User:AlphaLemur/sandbox/skinnyfish Label

Skinnyfish Music is a Darwin-based record label that produces music by, about, and for Indigenous Australians in partnership with Indigenous Australian artists and their communities.

Founded by Mark Grose and Michael Hohnen in 1999, the label aims to empower Indigenous Australians to generate and pursue their own creative and economic activity. The label has provided a platform for talented musicians from remote Aboriginal communities to release music, tour and bring their music to Australian audiences and the world.

In 2009, the label made an agreement to sell its entire catalogue

In 2012, cofounders Grose and Hohnen were jointly named the Northern Territory Australian of the Year.

In 2023 they partnered with the City of Darwin to produce the The Saltwater Stories of the Larrakia podcast, and were shortlisted for the 2023 Australian Podcast Awards.

Some of the artists associated with Skinnyfish Music include:

Dr. Geoffrey Gurrumul Yunupingu: The debut album from Gurrumul, performed in a mixture of both Yolngu and English, reached number three on the ARIA charts and won several awards.

Saltwater Band: Their releases include Gapu Damurrun, which sold a record-breaking 10,000 copies, and Djarridjarri/Blue Flag, which won album of the year at the 2004 Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Art and Music Awards. Saltwater Band was one of the first artists on the Skinnyfish list to record an album.

Lonely Boys: Their EP The Hunter was recorded in Ngukurr and features guitar-inspired punk rock songs2.

In 2023, Skinnyfish Label launched the Darwin International Jazz and Arts Festival.