the version
that I'd recorded. They loved both of those, so. And
(14:45):
that's two of her brothers and her sister in law. Well,
who are they? Yeah.
S2 (14:49):
So it's just like the stories I hear. You're going
over there and sitting at their kitchen table and sharing
a cup of tea. So that must have been a
great honour to it. Was to have that nod given
to you.
S4 (15:01):
Oh, definitely.
S2 (15:03):
On that album as well. You also do a track.
Is that.
S4 (15:07):
Right? Yes I do.
S2 (15:08):
What's the name of that track?
S4 (15:09):
Uh, it's called Baru and it's about a saltwater crocodile.
S2 (15:13):
That sung in their language, isn't.
S4 (15:14):
It? Yeah.
S2 (15:16):
Yeah. Because they're from the land, aren't they?
S4 (15:19):
Yeah. Arnhem land.
S2 (15:20):
Is it correct to say that they're related to the
Yothu Yindi?
S4 (15:25):
Yes, that is them.
S2 (15:27):
Yeah. That's an amazing family. And it's Baker Boy also
connected with that.
S4 (15:31):
I think so. I believe so. I need to research that.
S2 (15:36):
Yeah, yeah. Nice.
S3 (15:38):
You're listening to In Plain Sight on Vision Australia Radio.
This week, Simon Chong is speaking to Iconix, a young
artist from the East Kimberley who is a passionate songwriter,
multi-instrumentalist and producer with family roots in Kukolja and Pintupi
people who now lives on Wadjuk Noongar, Abuja in Perth.
Iconix won two awards at the 2025 song of the
(16:01):
year for Outstanding Indigenous and Act Belong commit categories for
her song Black on Track. So now it's over to
Simon and Iconix.
S2 (16:12):
I've heard that you have always been involved with music
since you were a little kid.
S4 (16:16):
Yeah, it originally started with a little pack of those
bells you can buy at Kmart or like little music stores.
And that's how they found out. I had perfect pitch
because they told me what colors the bells were, and
then they would play the bell and they'd make me
identify what that was. And it was literally just a
scale of C to C, and then they'd start playing
two at the same time, then three at the same time,
(16:38):
and then it went from name the color to find
the bells. Find the exact ones. Oh, yeah. Um, and
that's how they found out I had perfect pitch. And
then they decided, you know what? Why not cultivate that?
And they gave me piano lessons for about 11 years.
S2 (16:51):
Okay.
S4 (16:52):
Yeah.
S2 (16:53):
So you play several instruments, is that right?
S4 (16:55):
Yes. I've played the piano for 12 years now. Uh,
I stopped lessons last year, uh, because I started a
new school, and I was focused on my studies. I
play guitar for the last seven years. I started when
I was ten, and I had lessons for two years,
and then I'm a vocalist and then I'd like to
say I play drums, but I think everyone can play drums.
(17:16):
You just need sticks and start whacking something.
S2 (17:19):
Oh no, that's not true. If I started whacking drums,
it would just sound horrible noise.
S4 (17:23):
Oh, well, you need some sort of rhythm. Um, I
can play a little bit of drums then. And then
I have these hand-carved, uh, flutes that I play, and
they're wooden, and they sound really pretty. And they're ones
Native American, and one is South American. Well, Native South American,
but they both sound very pretty.
S2 (17:44):
Where, where and how did you get those?
S4 (17:46):
Uh, so one's from Melbourne Music Store, but I met
a lady who had, uh, one and I, uh, the
Native American one, and I thought it sounded really pretty,
so I bought one for myself. And then the other one,
my principal has a contact in non-GAAP or Northam or
one of them. And she said, I can help you
(18:09):
get in contact. I can help you organize all of
all this. So then it cost me about $900, but
it was $900 well spent. It's really pretty.
S2 (18:18):
So it's wooden?
S4 (18:19):
Yes. All hand-carved. And then the man who made it
has made intricate carvings on onto the flute. He made
mine look like a dream catcher, but he's made it
very raised and very tactile, so I can feel everything.
So that's really cool.
S2 (18:34):
That's wonderful.
S4 (18:35):
It's amazing.
S2 (18:36):
So that's an interesting point, because even on your album, uh,
black on Track, it has such a variety of music. Now,
I must admit, my old man bias here, I like singing,
sort of can warm to some hip hop and so on.
