“I think it’s going to be bigger than I anticipated,” said Andy Saunders.
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Since the release of Deadly, an uplifting and powerful song that celebrates being Aboriginal, its lyric writer and singer has watched the reactions, views and shares on his YouTube channel and social media rise to viral status.
In just over a week it had been shared on Facebook more than 4500 times, had more than 3400 reactions and more than 200,000 views. Those numbers are rising daily.
“This is going ballistic. I’m really glad for that because the message is really as I intended,” said Andy.
“The beauty is that it’s being shared by indigenous and non-indigenous people, which is what we wanted with a song that didn’t target anyone but is about how good we feel about who we are.
“That’s the line, ‘it’s not about them or us, it’s a different kind of buzz’, that different feeling… it’s about that we’re all connected.
“It is really easy to get caught up in rhetoric and negative talk when it comes to inclusion and non-inclusion and all the talk about changing the date (of Australia Day).
“But we’ve all got something within us and it overpowers all the conversation…. regardless of background.”
Andy, who is well known for his comedy, said the message is something that has been on his chest for a long time.
“I originally released it as an a cappella version. It was just me in my lounge room with the backing track to Royals (by Lorde).”
Aboriginal people for me take meaning on from one generation to the next. I was lucky to grow up with grandparents who were so entrenched in the beauty of Aboriginal culture.
- Andy Saunders
And while it gained some attention, the reaction to this video clip, which includes Andy’s family members, has been on another level.
A lot of talk has centred around the vocals of 13-year-old Luca Saunders, who also sings in the clip.
“It’s no secret my daughter Luca can sing. She’s the star of the film clip.”
The clip is a complete Manning Valley creation, brought together through the combined efforts of Andy, Hamish McDonald from Paradyme Studios and Scott McAdam from Scandish Films.
“We’ve been a team for about a year now, we’ve put out a few videos and do a lot of silly stuff, and like to have fun,” said Andy.
“I’ve always had this song in my back pocket and I brought it forward and in a few months Hamish produced the music.
“He didn’t want to have the same music as Royals. Hamish likes to rework and play with things in the studio so it makes it ours. He said, if we’re going to do it we’ll have to rewrite the whole track.
“It’s amazing to watch him work. He plays 14 different instruments.
“He rewrote it and I heard it and was ‘oh my God!’, the music is ridiculously good.
“Even though it sounds similar (to Royals), it has its own entire feel.”
Andy said they worked under the fair use rules (“we’re not gaining any profit and we’ve put the song up to use and download for free”) and he’d love for Lorde to see it.
“It’s just something to be proud of. It’s not about me but the message.
“I’m not a born singer. I like singing but I don’t want to make a career out of it. The thing I love doing is sending a message.”
He said Hamish, Scott and himself make a good team.
“Each of us bring something different to the table.”
The aim of the production was to create something of a fairly high quality.
“It doesn’t matter about the exposure, we just want to be proud of what we put up.
“Hamish is a genius. He’s very honest but the amount of creativity that comes out of him is ridiculous. People have no idea how talented he is.
“We have so much respect for each other and we’re really close.
“If it wasn’t for him it would just be me and Luca singing a capella.
“He’s just good at everything. He can sing, he can produce music, he can produce films, he can do everything.
“Scotty is so good with film and the technical side too.”
The clip was filmed at Saltwater.
“It’s our home, without a doubt. That’s where we’re born and bred and where we feel safe. It has a beautiful feel for us.”
The word deadly is a term widely used by Aboriginals to describe something awesome and great.
For him, being Aboriginal has always been something to be proud of.
“Aboriginal people for me take meaning on from one generation to the next. I was lucky to grow up with grandparents who were so entrenched in the beauty of Aboriginal culture.
“It’s hard for those who have not had that trickle effect down to the grandkids. I guess we fell into it and it was just the way it was presented. It’s hard not to love it.
“It’s a surviving culture and I want to talk about how we’re inspiring each other to keep going and feel good.”
Andy’s profile continues to rise.
He is the 2018 Manning Winter Festival ambassador and will be attending the official opening this Friday, June 1 at the Manning Regional Art Gallery.
As well as a flourishing comedy career and working at TAFE, Andy has a supporting role in the Australian film Myall Creek, about the 1838 massacre. “That was cool to be part of and stretched me a little bit.”
He is also preparing to play Jesus in a pilot sitcom comedy series ‘Oh My God’, where many gods have been banished from heaven and live in a share house in Australia.
Luca Saunders will perform at the PCYC Showcase on June 2, performing Whitney Houston’s ‘Nothing’.