The CAAMA logo depicts the birth of Aboriginal radio. The central circles represent the physical location of CAAMA in Alice Springs surrounded by central Australian Aboriginal communities. The lines radiating from these circles depict the two-way flow of stories between CAAMA and the communities. The dots on the side of the logo show the footsteps of the Aboriginal people who have walked this land since time immemorial.

Aboriginal Voices from Aboriginal Country

CAAMA Radio was the first Aboriginal broadcast group in Australia to secure a community broadcasting licence, with the purpose of providing Aboriginal people in Central Australia with radio programs produced by Aboriginal people, in Aboriginal languages and English.

Between 1979 and 1984 CAAMA programs were broadcast on Alice Springs stations 80CC and 8HA (ABC). From 1982 CAAMA had its own production studios, first on Gap Road, and from 1984-1995 at Little Sisters town camp (Inerlange) on the southern edge of Alice Springs. Fully licenced CAAMA broadcasting began on May 13 1985, at 100.5mHz, on the call sign 8 KIN-FM. CAAMA Radio has since become the benchmark in Australian Indigenous broadcasting. Programs are now broadcast across the country via satellite to hundreds of thousands of listeners. They are also web-streamed to a world-wide audience via www.caama.com.au/radio.

Maintaining Culture through unique programming 8KIN-FM is the industry leader in broadcasting Aboriginal languages. Since we began we have regularly presented programs in Western, Central and Eastern Arrernte, Pitjantjatjara, Warlpiri, Warramangu, Kaytej, Luritja, and English.

CAAMA Radio’s News & Current Affairs department supports an active team of journalists reporting events from Aboriginal perspectives often ignored by the mainstream media. 8KIN-FM’s talkback and interview programs bring our listeners’ voices to air, often alongside Indigenous people from other parts of the country and local, NT and federal politicians.

The Footy Show tracks the rise of Aboriginal AFL stars and brings commentated games to the whole community.

Magazine programming including regular morning and lunch-time shows gives Aboriginal businesses, community organisations and initiatives across the country opportunities to promote their enterprises.

From ceremonial music to rock,rhythm and blues, country and hip hop, Aboriginal artists are at the forefront of global sounds. To support Aboriginal artists and bands — and because their music is deadly and our listeners want to hear it- at least 1/3 of all music played on CAAMA Radio is Aboriginal. Almost 25% of our music programming is country music. Our country music programs are also regularly broadcast through the National Indigenous Radio Service (NIRS) network.

Request shows connect the community in personal ways. When CAAMA Radio started in 1980 most remote communities did not have access to a telephone service. CAAMA provided people in town with a way to send out music and cheerios to relations living in other parts of central Australia.

Aboriginal people are over-represented in the prison system and are extremely isolated from their families and the outside viorld. Ever since CAAMA Radio began our special prison request show Green Bush has kept prisoners in touch with their loved ones.

CAAMA MUSIC

Pioneering the recording, promotion, and distribution of Aboriginal music from Central Australia and beyond.

In 1980, CAAMA Music staff travelled with the mobile recording studio to bush communities hundreds of, kilometres from Alice Springs to record bands, songs, ceremonies and gospel choirs.

These early recordings were released on CAAMA’s original label lmparja Records. This was the first Aboriginal recording label in the country. CAAMA met the music needs of ‘people living in remote communities and outstations by distributing cassettes of music and news through the post and on bush car trips.

The CAAMA Music label was established in 1990 with its own professional recording studio at Little Sisters town camp. Aboriginal musicians came from all over. Australia to record their songs.

In 1995, the new CAAMA Music Yamma Studios opened in CAAMA’s Todd Street building.

CAAMA Music has recorded at least 800 albums in more than 15 Aboriginal languages.
CAAMA Music has fostered the growth of Aboriginal music by hosting and recording live concerts throughout the Northern Territory. Gigs have been important places for addressing social issues. The early HIV/AIDS concert, the Beat the Grog concert, and the Sing Loud Play Strong recordings all addressed major challenges Aboriginal people.

CAAMA gigs are very popular and bring many people together from all over the country. The 2001 Centenary of Federation “Yeperenye Festival ‘Road Ahead’ concert attracted 30,000 people to enjoy loud music by hundreds of renowned Aboriginal performers.

Their songs of struggle, survival and celebration were also seen across the Imparja, SBS and ABC TV networks.

Working closely with CAAMA Radio, CAAMA Music continues to transmit special live outside broadcasts and studio performances across the CAAMA Radio footprint.