Students at Adelaide University’s Centre for Aboriginal Studies in Music (CASM) will be mentored by one of Australia’s most influential voices in hip hop, with Ngarrindjeri artist Daniel Rankine, known professionally as Trials, joining the centre.
An award-winning rapper, songwriter, producer and instrumentalist, Rankine has played a defining role in the rise of homegrown hip hop through projects including Funkoars and A.B. Original. His appointment at CASM comes just weeks after the release of his long-awaited debut solo album, hendle.
At CASM, Rankine will work directly with students in the studio while helping strengthen pathways for emerging Aboriginalartists.
“I’m going to be teaching the foundations and fundamentals that got me where I am today. How to make beats, how to write songs, how to perform them, how to arrange them, how to mix, master, everything I can do to get my idea across,” Rankine said.
“There have been so many people putting so much of their soul towards CASM. It is an unbelievable opportunity to add mine to the list.
“We’d worked together earlier on the Kaurna Songbook collection that I came in as a producer and songwriter for, so I’d already met a lot of the gang before. I developed a really cool rapport with the studio workers. I think they thought it was an easy idea to get me back in the room.
“I’m here to make sure those skills get left in the room so everybody can pick them up and make them without me.”
Rankine has collaborated with artists including Hilltop Hoods, Paul Kelly, Thelma Plum, Archie Roach, Gurrumul and Mo’Ju across songwriting and production throughout his career.
He said CASM plays an important role beyond music itself.
“I think they’re really important in providing a space where people understand there is an opportunity forward, that there is an entry path, and it doesn’t have to end in music,” Rankine said.
“It can be something that gets you into an environment of learning and you can take that as far as you wish to take that. CASM has got such a solid foundation that you can jump as high as you want.”
“CASM is more than a music program. It is a cultural space for our Indigenous community to find out what they’re all about in terms of Indigenous heritage, language and music,” Rotumah said.
“It’s been 15 years since we’ve had an Indigenous producer in this space, but to have somebody of Daniel’s calibre in here to empower our students and take them into other academic industry pathways is incredible.”
During his time at CASM, Rankine will continue to contribute to the Kaurna Songbook as well as other community style projects in corrections and wellbeing spaces.
CASM Co-Director Dylan Crismani said the appointment strengthens the centre’s connection to contemporary music practice and industry.
“We’re hoping that the appointment of Dan Rankine to this position will impart a range of industry-relevant skills to our students,” Crismani said.
“He is one of the strongest voices in Australian hip hop and has been for decades.”
Founded in 1972, CASM is the oldest and only devoted university-based centre for studies in Australian Indigenous music, and an important part of the Elder Conservatorium’s legacy.
Dean of Adelaide University’s Elder Conservatorium of Music and School of Performing Arts Professor Anna Goldsworthy said CASM continues to play a vital role within the institution and Rankine’s presence will inspire the next generation of artists.
“He brings a great deal of professional experience to the centre, but beyond that I think he’s just a marvellous example of what can be done if you follow your passion and you have the necessary drive to really fulfill that dream. I think the value of that cannot be underestimated,” Professor Goldsworthy said.
Rankine said his main priority in the role is to show students what is possible.
“The biggest thing I hope anyone takes away from anything I ever do is that if I can do these things, I promise you, you are capable of far much more. That is the biggest lesson I’m here to teach,” he said.
“I’ve done a lot with very little, and to be able to stand on the shoulders of such an unbelievably important institution, I’m fully confident that everybody will expand upon and make bigger and better things than I was ever capable of doing.”
Notes to journalists:
Video interviews for use with Daniel Rankine, Grayson Rotumah, Dylan Crismani, and Professor Anna Goldsworthy can be accessed here.
Daniel Rankine is available for interview. Please request with the Adelaide University media officer.
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