A landmark collaboration between legendary songman Kutcha Edwards and the Melbourne Youth Orchestra will be released worldwide in February 2026, with the digital launch of Warta-Kiki (Come Together) on the ABC Classic label.
Warta-Kiki captures a powerful orchestral reimagining of Kutcha Edwards’ songs, first presented in a sold-out live performance in June 2023. The project brings together First Nations songlines and symphonic music, performed by MYO’s young musicians under the direction of Music Director Brett Kelly, with new orchestrations by leading Australian composers.
For Kutcha Edwards, the collaboration marked an unexpected and deeply resonant turning point. ‘In my sixty cycles around the sun, I had never attended an orchestral concert, let alone contemplated recording an album with an orchestra—until now,’ Edwards says. ‘This album, Warta-Kiki (a Mutti Mutti word for ‘Come together’), is proof that perceptions can change.’
The seeds of the collaboration were planted in 2022, following a performance by Edwards at Monash University, where he met MYO CEO Dorian Jones and conductor Brett Kelly. ‘In that moment it felt like my footprint had resonated in the sand,’ says Edwards. ‘They approached me to ask if I would be part of creating a show and performing it with the orchestra.’
In early 2023, more than eighty young orchestral musicians and Edwards came together to create the nine songs that form Warta-Kiki. ‘This was an opportunity for me to share with them the depth of the Songline within each song,’ he said. ‘It’s the passing of knowledge that is important to me—the dropping of the pebble in the imaginary pond where the young ones determine the outcome of the ripple.’
The premiere performance later that year was met with an emotional response from audience and performers alike, and in 2025, the artists reunited at ABC Studios in Southbank, Melbourne, to record the work for release.
‘For young musicians, MYO is a pathway,’ Edwards said. ‘They learn the craft and techniques of being part of an orchestra, but through the experience of Warta-Kiki they are also learning about this country—learning about the land through my eyes, my spirit and my Songline.’
Following the digital release, a limited vinyl edition of Warta-Kiki will be produced with the support of Creative Victoria. One hundred per cent of proceeds from the vinyl sales will be directed towards providing free music education opportunities for young Aboriginal people.
