Shellie Morris
Encyclopedia
Shellie Morris is an Australian (Aboriginal) indigenous singer/songwriter who plays a mix of contemporary folk music
and contemporary acoustic ballads. She was raised in Sydney
and began singing at an early age. In the 1990s Morris moved to Darwin
, Northern Territory to find her Indigenous family.
She toured with Yothu Yindi
in 2001 and also performed with Neil Murray
from the Warumpi Band
. In 2002 Shellie Morris wrote the music to the play "To the inland sea" inspired by Charles Sturt
's 19th Century journey to discover the mythical inland sea in the center of Australia. Morris was named best female musician at the 2004 and 2005 Northern Territory Indigenous Music Awards and her album Waiting Road produced by Glen Heald
was nominated for Album of the Year at the 2007 Deadly
Awards. She has been featured nationally on two episodes of ABC TV
's Message Stick program, Shellie Morris Swept Away and Shellie Morris In Concert. Shellie also was on the SBS show Rockwiz and once again performed "Swept Away" and also performed a unique version of "Louis Louie" with Ross Wilson.
Shellie Morris works with Indigenous / aboriginal communities and youth throughout Australia helping aboriginal people to write music about their stories and experiences. She has worked in over fifty Indigenous Communities and is an ambassador for the Fred Hollows Foundation (an organisation undertaking blindness prevention in Australian aboriginal communities, Asia, Africa and the Pacific) and an ambassador for The Jimmy Little Foundation (established to help improve kidney health in Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities).
Morris is currently a featured Aboriginal singer with the Black Arm Band
. (A collaboration of Australia’s top indigenous artists and jazz musicians including artists such as Archie Roach
) Her song "Swept Away" was orchestrated and performed in 2008 with the Melbourne Symphony Orchestra
. In 2009 Shellie Morris performed at the Sydney Opera house with world renowned aboriginal musician Gurrumul Yunupingu. Morris also performed and co-wrote the music Liberty Songs with Australian guitarist Glen Heald
, a collaboration between refugees from Liberia and indigenous Australian female singers. In 2010 Shellie performed her song "Swept Away" at the opening of the Winter Olympics in Vancouver with the Black Arm Band. In 2011 Morris sang alongside the international music stars Sinéad O'Connor
, John Cale
, Meshell Ndegeocello, Rickie Lee Jones
and aboriginal singer Gurrumul Yunupingu for the show 7 Songs to Leave Behind. Shellie Morris was featured in the Australian film 'Murundak - Songs of freedom' (a feature documentary on Aboriginal protest music following The Black Arm Band From the concert halls of the Sydney Opera House to remote Aboriginal communities of the Northern Territory.)
In 2011 Shellie Morris was chosen by the famous Brazilian singer Gilberto Gil
to be included in his film "Connecting South" a transnational voyage of the southern hemisphere that takes Gilberto across the Australian Outback to inner-city Johannesburg and Soweto and on to the Amazon forests. Directed by Pierre-Yves Borgeaud
.
“The film explores different aspects of the relations between countries of the southern hemisphere,” Gil says.
Compilation appearances
Folk music
Folk music is an English term encompassing both traditional folk music and contemporary folk music. The term originated in the 19th century. Traditional folk music has been defined in several ways: as music transmitted by mouth, as music of the lower classes, and as music with unknown composers....
and contemporary acoustic ballads. She was raised in Sydney
Sydney
Sydney is the most populous city in Australia and the state capital of New South Wales. Sydney is located on Australia's south-east coast of the Tasman Sea. As of June 2010, the greater metropolitan area had an approximate population of 4.6 million people...
and began singing at an early age. In the 1990s Morris moved to Darwin
Darwin, Northern Territory
Darwin is the capital city of the Northern Territory, Australia. Situated on the Timor Sea, Darwin has a population of 127,500, making it by far the largest and most populated city in the sparsely populated Northern Territory, but the least populous of all Australia's capital cities...
, Northern Territory to find her Indigenous family.
She toured with Yothu Yindi
Yothu Yindi
Yothu Yindi are an Australian band with Aboriginal and balanda members formed in 1986. Aboriginal members come from Yolngu homelands near Yirrkala on the Gove Peninsula in Northern Territory's Arnhem Land...
in 2001 and also performed with Neil Murray
Neil Murray
Neil Murray may refer to:*Neil Murray , British musician who has played bass for a number of notable rock bands*Neil Murray , Australian singer/songwriter who has worked solo and as a member of the Warumpi Band...
from the Warumpi Band
Warumpi Band
The Warumpi Band is an Australian band from the bush, coming from Papunya, Northern Territory, Australia.The band was formed in 1980 by Neil Murray, a Victorian "whitefella" working in the region as a schoolteacher and labourer, George Burarrwanga, from Elcho Island, and local boys Gordon and...
. In 2002 Shellie Morris wrote the music to the play "To the inland sea" inspired by Charles Sturt
Charles Sturt
Captain Charles Napier Sturt was an English explorer of Australia, and part of the European Exploration of Australia. He led several expeditions into the interior of the continent, starting from both Sydney and later from Adelaide. His expeditions traced several of the westward-flowing rivers,...
's 19th Century journey to discover the mythical inland sea in the center of Australia. Morris was named best female musician at the 2004 and 2005 Northern Territory Indigenous Music Awards and her album Waiting Road produced by Glen Heald
Glen Heald
Glen Heald is an Australian guitarist, songwriter and producer. Studied Jazz at the University of Tasmania. In 1992 established the first fully contemporary Australian music course in Darwin N.T. 2001-2011 performed with the Australian Aboriginal singer songwriter Shellie Morris recording and...
was nominated for Album of the Year at the 2007 Deadly
The Deadlys
The Deadlys are an annual celebration of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander achievement in music, sport, entertainment and community. Vibe Australia hosts the awards, which for have been held at the Sydney Opera House since 2001. The first Deadly awards were held in 1995...