But I really like the track, and I do really
(18:59):
admire and like some of the protest songs that you've
got on there, I bet, especially when you are singing
those kinds of songs in Aboriginal communities or predominantly Aboriginal audiences,
they must get a good response.
S4 (19:13):
Oh, they really do. Especially justice does.
S2 (19:16):
Tell us about.
S4 (19:17):
That. Uh, so justice, I wrote back when Cassius Turvey
Rest in peace, when all of that went down and
I was at a private school, and I didn't feel
that it really wasn't nice. Um, but I wrote it
in English class instead of doing my work, because what
am I really gonna do in English, frankly? Um, I
(19:40):
wasn't happy with how the school was handling it and
how the response from other teenagers in that school, and
they were going to have a memorial, but they wanted
us to stand up the front. And it kind of,
to me, felt a bit tokenistic. I don't think they
intended that, but it was very much, oh, we'll say
(20:00):
a prayer for the family. You guys come up, stand here.
If any of you know him, say something. And I
was like, hmm, that's not what I'm gonna do.
S2 (20:09):
So when you say you guys are with other indigenous kids.
Kids in the school?
S4 (20:13):
Yeah. And they tried, like to get us to meet
up and do all this stuff together, but it really
didn't work. And, like, one person was there one day
and someone else wasn't there another day. And, yeah, it
was a bit difficult to organize. So I wrote justice
while sitting in the back of an English classroom listening
to kids just talk about and go on about this thing.
(20:33):
And they weren't even being respectful about it. They kept
saying his name. And this is before we were given
permission to say Cassius's name. And they were not respecting.
And I would say, please stop. Culturally, I'm not okay
with that. And so they just kept going and going
and going. So I decided instead of getting angry, well,
I did get angry, but instead of getting angry in
the way of telling them to f off and getting
(20:56):
in trouble myself, I decided why not just write it
down in a song? And then I did more research
and I came up with, there were more people who
had died in custody, and there's always going to be
people that died in custody. But there are lots of names.
And I thought, why just leave it at one person.
When I could write it for all the people who
have suffered, and all the people who have had to
(21:16):
deal with people who have died either in custody or
from brutality or racism. So then I went, okay, how
can I put this? So I kind of pivoted it
and changed it.
S2 (21:27):
That's great. Yeah, it is a powerful song, and it does,
because we know that you're in a First Nations person
here in Australia, but it does have a resonating tone
about it.
S4 (21:37):
Yeah.
S2 (21:38):
In a universal kind of sense.
S4 (21:40):
Oh, yeah. And I'm hoping that people like internationally would
also get a message from this.
S2 (21:45):
Yeah.
S4 (21:46):
As well.
S2 (21:47):
You were recently at a big festival in the Northern Territory.
S4 (21:51):
Yeah.
S2 (21:52):
Can you tell us about that? That sound? I was
following you on social media and so forth, and I
looked and sounded amazing. What was going on up there?
What festival was that and what was your involvement there?
S4 (22:00):
So I went to the Freedom Day festival in Kalkarindji,
and it was to commemorate the walk off that they
did back in the 80s. I think it was. Yeah.
And it was Wave Hill walk off. So we all
did a walk off, but, um, it was amazing. It
was like. It was like band camp, but full of blackfellas. And, um,
(22:21):
my mum basically said, I don't know where you are
half the time. And then I just go outside and
you can just hear a guitar coming from one side
or singing from a different side, and there's always little
kids running around and someone's cooking kangaroo and someone's got
damper cooking. But it was a lot of fun. There
were people like Saltwater Band, was there teenage Lajamanu band
(22:43):
like people like Paul Kelly have done this. It's an
amazing event, but.
S2 (22:48):
Well, Paul Kelly and Kev Carmody got that story up
and running and most of us mainstream folks, that's how
we know about the walk off at Wakefield there. Yeah.
S4 (22:58):
And so this year was the I think it was
the 50 or 60 years since the walk off, next
year's since they got the land back.
S2 (23:07):
Yeah.
S4 (23:08):
So that's going to be amazing. And I've already spoken
to like my producer and my manager going, can I
get back next year? Because that was so much fun.
S2 (23:17):
That's excellent.
S4 (23:18):
Yeah.
S2 (23:19):
Um, how would you describe your music? Do you have
a particular style? Because, like I said, you're you're a singer,
but you like hip hop because you're a young and
you're and you're cool and all that, and you have
a lot of different styles. How would you describe your
style and your preferred artistic method?
