King Gizzard & the Lizard Wizard and Jimmy Barnes have joined more than 20 Australian artists on ‘If Not Now’, a new recording backing the campaign to protect Western Australia’s Scott Reef.
Released today, November 9th, under the Scott Reef name, the track reworks King Gizzard’s ‘If Not Now, Then When?’ The project brings together Greenpeace Australia Pacific, Green Music Australia and p(doom) Records, with the song available digitally and on limited edition seven-inch vinyl.
Tim Shiel and Stu Mackenzie produced the recording, which features Gordi, Montaigne, Alex Lahey, John Butler, Ngaiire and Leah Senior. Close Counters contribute synths, while DOBBY and Urthboy share a rap verse.
Barnes appears alongside his daughter Mahalia Barnes and granddaughter Ruby Rodgers, putting three generations of the family on the same track. Butchulla songman Fred Leone sings in Butchulla, while Drifting Clouds’ Terry Guyula delivers the chorus in Yolŋu Matha.
Mackenzie says: “I’m proud that a King Gizz song was chosen to represent a growing movement of people who are asking these questions and applying pressure. Let’s shut it down and keep it beautiful.”
Scott Reef ‘If Not Now’ (ft. King Gizzard & the Lizard Wizard, Jimmy Barnes, and more) video
Spacey Jane’s Peppa Lane, NIDALA, Birdland and The Moving Stills’ Tom Mahler also contribute. The recording incorporates marine biologist and freediver Brinkley Davies’ words from the documentary Coral’s Last Stand, with Jonathan Zawada providing the artwork and accompanying visuals.
The campaign centres on Scott Reef, around 270 kilometres off the Kimberley coast. Greenpeace opposes Woodside’s proposed Browse gas development, warning that industrial activity, underwater noise and potential spills threaten the reef and its wildlife.
Woodside disputes campaign descriptions of drilling on the reef, saying its nearest proposed drilling would be approximately three kilometres away and that the project includes measures to minimise environmental risks.
Barnes describes protecting the reef as part of a wider responsibility to care for Australia’s natural environment: “We must protect our country and look after what we value most, which is the nature and the beauty of this country.”
You can find more information about the campaign and its opposition to the proposed development through Greenpeace Australia Pacific.
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