PREMIERE: Charlie Needs Braces Introduces Us To The 'Wompoo' Dove In Newest Single

With just a matter of weeks to go until the release of her new album, NYAA WA, Charlie Needs Braces has introduced listeners to the Wompoo fruit dove in her fittingly-titled new single, Wompoo.

The third single taken from her album, Wompoo sees Charlie Needs Braces (the product of Naarm/Melbourne-based musician and proud GuriNgai woman Charlie Woods) sister and collaborator Miri Woods to share lead vocals on the track, which she also wrote.

While NYAA WA means “take care” in the GuriNgai language, it flows into the meaning of the album’s focus, which emphasises the importance of taking care of lands, waters, and wildlife, and the need to keep culture alive, tell stories, and preserve sacred sites from development.

This is where the likes of Wompoo comes into play, named for an inspired by the native Wompoo fruit dove of Australia’s north coast.

“I grew a great love towards the cute, clumsy semi-majestic and endangered dove whilst growing up on a bush block on Bundjalung Country,” explains Miri. “The story is about returning to the area I grew up in and reconnecting with the wildlife, and being able to feel the warmth of knowing that there’s a safe habitat and place for the wildlife that lives there.”

As exuberant and gorgeous as the bird from which its name is derived, Wompoo captures the essence of the Charlie Needs Braces project and how it celebrates the wider world while also employing a sense of musical whimsy.

No more is this seen than in the accompanying video for Wompoo, which was filmed, directed, and edited by Master Kapow, and features a little Wompoo puppet that boasts the puppeteering talents of Charlie and Miri’s mother, Rebecca Hird Fletcher.

The clip leans into the meaning of the song as they traverse the lands and waters of the GuriNgai and Dharug people, returning to be reunited with joyful memories of both the land and the Wompoo fruit dove.

“We also had somebeautiful soft morning light that added a cinematic, magical feel to the video,” adds Master Kapow. “It gave the whole shoot adreamy atmosphere, making the visuals even more special.”

Wompoo is officially released on January 9th, and will be featured on Charlie Needs Braces’ upcoming second album, NYAA WA, which arrives on February 20th – just one year on from her debut album, Saltwater People. Pre-orders for the record are available now.

Charlie will also be found touring throughout the country over the next few months, with appearances on the A Day On The Green festival with The Teskey Brothers, Band Of Horses, and more filling up most of January. Fans will be able to catch her performing at festivals and events thoughout February, March, and April across Victoria, Tasmania, and the ACT, with full details available via her socials.

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