S4 (23:38):
I'm not even sure because I fall across a lot
of genres. It's not really a fixed style. I like
hip hop the best, but that's just because I love, um.
I love the flow and everything. I do love writing
more lyrical stuff. Um, more melodic. Sorry. Yeah, obviously everything's lyrical. Um,
more melodic style. I couldn't really give you a specific style.
(24:02):
It's more. I reckon it's just music. It's. Yeah, it's emotional.
It is.
S2 (24:09):
It's definitely emotional. And you do bring both those aspects
of the music, which can trigger people emotionally, but the
lyrics and even the lyrics that are in in language
that is not English, you can still feel that, you know.
Tell me again the name of that Archie Roach song.
S4 (24:28):
Uh.
S2 (24:30):
Well, even when you sing those lines about the tears
fall down.
S4 (24:35):
Crying are salty, salty tears into the sea. Yeah, yeah.
S2 (24:38):
I can really feel it. You know, maybe because I
hear the words and I understand the lyrics and have
a feeling of why Archie might have wrote that. It's very,
very moving. I'm really enjoying chatting with you because I'm
a music nerd. I could chat to you for hours, but.
S4 (24:53):
Oh for sure.
S2 (24:55):
Unfortunately, we've only got such a short time now, I
kind of. Can you tell us anything major happening for you,
concert wise or gig wise, that you'd like to tell
us about this year or early next year or something?
S4 (25:06):
You might have a new album out within the next
6 to 8 months.
S2 (25:10):
Okay.
S4 (25:10):
Uh, Ah, that might be coming out.
S2 (25:13):
Um, I see that your, uh, record label is Skinny
Fish Records.
S4 (25:17):
Yeah.
S2 (25:17):
Yeah, that's really cool. So check them out, folks. Skinny
fish records. We haven't got time to go into the
depths of what that's all about. But they were involved
with Gurrumul's work, is that right?
S4 (25:27):
Yeah. For sure. And Michael Honan, his manager, is now
my new manager, so that's amazing.
S2 (25:32):
Wow. That's beautiful, that's beautiful. And tell us, where can
we find Iconics and her music.
S4 (25:38):
So Spotify, if you have TikTok, you can find me
at iconics. Same on Instagram and Facebook, YouTube music, uh, Amazon,
all the, uh, all the music sites.
S2 (25:50):
Yeah. You have some wonderful videos on YouTube. Yeah, I
really I really like those. Um, and please, people stream
the music. Sure. But if you can buy the music too,
wherever you can not. I'm not talking about Iconics here,
but for everybody, it's really important to support, um, music firstly,
(26:11):
but secondly local music. Not just Australian, but in this
case we're talking about West Australian local artists and we
love streaming music. We love having it wherever we are
and play it whenever we can, but it's for the artists.
It's good to also support in that way by buying
music and buying physical music and attending shows.
S4 (26:31):
For sure.
S2 (26:32):
And pay to go to attend to a show that's
that's always good. We probably should have to finish up soon.
Is there anything you'd like to, uh, finish up with
Iconix before we say goodbye? Is there anyone you would
like to give a shout out to or say hello to,
or whatever?
S4 (26:46):
Like you said, definitely check out my music. But also
check out Belarus music.
S2 (26:50):
Belarus.
S4 (26:51):
Very, uh, if you like emotional stuff. Her music's very emotional.
And then for like, I don't know, just enjoy music,
I guess.
S2 (27:01):
Yeah. And as I said, check out, um, anything you
can see online about the Boss Arts creative and Skinny
fish music. And I'd like to thank iconic stick coming
into the studio today and joining us. It was really
fun and interesting chat, and I've really been looking forward
to meeting Iconics and to talking with her, and it's
been really lovely and I wish you the best of
(27:23):
luck and everything you're doing. I'm looking forward to finding
out more about what's coming up early next year for sure.
S4 (27:29):
Thank you for having me.
S1 (27:39):
That concludes in Plain Sight for this week. Join us
at the same time next week on Vision Australia Radio
via Radio Digital and online at Radio.com. You can also
listen on demand by searching for In Plain Sight by
Vision Australia Radio. Wherever you get your podcasts, or ask
your smart device to play in Plain sight by Vision
(28:01):
Australia Radio. Thanks for listening.
S2 (28:03):
Thank you.
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