Awards. She has been featured nationally on two episodes of ABC TV
ABC Television
ABC Television is a service of the Australian Broadcasting Corporation launched in 1956. As a public broadcasting broadcaster, the ABC provides four non-commercial channels within Australia, and a partially advertising-funded satellite channel overseas....
's Message Stick program, Shellie Morris Swept Away and Shellie Morris In Concert. Shellie also was on the SBS show Rockwiz and once again performed "Swept Away" and also performed a unique version of "Louis Louie" with Ross Wilson.
Shellie Morris works with Indigenous / aboriginal communities and youth throughout Australia helping aboriginal people to write music about their stories and experiences. She has worked in over fifty Indigenous Communities and is an ambassador for the Fred Hollows Foundation (an organisation undertaking blindness prevention in Australian aboriginal communities, Asia, Africa and the Pacific) and an ambassador for The Jimmy Little Foundation (established to help improve kidney health in Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities).
Morris is currently a featured Aboriginal singer with the Black Arm Band
The Black Arm Band
The Black Arm Band is a collection of some of Australia's premier Indigeous musicians. The band, conceived by Artistic Director Steven Richardson, was brought together "to perform, promote and celebrate contempary Australian Indigenous music". Members come from all over the country and have diverse...
. (A collaboration of Australia’s top indigenous artists and jazz musicians including artists such as Archie Roach
Archie Roach
Archie Roach is an Australian musician. A singer, songwriter and guitarist, he survived a turbulent upbringing to develop into a powerful voice for Indigenous Australians, a storyteller in the tradition of his ancestors, and a nationally popular and respected artist.- Biography :In his own words,...
) Her song "Swept Away" was orchestrated and performed in 2008 with the Melbourne Symphony Orchestra
Melbourne Symphony Orchestra
The Melbourne Symphony Orchestra is an orchestra based in Melbourne, Australia. It has 100 permanent musicians. Melbourne has the longest continuous history of orchestral music of any Australian city and the MSO is the oldest professional orchestra in Australia...
. In 2009 Shellie Morris performed at the Sydney Opera house with world renowned aboriginal musician Gurrumul Yunupingu. Morris also performed and co-wrote the music Liberty Songs with Australian guitarist Glen Heald
Glen Heald
Glen Heald is an Australian guitarist, songwriter and producer. Studied Jazz at the University of Tasmania. In 1992 established the first fully contemporary Australian music course in Darwin N.T. 2001-2011 performed with the Australian Aboriginal singer songwriter Shellie Morris recording and...
, a collaboration between refugees from Liberia and indigenous Australian female singers. In 2010 Shellie performed her song "Swept Away" at the opening of the Winter Olympics in Vancouver with the Black Arm Band. In 2011 Morris sang alongside the international music stars Sinéad O'Connor
Sinéad O'Connor
Sinéad Marie Bernadette O'Connor is an Irish singer-songwriter. She rose to fame in the late 1980s with her debut album The Lion and the Cobra and achieved worldwide success in 1990 with a cover of the song "Nothing Compares 2 U"....
, John Cale
John Cale
John Davies Cale, OBE is a Welsh musician, composer, singer-songwriter and record producer who was a founding member of the experimental rock band The Velvet Underground....
, Meshell Ndegeocello, Rickie Lee Jones
Rickie Lee Jones
Rickie Lee Jones is an American vocalist, musician, songwriter, and producer. Over the course of a three-decade career, Jones has recorded in various musical styles including rock, R&B, blues, pop, soul, and jazz standards.-Childhood:...
and aboriginal singer Gurrumul Yunupingu for the show 7 Songs to Leave Behind. Shellie Morris was featured in the Australian film 'Murundak - Songs of freedom' (a feature documentary on Aboriginal protest music following The Black Arm Band From the concert halls of the Sydney Opera House to remote Aboriginal communities of the Northern Territory.)
In 2011 Shellie Morris was chosen by the famous Brazilian singer Gilberto Gil
Gilberto Gil
Gilberto Passos Gil Moreira , better known as Gilberto Gil or , is a Brazilian singer, guitarist, and songwriter, known for both his musical innovation and political commitment...
to be included in his film "Connecting South" a transnational voyage of the southern hemisphere that takes Gilberto across the Australian Outback to inner-city Johannesburg and Soweto and on to the Amazon forests. Directed by Pierre-Yves Borgeaud
Pierre-Yves Borgeaud
-Biography:Born August 25, 1963 in Monthey, Switzerland, Pierre-Yves Borgeaud has a bachelor’s degree in arts at the Lausanne University in 1990, with a thesis about the influence of jazz on French writers . He has worked as an independent journalist, writing about music and moving images in...
.
“The film explores different aspects of the relations between countries of the southern hemisphere,” Gil says.
Discography
- Shellie Morris (2000)
- Waiting Road (2007)
Compilation appearances
- Murundak-The Black Arm Band (2006)
- Hidden Republic-The Black Arm Band (2008)
- Cry Stolen (2007)
- Aboriginal Soul (2009)
External links
- Shellie Morris official website
- Shellie Morris website for Aboriginal children's workshops music
- ABC. Life Matters Feature Interview & Music: Shellie Morris
- Black Arm Band bio