Prominent Pacific fashion designer killed at No Kings protest in US
On the program today
Investigations continue into the detah of a prominent Pacific Islander fashion designer Afa Ah Loo, who was shot at a No Kings protest in Salt Lake City.
Leaders make progress in Bougainville independence talks at the Burnham military camp.
The Niuean-Kiwi owner of a support group for fathers of children with Autism hosts a fashion show of Maori and Pacific designer wear in Melbourne.
Three young Solomon Islands workers train with State Emergency Services in Northern Victoria.
A live-action remake of the Disney classic Lilo and Stitch cracks one billion u-s dollars at the global box office.
And Solomon Islands and Vanuatu team up to create a massive marine reserve covering six million square kilometres of ocean.
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2-step your way into the weekend with Naarm/Melbourne-based producer IsGwan! Loading This Unearthed act might just be the next big name in garage music, having received spins from heavyweights like Interplanetary Criminal and Sammy Virji, and now he takes on Mix from Naarm/Melbourne, the powerhouse producer has had an explosive couple of years, from insane clips of his tracks being played to packed festival and Boiler Room dancefloors, to support slots for like likes of Badger and Bullet Tooth. He also makes up one quarter of recently formed Aussie supergroup Inside Kru alongside familiar faces Osmosis Jones, Prizefight and WAXX might have caught IsGwan's official remixes for Anna Lunoe and Young Franco but he's also been churning out some huge original tracks as well, drawing his inspo from UKG, breakbeat, dubstep and jungle. We've been loving his latest track 'Drifting Away' with thndo, check it out here:We've nabbed the rising star for an hour of power for your Saturday night and you'll catch a bunch of new and forthcoming tunes from himself and mates. Turn up your subs and get down with it!
SBS Australia
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Euterpe Collective: a new space for women musicians who love Greek traditional music
The response to the first meeting of the Euterpe Collective was enthusiastic and almost overwhelming for Katerina and Stav. The meeting focused on the songs of Asia Minor, with the young women who turned up eager to join in the melodies shared by Katerina and Stav. Speaking to SBS Greek Stav Thomopoulos said that this initiative started from women musicians and it is for women musicians who love traditional Greek music. "We noticed that there aren't many women musicians in the bands in the community and if we see them in bands women are usually in the role of the singer. But there are many women and young girls who play musical instruments. Katerina had the idea to start a group only for women" says Stav Thomopoulos. The two run with this idea and started advertising on social media. They named the group after one of the nine muses, Euterpe, protector of music and lyric poetry. Although Melbourne's Greek music scene offer opportunities for jamming sessions these sessions are dominated by men. The women who join are counted on the fingers of one hand and often sessions with no women musicians. The idea of a women's only group was attractive to those who hankered for a less masculine environment to express their musical aspirations. The first meeting brought together about fifteen, mostly young, women who played violin, accordion, guitar, percussion and gaida. They played to their hearts content to the soulful melodies of Smyrneika songs and Asia Minor tunes. Stavroula Thomopoulos Credit: SBS Greek/Dina Gerolymou "It's not just jamming" says Stav Thomopoulos "we also share our skils, teach and support each other and listen to each other respectfully. At the end of the session we go out together to the local cafe. There's a social aspect to Euterpe, not just music. We foster a friendly environment where everyone feels welcomed and part of the group". Euterpe Collective will meet again on Sunday 29 June at the Pontiaki Estia, 540 Sydney Rd., Brunswick at 10am. It is open to all women regardless of age, musical level and ethnic background. 'Euterpe Collective is open to all women and girls who love Greek traditional music, they are all welcome,' said Stav Thomopoulos and stresses that the point of this initiative is to provide an inclusive, safe space where women can share their art and skills regardless of their expertise or experience. The meeting on June 29 will focus on songs from the Thrace region. Listen to Stavroula Thomopoulou's interview by clicking on the icon next to the photo. Related content
SBS Australia
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How Fiston beat the odds to crack an $8bn Aussie industry and go global
Fiston Baraka in a recording studio in Melbourne working on his new single. Source: SBS / Scott Cardwell At the mic in a small recording studio in Melbourne's north, Fiston Baraka is putting the finishing touches on his new single. "It's called Kumbuka, which means remember," said Baraka, 25. "It is about me looking back at times people told me to stop my music, that I was wasting my time. One line says, 'remember when they said I wouldn't make it'." "Making it" is something the artist is incredibly proud of. The rising hip-hop star from Geelong is among Victoria's hottest music acts. He even performed at the Australian Open tennis tournament earlier this year. "The Australian Open, yeah that was crazy, no way to describe it," he said. "It made me feel seen and at the same time accept that the work I am doing is not going to waste." The recording studio is a world away from the refugee camp where Baraka grew up, but the memories remain vivid and live on in his songs. Known to fans as Baraka the Kid, he sings in English and Swahili, and his rap music is finding an audience worldwide. "My biggest following is Nigeria, South Africa, and the United States," he said. "Australia sits at number four." Baraka is proud to contribute to the expanding Australian music industry, which grew in revenue by 6 per cent year-on-year in 2024, marking six consecutive annual gains, according to industry body ARIA. Overall, the Australian music industry generates