Crown and Country – Crown and Country (ABC Music and Akuphone, 2025)
Crown and Country is an ambitious audiovisual project that fuses ancestral Warlpiri ceremony with hypnotic dub-inspired electronica. The project was co-directed by Warlpiri elder and cultural leader Wanta Jampijinpa Pawu-Kurlpurlurnu, electronic producer Marc “Monkey” Peckham, and filmmaker James Gillot. Notably, the album and companion film present a multigenerational transmission of indigenous Australian knowledge, filmed and recorded on Country in Lajamanu, in Australia’s north Tanami Desert.
At the core of the project are the voices of Wanta Jampijinpa and his father, Jerry Jangala Patrick Oam, one of the last living elders to have experienced first contact. Their spoken word and traditional song anchor the work in ceremonial depth. The musical setting, shaped by Peckham, draws on Berlin dub techno and minimal electronica, building a reflective, synth-heavy atmosphere that mirrors the vastness of the desert landscape. The collaboration stems from over 15 years of work together through the Milpirri Festival, a long-running initiative fostering cultural exchange in Lajamanu.
The project emerges at a pivotal moment for desert communities, as elder knowledge faces generational shifts and contemporary pressures. Framed as an invitation rather than a statement, Crown and Country asks listeners to reckon with shared history, ecological stewardship, and cultural responsibility. It is as much a gesture of friendship across cultures as it is a meditation on land, lineage, and belonging.
The film premiered at Darwin Festival (August 9–10), followed by a community screening in Lajamanu (August 16) and a presentation at Melbourne’s Now or Never Festival (August 29), each including artist talks and discussions with the creators.
Artist Biographies
Wanta Jampijinpa Pawu-Kurlpurlurnu
An initiated Warlpiri elder and philosopher, Wanta Jampijinpa holds custodial responsibilities over multiple song lines in the Tanami Desert. He was admitted to the highest ranks of Warlpiri ceremonial knowledge in 2008. A former Research Fellow at the Australian National University and Professor at the University of Melbourne’s Indigenous Knowledge Institute (2022–2024), he has presented internationally on Warlpiri cosmology and cultural practice. He is also the Creative Director of Milpirri Festival and co-director of several award-winning cultural films.
Marc “Monkey” Peckham
Award-winning producer and long-time collaborator with indigenous artists, Monkey has worked across Europe, the USA, and Australia. Known for integrating dub, techno, and community storytelling, he has led music and culture projects in the desert for over two decades. His credits include Kardajala Kirridarra’s debut album and the Barkly Desert Culture program. He co-composed Milpirri Festival’s music from 2012 onward and recently co-wrote the 2024 NT Song of the Year in the Anindilyakwa language.
Jerry Jangala Patrick OAM
Born in the 1930s near Willowra, Jerry Jangala experienced first contact in the 1940s and later became a key figure in Warlpiri community life. A pastor, teacher, and senior lawman, he has contributed to legal reform, land management, and Bible translation in Warlpiri. He is a foundational elder of the Kurdiji Law and Justice Committee and Milpirri Festival, and continues to mentor younger generations through ceremonial leadership.
Buy Crown and Country.
Project website: www.aum.net.au
Author: Tyler Bennet
