‘Tarkine’, the new single from Midnight Oil, is out now. It follows October’s ‘Rising Seas’. Both songs will appear on the band’s upcoming album, Resist.
The latest single gets its name from the Tarkine/takayna wilderness in north-western Tasmania. The Tarkine is the second largest temperate rainforest in the world and contains the cleanest air in the world, according to UN monitoring. It’s home to more than 60 species of rare, threatened and endangered species.
Midnight Oil released a statement explaining that the new single “takes on extra poignancy given current plans to expand a nearby mine with a tailings dam that would impinge on this pristine area.”
The band are putting their weight behind the campaign to secure World Heritage protection for takayna. They’re also urging the Federal Government and the Tasmanian Government (both led by the Liberal Party) to “preserve this extraordinary part of Australia for future generations.”
Midnight Oil will conduct their final ever Australian tour in February-April 2022. Resist, the band’s 15th album, will also be released in 2022.
“Having always tackled every tour like it’s the last, this time it actually will be,” said vocalist Peter Garrett.
“These will be sad and beautiful gigs but luckily we’re still capable of blowing the roof off any stage and that’s what we intend to do,” said guitarist Jim Moginie. Find out more here.