revenues of $8.78 billion according to a recent report released by the federal government body Music Australia. It provides the first comprehensive measure of the economic contribution of Australia's music industry, and includes data from industry, government, and over 1,000 individuals and businesses working across the music industry. It found that streaming dominates the market, accounting for more than 70 per cent of all revenue. Industry growth provides opportunities for young artists, but music producer Ariel Blum said the playing field is far from level. "There are a lot of challenges for people that don't grow up with either the economic means or the social networks to access the decision makers," Blum said. "I have met many clients coming into the studio with a particular profile. They would typically come from privilege, economic privilege mainly, getting bills paid by mum and dad." It's one reason Blum co-founded a music mentoring project called GRID Series in 2013, to give artists from disadvantaged backgrounds a helping hand. "GRID is actually an acronym and stands for Grassroots in Development," he said. "Our main mission is to bring resources, access, and opportunities to artists from low socioeconomic backgrounds. "And in Australia, typically that means living in the outer suburbs or regional areas." Fiston Baraka is among the project's rising stars. Since being accepted into the project, he has received mentoring from Joel Ma, known as Joelistics, an Australian producer, multi-instrumentalist, and former member of the Melbourne-based Australian hip hop group TZU. "When Fiston and I first met, he was really open to exploring his refugee story," said Ma. "A lot of our conversation was about his family's story, coming from overseas and arriving in suburban Geelong, and how much of a cultural shock that was for Fiston and his family." Baraka arrived in Australia in 2010 and was born in 2000 in Lubumbashi, the second-largest city in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC). He later grew up in a refugee camp in Zambia. Zambia is home to more than 100,000 refugees, asylum seekers, and other displaced people. Many are exiles from the DRC. While Baraka has happy childhood memories of making friends there, he faced many hardships too. Food was short and illness rife. His life changed dramatically when his parents bought a small parcel of land and started growing crops. "Myself and my older brother were taken out of school and we started working on the farm alongside our cousins," he said. "My parents decided the farm was more of a focus because that's what was actually bringing income," he said. It set back his education, and when the family was finally accepted into Australia on humanitarian visas, Baraka had received limited schooling and spoke little English. "The reading part was hard because I couldn't write and I couldn't read the words either," he said. "So, the way I learned English was by watching cartoons on television." Drawing on the resilience many refugees are respected for, Baraka went on to finish high school and tertiary qualifications, spent six years working in construction then started his own music business. He now explores his refugee journey through song. "It was not hard to kind of convince him to sing in Swahili," Ma said. "We talked about whether that would alienate an Australian listening public. Our conversation got to a point of: 'well, the world is bigger than Geelong, bigger than Melbourne, bigger than Australia'. "You can have an audience that extends to parts of Africa, America, Canada, and the UK because this story, although unique to you, is universal in so many ways." It was a strategy that's paid off for both artist and mentor. "I get a huge rush of pride when I see someone like Fiston making their way in the world and having an impact and finding his audience. It is amazing," Ma said. "I am very happy to be where I am and very proud to have [come] so far," said Baraka. "I didn't think of music as being anything more than a hobby when I first started, but now it is a passion and something I can actually make a career out of, as well." Baraka is among 70 participants to develop their style and their business acumen through the GRID Series. The free six-month GRID series is supported by Creative Victoria, includes studio time with a producer, live performances, and sessions on business basics. "Things like setting up an ABN, registering your business name, claiming all of your profiles on different platforms, and registering for APRA AMCOS. Often they will come and do an information session, too," said Blum. However, Blum said Baraka's motivation is also key to his success. "Fiston is like a meteorite, a fireball of incredible energy. He is incredibly personable, incredibly talented, and insanely charismatic. "And when you are around Fiston, you feel excited," he said. GRID Series currently runs in three states and aims to bring more diversity into Australia's music scene. "I come from a part of the Australian music industry that is about telling stories and representing an Australia, which is diverse," Ma said. "And GRID is a hotbed of stories about an Australia that I recognise. "In the past, the Australian music industry felt very white, very male-dominated, very rock-oriented. "Because GRID is open-minded, it supports diverse artists and genres. Their music tells stories of people coming from other countries, particularly from war-torn countries and places where life is a struggle," Ma said. For Baraka, who quit a full-time job in construction to chase his music dream, recent success is sweet, but his goal is to touch people through his songs. "Joel Ma told me that being Congolese and speaking Swahili makes my music unique," he said. "So, each song has a story. It is either something that I experienced or that someone close to me has experienced. "I put that into the music and people relate, they say 'oh wait, I've been through that too'. And so they connect. "They also send me messages which might be little in text, but they are big in heart. "And it makes me feel good that so many people are able to open up by hearing my words," he said. 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