DARWIN singer Ali Mills spent a lot of time working towards her first album. From the age of eight, when she first went on stage, she knew she wanted to be ‘‘a very big star’’. Now, 44 years later, she just might get her wish. Mills, part of the well-known Mills musical family in the Northern Territory, released her debut album, Waltjim Bat Matilda, in April. The title song, a kriol-language version of Waltzing Matilda sung in her Gurindji-Kungarakan language, is running hot on Australian airwaves after radio hosts such as 2GB’s Ray Hadley and
Radio National’s Philip Adams started playing it.


Suddenly, the ukelele-playing singer could find herself touring the country for the first time on the back of the song and the album’s success. ‘‘I’m a bit nervous because now I’m out there to the world,’’ Mills said. ‘‘I’m used to singing to small audiences in a community around Darwin, to people I know. ‘‘Becoming a commercial commodity is strange to me.’’

Mills is the daughter of local musicians David and Kathy Mills. Her mother is also well known for her cultural development work in the Territory. Ali performed with her sisters as The Mills Sisters for many years before going solo. It took her until now to record an album because, she said: ‘‘Singing in a studio never appealed to me. ‘‘Singing live with a group of people and an audience means more. But I’m very happy with the results.’’

Mills first heard the song WaltjimBat Matilda sung by her grandfather, Valentine McGuinness, when she was a child. She performed it for the first time in 1997. ‘‘ I started singing it in public, long after he passed away,’’ she said. ‘‘I didn’t think it was my place to do it while he was alive.’’ The singer has been on the road for the past three weeks as part of a show promoting indigenous road safety, but she could be away for much longer and further afield if her album takes off. ‘‘I’ve never strayed from the family,’’ she said. ‘‘My children are grown up but I feel safe being here with them in Darwin. I wasn’t thinking about having to go on tour. It’s a bit scary.’’

The album was released by local label Skinnyfish Music, which is also responsible for the international success of indigenous singer/songwriter Geoffrey Gurrumul Yunupingu

IAIN SHEDDEN
MUSIC WRITER The Australian 12 June 2010