When King Stingray released their debut single in 2020, there was nothing like it happening in Australia. Sung in both English and Yolŋu Matha, “Hey Wanhaka” nodded to musical predecessors like Yothu Yindi (to whom two band members are related) and Midnight Oil, but added a modern current of slacker surf rock not often associated with First Nations music. As Gumatj man Yirrŋa Yunupiŋu repeated the song’s title—which translates loosely to “what’s happening?”—the sense of a bright new voice was palpable. King Stingray quickly followed through on that early promise, devoting many charismatic tunes to their home patch of Arnhem Land in the Northern Territory. Winning both the 2022 Australian Music Prize and the Michael Gudinski ARIA Award for Breakthrough Artist, their self-titled debut album arrived a month after the band had added traditional clapsticks and yidaki and sections of Yolŋu Matha lyrics to a richly gorgeous cover of Coldplay’s “Yellow” for triple j’s Like A Version series. For the band’s 2024 album For the Dreams, Yunupiŋu and bandmates introduced new themes like their first love song in “Cat 5 (Cyclone)” while continuing to celebrate the sheer joy of daily life on “Best Bits” and elsewhere.