Emma Donovan

Early life, education

Emma Donovan was born in 1981 in Liverpool, Australia, a suburb of Sydney. Her father, Neville Councillor, is from Geraldton in Western Australia, and he's of Naaguja and Yamatji heritage. Her mother, Agnes Donovan, is a Gumbainggir/Danggali woman from the Nambucca Valley on the north coast of New South Wales, where Emma was raised.

Donovan's musical singing career started at a young age. Her grandparents Micko and Aileen Donovan, years before her birth, founded the Aboriginal country band The Donovans, which consisted of their five sons and daughter Agnes singing at local events. Emma's uncles still perform as the Donovan Brothers band. At the age of seven, Emma began periodically singing with the Donovans. Her family and mother Agnes encouraged and supported her singing, Agnes taking her to talent competitions around the country. Agnes also helped developed Aboriginal showcases at the Tamworth Country Music Festival in the late 1990s, which Emma took part in.

Emma's family moved frequently, and she attended multiple schools in New South Wales and WA, with an extended time spent at North Newtown Primary. In 1997, at age sixteen, Donovan was studying contemporary music at the Eora College for Performing Arts in Chippendale, New South Wales. The school was founded to provide educations for Indigenous students. She began branching out from country music, exploring reggae and R&B as well.

Stiff Gins

In late 1999, Donovan formed the vocal acoustic band Stiff Gins with Nardi Simpson and Kaleena Briggs after meeting at the Eora College. They released their first EP, Soh Fa, on Sony Records in 2000. Donovan co-wrote their second release, the full album Origins. The album won the 2000 Deadly Award for Most Promising New Talent. Their single "Morning Star" won the Deadly's Best Single Release in 2001. After touring both nationally and internationally, Donovan left the group in 2003 to work on solo material with industry professionals.

Changes (2004)

Donovan released her debut solo album Changes in 2004. The Sydney launch of the album was well received. The style was a blend of soul, gospel, and reggae, with country undertones. In 2005, Donovan embarked on an Australian tour to promote the album.

Some of her popular singles from the album were included on Indigenous compilations; "Koori Time" was included on the Sending a Message album put out by ABC, and "Gumbayngirr Lady" was included on the Fresh Salt compilation. The album made radio playlists throughout Australia, including the Qantas Inflight radio station, which added the single "Changes" into regular rotation. In 2007, Wendy Martin of the Sydney Opera House stated: "Emma is one of the most requested artists on Koori Radio 93.7FM since the release of her CD Changes, and is fast becoming one of the most popular live performers in Sydney."

"Changes" was released as a single on 15 February 2010 on MGM. A music video for the single was shot in Donovan's home region of Nambucca and released in May 2010.

In 2006, Donovan went into the studio to record three songs with longtime writing partner Yanya Boston, a drummer she had met while performing with the Stiff Gins. She also worked with Rob Wolf and Adam Ventoura. Among the songs were "Lonely" and "He's Just A Kid." At the time she was a participant in the Music NSW industry program Which Way.

The Black Arm Band

Donovan was invited to become the youngest member of The Black Arm Band in 2007. The travelling group performed a stage musical called Murundak/Alive – The Black Arm Band, which reproduced iconic songs of the Aboriginal resistance movement. The show toured England and Canada to great acclaim. The cast consists of a rotating line-up of Australian indigenous musicians, and in 2007 murundak won the Helpmann Award for Best Contemporary Music Concert for murundak.

Ngarraanga (2009)

Simultaneously while working on murundaki in 2007, Donovan was working on more of her own material with drummer Yanya Boston. The pair co-wrote the single "Ngarranga – Remember", intended as a prayer to acknowledge the Stolen Generations experience. It was initially released on the Kimberly Stolen Generation Corporation's 2007 compilation CD Cry Stolen.

By April 2008, Donovan was working with industry veteran Vicki Gordon of VGM Media and Marketing. Together they created a gospel remix of the single "Ngarranga – Remember," along with four other songs to create a 5 track EP. The EP, Ngarraanga (Remember), or Ngarraanga Ngiinundi Yuludarra (Remember Your Dreaming), is intended as a tribute to the Stolen Generations. The songs include Donovan's traditional language, as well as spoken words from her Uncle Harry Buchanan and backing vocals from Gary Pinto and Juanita Tippins. The EP was released by MGM on National Sorry Day on 26 May 2009. A music video to accompany the "Ngarranga" single was filmed at Carriageworks performance space in Redfern, New South Wales, starring Donovan and Torres Strait Islander dancer Albert David. It is interwoven with archival footage.

Touring

Emma Donovan has toured extensively in her home country and abroad, with groups as well as with her own material and backing band. In 2004 she toured in Greece for the Indigenous Australia Now exhibition prior to the 2004 Olympics. That year she also performed at the 10th Festival of Pacific Arts in Palau. In 2006 she performed at the Perth Festival of the Arts, the Australian Performing Arts market in Adelaide, the Waitangi Day Ceremony in New Zealand, The Dreaming Festival in Queensland, and a short tour to Paris. In 2007 she performed at the WOMADELAIDE festival, various festivals in Melbourne, and the Sydney Opera House with the Melbourne Symphony Orchestra. She has also performed her solo material at the Royal Festival Hall and London, Musee de Quai Branli in Paris, the Benaki Museum in Athens, the Tjibaou Cultural Centre in New Caledonia, the Treaty Grounds of Waitangi in New Zealand, and the 2010 Winter Olympics in Vancouver.

She has sung with and performed with indigenous Australian musicians such as Frank Yamma, her cousin Casey Donovan, Archie Roach and Ruby Hunter, Kerriane Cox, Christine Anu, Tiddas, Yothu Yindi, and Jimmy Little. She has also performed with Paul Kelly, Ursula Yovich, and Shellie Morris.

Documentaries

Donovan has appeared in or been featured in a handful of documentaries. The documentary Gumbayngirr Lady featured Donovan, and was filmed and aired by the Special Broadcasting Service in 2004 as part of their BLAKTRAX series. The hour-long film followed Donovan to her home region of Macksville, New South Wales. In 2005 she appeared in the ABC series Dynasties (episode 5), which was filmed on location in Woodford, Queensland while she was performing at the Dreaming Festival.

Awards

In 2003 Donovan was nominated for Female Artist of the Year at The Deadlys, which was held at the Sydney Opera House. The next year she performed at the Deadly Awards, as well as at the opening of the 2004 Olympic Torch Relay. She was again nominated for a Deadly Award in 2005.

She won Best Female Artist and her single "Ngarraanga" won Best R&B Single at the inaugural 2009 BUMP Awards. "Ngarraanga" was also nominated for two 2009 Deadly Awards; Single of the Year and Best Female Artist. Donovan's single "Changes" won the "New Artists 2 Radio Competition" for the Adult Contemporary genre and was picked up by major commercial networks across the country. The first time the award went to an Indigenous artist. "Ngarraanga" and "Changes" were also nominated in the 2010 Top 5 Australian Independent MusicOz Awards.

Style

Donovan's singing and songwriting frequently blend reggae, gospel, smooth soul, roots, and country music. Although she has stated she is proud of her Naaguja, Yamatji, and Danggali tribal heritage, she most frequently expresses her Gumbaynggirr heritage from her mother's side in her music, often singing in the traditional language.

Personal life

Emma is based in Sydney. She remains close with her cousin Casey Donovan, who in 2004 became the youngest winner of the Australian Idol competition at 16. Casey is the daughter of Merv and Tracy Donovan.

Collaborations

The PutBacks

Solo work

Documentaries