Frank Yamma’s seen it all on a long way to the top

Drawing on 40,000 years of his tribe, Frank Yamma has had a storied career, writes Áilín Quinlan

ASTREET-BUSKER at the age of six, and a stage performer at nine, self-taught guitarist Frank Yamma has won international acclaim as the voice of Australia’s Central Desert.

His songs speak of the harsh problems which beset that continent’s Indigenous community — cultural degradation, alcohol and drug addiction, love, death, and heartache — and spring from the 40,000-year-old musical tradition of his tribe.