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Ripple Effect Band
Ripple Effect are an all woman’s band coming from Maningrida in Arnhem Land, Northern Territory. Whilst following in the tradition of saltwater rock from the region, they are forging new ground and a new sound as the first women from their community to play instruments and make their own band.

Maningrida is a coastal community in North Eastern Arnhem Land approximately 400km east of Darwin with the Kunibídji people as traditional landowners. The band reflects the multilingual nature of Maningrida, singing in their languages of Ndjébbana, Na-kara, Burarra and Kune. As multi-instrumentalists, they swap around so that each woman can move forward and sing in her own language.

The band is an emerging talent in Australia and part of a growing movement of women musicians coming out of the male dominated music scene of the Northern Territory. Combining the contemporary and traditional song writing techniques of Arnhem Land, they are writing and performing music that promotes respect and understanding of different cultures.

Early Years (2001-2016)
Ripple Effect Band is a product of the Maningrida CEC Music Program that ran in the secondary school in the 2000’s. Supported by the Northern Territory Music School, the teachers Jodie Kell, Djolpa Mackenzie, Scott Trenwirth, Megan Atfield and Zeb Olsen developed and taught a contemporary music program that included performance, recording, touring and promotion.

The first girl’s band was MGB whose hit song, Love Song, is still popular in Maningrida today. Then followed Ocean Band, Mystery Girls (famous for their products Mystery Lips and Mystery Sore) and then the highly successful Front Street Girls, who toured to Garma Festival in 2006 where they won an NT Indigenous Music Award as best high school band.

Career
The band was formed in 2017 through a collaboration with Jodie Kell from the Sydney Conservatorium of Music, who spent three months in Maningrida during the dry season. Based out of the Wiwa Music Project, an initiative of the local council, Bawinanga Aboriginal Corporation, previous members of the Front Street Girls got together with other interested women and formed a new band which they called Ripple Effect Band. The name expresses their vision of acting as role models for other women to play music.

They performed at Bak’bididi Festival in Ramingining, joined by David Maxwell from the Letterstick Band, then at Gattjirrk Festival in Yurrwi.

They recorded their first EP at the Sydney Conservatorium of Music in 2017 with producers Paul Mac, Clint Bracknell and Jodie Kell. The first songs were launched on JJJ Unearthed website early 2018.

Members
Arranged Alphabetically

Patricia Gibson – keyboard, vocals

Stephanie James – drums, vocals

Jodie Kell – guitar, vocals,

Jolene Lawrence – guitar, drums, vocals

Rona Lawrence – bass guitar, vocals

Tara Rostron – guitar, bass guitar, vocals

Rachel Thomas – vocals

Marita Wilton – vocals

Discography
Songs

·        Hunting Song (2017)

·        Ngúddja (2017)

·        Diama (2017)

·        Madjandemed (2017)