With less than a year into her solo career, Zipporah is already proving she’s an artist worth watching. From her first headline show at the Sydney Opera House to Vivid Sydney and a standout NIMAs performance, the Torres Strait Islander vocalist has packed an extraordinary amount into her first year — and she’s showing no signs of slowing down.
Now, Zipporah is heading to BIGSOUND for three performances, bringing her powerhouse vocals, infectious personality and deeply personal storytelling to the festival stage. With her recently expanded mixtape Tanangwu Urui continuing the story of her debut, Zipporah arrives at BIGSOUND hungry, excited and ready to prove exactly what she can do.
Futuremag: Firstly, I want to chat about your NIMAs performance. I’m based in Darwin, so I was lucky enough to watch you perform White Flag. What was that experience like for you, especially as it was your first time attending, performing and being nominated?
Zipporah: It was such an honour to be on stage with people I’ve looked up to for a very long time, such as Stiff Gins and Baker Boy, who’s like a brother to me. It was just so exciting to share the stage with such talented people.
It was also such an honour to be nominated for two categories. That was really exciting.
Futuremag: You’ve also recently released an extended version of your mixtape, adding four new songs. What made you want to revisit that project rather than simply moving on to something new?
Zipporah: The story wasn’t finished yet. I knew there was more to say. As my debut, I felt like it was a really important part of my story and of me becoming a solo artist.
I felt as though the chapter wasn’t closed yet. It didn’t feel right to add those four songs onto a new project because there was still more life in Tanangwu Urui. It’s so very me. Some albums can be conceptual and have more of a theme or an alter ego, whereas Tanangwu Urui is my name, and it’s the most traditional and intrinsically me that you could speak about.
The four tracks are about my grandmother, my nephew, my first relationship and my first song, so it felt as though they had to belong to my first iteration of myself.
Futuremag: One of those songs is White Flag, which uses such an interesting metaphor for surrender, not giving up and choosing yourself. Was there a particular moment or experience that shaped that song?
Zipporah: Yes and no. It felt like White Flag was the older sister or adaptation of Love Potion, which is the third track on the EP.
It was a realisation, and it was actually the most recent song I’d written and recorded. I’d written it earlier in the year, and there were so many different versions of it that I hadn’t quite landed on yet.
I could have definitely made it a separate song on its own, but it felt like it rounded off the sentiment of the whole extension, including the original EP and mixtape. It just made sense to have Love Potion and then White Flag, because it felt like they were two parts of me.
I wrote Love Potion five or six years ago, and it was really nice to hear and feel them sitting right next to each other sonically.
White Flag is more of an adult way of looking at things. It’s not really about a relationship in particular; it’s about observing different relationships and the connection between two human beings.
Then I spoke to my mum not too long ago, and she said, “Do you realise your great-grandmother’s name actually means white flag?” I thought, “That’s why I put it on the EP.” It all just made sense to me.
Futuremag: You’ve mentioned the conversations this project has sparked with your family. Was there anything about yourself or those connections that you discovered through writing the EP?
Zipporah: One hundred per cent. Songs are conversations with yourself, whether they’re conversations just by yourself or with other people.
Especially with the song Set Sail, which is for my grandmother, that is me in conversation with her. The song about my nephew was in conversation with him. White Flag is about internal battles.
Then, when I told my mum that it was called White Flag and why I called it that, she told me that Wurkar, which is my great-grandmother, means an olive branch or peace branch — essentially what a white flag represents: surrendering and having peace.
It was so weird to me that I happened to have so many familial themes throughout my EP. Family really is the most important thing to me, and it’s part of my identity.
It made sense to add those songs onto the first part because I wrote Cycles about my family and my community. It just made sense that these songs became the extension and closing chapter to Tanangwu Urui.
Futuremag: It sounds like it all came together quite naturally, almost like it was meant to be. This project is obviously very deep and personal to you. When you share your songs, they become part of other people’s stories too. How do you balance those deep, meaningful connections with the way other people might interpret your music?
Zipporah: Songs are meant to be interpreted. We write them about our own experiences, but that’s the beauty of music — people can own them.
That’s why we share music as musicians. It’s not to have ownership over the songs; the purpose of being musicians, artists and singers is because we want to share. We want people to relate to our music and enjoy it in their own way.
Especially with White Flag, when I was recording and writing it, I wanted it to be probably my most relatable song. I wanted it to be the song that played over the rolling credits of a movie. I wanted it to be that final, powerful statement about taking ownership over your life and taking ownership over your story.
It became part of so many different chapters of my life, and that’s what I felt the whole EP was. There are so many chapters to it.
I wanted White Flag to be that final rolling-credits moment — something really anthemic. It’s such an ’80s thing to have someone walking away with this big fire behind them. I wanted it to be a female anthem.
I was also inspired by the conversation about domestic violence happening in Australia right now and how femicide is such a big topic. I wanted it to resonate with women who are going through things, or anybody going through anything.
A lot of the time, you have to look at battles within other people and let them fight those battles themselves. I feel like, as women, we always try to save situations — whether it’s with family, romantic relationships or friendships. We always try to save things and have that saviour complex.
This song is about not being the saviour and finally just leaving, or encouraging someone else to leave, instead of trying to fight someone else’s battle for them.
It’s a really cathartic song.
Futuremag: You’ve had such a huge year already. You’ve performed your first headline show at the Sydney Opera House, appeared at Vivid Sydney and, of course, performed at the NIMAs. Looking back on everything you’ve achieved, what’s the memory that makes you smile and reminds you, “This is why I do what I do”?
