“Camp Dog” by King Stingray

"Camp Dog", released on 14 March 2022, was the fourth single lifted from King Stingray's self-titled debut album, and it's a love letter to the dogs of Yirrkala, in the East Arnhem Region, where the Australian band grew up. Those dogs roam the streets, and as guitarist Roy Kellaway tells it, the whole community looks after them; they're full of personality, some cheeky enough that you learned which corners to steer clear of, and they more or less ran the place. The song, he said, is about that affection for growing up alongside them.

Kellaway wrote it with singer Jerome Gotjirringu Yunupingu and produced it, Dimathaya Burarrwanga adds backing vocals, and Justin Stanley mixed it. It came third in the 2022 Vanda & Young Global Songwriting Competition and picked up a nomination for Independent Song of the Year at the 2023 AIR Awards.

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