SCOTT DARLOW ANNOUNCES NEW SINGLE & VIDEO FORGOTTEN AUSTRALIA
Australian and proud Yorta Yorta descendent Scott Darlow has today announced his affecting new single Forgotten Australia, a true anthem that encourages listeners to reconnect with the Australia that once warmly welcomed all people, out today, October 7. Scott has also dropped a video to accompany the song, fittingly highlighting the beauty of the melting pot that is Australia. Forgotten Australia is the perfect complement to Scott’s passionate endeavours as an Indigenous educator and World Vision spokesperson. In 2018, alongside Triple M’s head of content Michael Fitzpatrick, Scott spearheaded the charity supergroup The Drought Breakers (featuring Sarah McLeod, Adam Brand, Jack Jones and Todd Hunter) and recorded well known Dragon song Rain. Released by Sony Music Australia, all proceeds were donated to Buy a Bale to assist drought-stricken farmers. Scott’s love for Australia is evident in his recent single releases, with songs about Indigenous issues, our famers and multicultural Australia which all received Australia-wide airplay. Scott Darlow is currently supporting Jimmy Barnes on tour and will be opening for Eskimo Joe’s national tour over the next few months.
Forgotten Australia was co-written by Scott and Aussie rock royalty Kav Temperley and Joel Quartermain of Eskimo Joe – and these three songwriting auteurs have crafted an incredibly poignant and hooky track here. The lyric ‘Do you remember the forgotten Australia?’ will send shivers up even the most stoic spine, and as this powerful track washes over the listener, it’s impossible to remain unaffected by its message. The song boldly yields its sentiment and lyrics from the Australian national anthem – “They say we’ve got boundless plains to share, yet you say were full, you’re telling me to watch the oceans, but that’s how we became young and free”. And Scott isn’t afraid to speak his mind on this topic, fervently explaining, “As an Aboriginal man I find the current anthem distressing. It doesn’t represent me or my people, and I love that I’ve taken some of the lyrics to illustrate the hypocrisy that Australia can often harbour.” Offering more insight into the song, Scott says, “My Aboriginal ancestors were welcomed by Mother Earth, and they thrived and survived. Then each wave of migrants were welcomed here and they had a place to start again and thrive. Now, all of a sudden, we see a bunch of people telling newcomers that we’re full and that they can’t be here! This song is about saying ‘do you remember when we were a country who loved and welcomed everyone?’ And how good is that melting pot?!”
Once again teaming up with Curtis Reeder from R&H Media (Reeder also traveled across Australia with Scott to film his video for Solid Rock which has now amassed over 350,000 views), the video for Forgotten Australia is a personal one for Scott, “It’s just me singing to camera in my favourite spots around Melbourne – which also happen to highlight the beauty of Australia and the beauty of the melting pot. We have scenes at Middle Park beach, the Melbourne Zoo, Lygon Street, Londsdale Street, Chinatown, the Vic Market, Bourke Street Mall, I wanted to offer viewers a glimpse of ‘the real Australia’”.
Even with over 50,000 album sales under his belt, the skilled songwriter, guitarist and didgeridoo player is much more than an independent musician. Scott Darlow regularly speaks in schools, businesses, jails and churches across Australia, educating audiences about everything that has happened in Australia since 1770 from an Indigenous perspective. He covers topics such as genocide, land displacement, the Stolen Generation, the Australian constitution and the Flora and Fauna act, missions, segregation, education policy, and white Australia, alongside musical performances and conversational banter. Speaking on his passion for this work and offering incredible insight into his cause, Scott Darlow says, “The history lesson that I give during my presentations helps join the dots, and helps audiences to understand why we now live in a country that sees First Nation men die a decade younger than everyone else, why our Indigenous kids are ten times more likely to go to prison than to finish school, and why we don’t see nearly enough First Nation people finishing school or going to uni. It completely helps explain why the gap isn’t closing – and that understanding leads to empathy.”
Forgotten Australia is available today, October 7.