Zipporah: I think the biggest thing to take away from it, Brooke, is that it hasn’t even been a year. I’m really, really grateful and honoured that I’ve had so many accolades and poignant moments, and I’m not even a year into my solo career.
It doesn’t happen overnight for some people, but I feel like I’ve blinked my eyes and it has happened overnight.
I’m just really grateful that I’ve been given these opportunities because people fight for two, three, five, ten or fifteen years to have the moments I’ve had. I take it with such pride and honour that I’ve been given these opportunities.
But I have been built for it. I’ve been raised by a woman who broke down so many different doors and barriers, especially for young Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander women, to be able to do what we do now.
I don’t take any of it lightly. I understand that when I’m put on these stages and given these moments, I need to make a statement. I need to make it matter.
With moments like the Opera House and the NIMAs, I’m going to continue to talk about not only my culture, but being a Torres Strait Islander woman. We’re still making firsts and breaking down these same doors and barriers.
I feel very humbled and grateful to be given such cool opportunities this early on in my career.
Futuremag: With that conversation around breaking down barriers, what do you feel is a common barrier that artists like yourself still face, and what do you think we need to do better to support artists?
Zipporah: I think, in the climate of live music being taken away from us, it’s important to remember that taking live music away isn’t just taking something away from artists. It’s taking something away from the general public.
Everyone enjoys music. Everyone needs music. It’s therapeutic. It heals us. It’s what we need as human beings — to create and to receive that.
We need to treasure and support people who are putting themselves out there. We could all go back to a nine-to-five and be part of the rat race, but the people who choose to sacrifice not having a safe income — it’s a big job.
We sacrifice a lot as artists, musicians and creatives. We still need to find better ways to support creatives and freelancers.
A lot of people see it as a fame or notoriety thing, but it’s hard being a musician. It’s hard being an artist because you’re constantly being put up there to be torn down by people. Everyone loves to hate, but at the end of the day, people are still taking your music in and absorbing it.
The main thing is to support artists in whatever way you can. Go to their concerts. Buy music, whether that’s through iTunes or wherever you buy music. Buy merch. Anything like that is so important to help us stay artists.
Futuremag: You’ve also got BIGSOUND coming up. For anyone who’s only just discovering you, what can they expect from your BIGSOUND performances?
Zipporah: I’ve been so lucky to be put on “ones to watch” lists for quite a few outlets, and it’s a lot of pressure, Brooke!
I’m a little bit scared — scared in a good way. I’m hungry and excited, and I have a lot to prove because I’m still very, very fresh. I feel like I have a lot of things to prove.
I want to showcase that artists don’t just make music to make music. I classify myself as a vocalist. I pride myself on being a good singer, and I want to give people a really good show.
I’ve worked very, very hard my whole life to be a great singer and emulate my favourite artists. I want to bring back the female ballad and these incredible singers.
What happened to having incredible singers as artists? We’re getting fooled day in and day out by AI artists doing all these licks and runs, and I’m like, let’s bring back artists doing that live in front of people and proving that this is an instrument too.
I want people to come and learn about the Torres Strait through me and through my music because people still don’t know where it is. I’m still trying to put that dot on the map and prove that we don’t all have to be darker to know where we’re from or know language.
There’s a lot to learn at a Zipporah show, but also a lot of fun. I’m a big dumb idiot, Brooke! I crack a million different jokes. I’m the first person to take the piss out of myself.
The way we enjoy a show is by getting to know the artist, and I want people to really get to know me. That way, they can understand my music a little bit more.
I’ve got three shows at BIGSOUND — the first, second and third. I have two at the Brunswick Mall stage and one at the Brightside Outdoor stage. Two of them are from 8:00 to 8:30pm, and the one on the third is at 1:30pm.
So just come along! And support other Black artists at the showcases.
Also, listen to the extension and listen to the EP.
Futuremag: You mentioned supporting Black artists, which is so important. Are there any Black artists you’d recommend people check out and support at BIGSOUND?
Zipporah: I want to name everybody! One of my favourites at the moment is KAYPS from Perth. He’s a deadly rapper. I’ve just been so blown away by how talented he is. He’s really exciting to watch.
There’s also Say True God who’s going to be there.
I’m also loving Miles now too. Anyone who is breaking the mould. Miles has a very similar sound to me, with that jazz influence and that jazz-soul, neo-soul kind of thing.
I think it’s such a niche that people absorb worldwide, but still don’t necessarily support specifically.
Futuremag: You also spoke about the importance of supporting women at the NIMAs. You were one of the few women nominated in some of the major categories. Why is that conversation so important to you?
Zipporah: The NIMAs were great, but a lot of men won.
That’s not shade — that’s just part of the world. As much as I was so grateful to be there and loved being there, I’m still raising an eyebrow and thinking, “Are we really going to give it to all men this year? Are we really doing this time in and time out?”
My sister Bumpy was on before me. Where is the love and support for her? There’s a lot of coverage everywhere, but I’m watching all these reels and videos and no one is adding her into them.
No one is adding our Aunty Stiff Gins into it. Nana Marlene — these are women who have been there before we could.
I was the only female in the Best New Talent category, and Jem and I were the only females up for Best Song.
The importance of highlighting our women is huge. Jem is about to go on tour, so please go and support her tour and her album coming out. Kanina has music coming out at the end of the month — please go and support her. Rona has new music coming out too.
Let’s go and support our women because the industry is so oversaturated with men. Yet women are 51 per cent of the population worldwide, so that disparity is too big.
Especially in our community, everyone will love to go and see the men, but really, it’s the women who always hold it down.