DAVID HYAMS
Based in Fremantle, West Australian musician David Hyams is known nationally for his work as a composer, producer and instrumentalist. In 1999 he released his first album ‘Miles To Go’ and started the band of the same name – nominated for a WAM award eight times, and now well known at Australian festivals.David is also a seasoned songwriter and in 2009 he was signed to Shock Music Publishing Australia. He has written extensively for film and TV, including the feature ‘Mad Bomber in Love’, and his songs have been nominated for WAM’s Song of the Year award three times.
In recent years, David has shared his skills and experience through his work in projects involving a wide range of musical styles – from the country and ‘desert reggae’ styles of Central Desert Aboriginal communities, to the rap and hip hop of WA’s maximum-security prisons. Particularly known for his ability to work with diverse communities, David has been an Artist in Residence within the Cocos Islands Malay community; has run songwriting workshops in WA prisons and has worked in many remote and regional Aboriginal communities, with many West Australian Indigenous musicians.
From 2012 to 2016 David worked intensively on the ‘Murru’ project for leading Australian arts company BighART. This involved bringing prominent Australian musicians to the Pilbara town of Roebourne to write songs with the community and the inmates of the jail, and record them on location. The project culminated in the Murru band opening the 2014 Melbourne festival to a 5000 strong crowd in Federation Square. David acted as a facilitator for the ‘Healing songs’ project in the WA wheatbelt and was producer/engineer for the album “Shine. A community music project he facilitated in Esperance launched in June 2017 to a sell out crowd.
David has been a major contributor to WA’s music industry – as a member of ArtsWA’s contemporary music panel, FolkWorld (Fairbridge Festival) and a longstanding WAM board member. His contribution to WAM and the WA music industry was acknowledged when he was made the organisation’s third honorary life member.
A Quest veteran, this is David’s sixth year facilitating songwriting workshops for the Quest. He always enjoys the opportunity to work with and inspire a new group of young songwriters each year.