NAIDOC Week is an annual celebration of the profound achievements of First Nations people, and at just 24 years of age, Coodjinburra man Budjerah has given us plenty to celebrate.

The soul and R&B singer is one of the hottest emerging voices in Australian music. He’s won two ARIA awards, has collaborated with the likes of pop heavyweights Ed Sheeran and Kylie, and has amassed over 50 million streams.

Paying homage to the First Nations artists that blazed the trail before him, Budjerah tells us, “Telling our stories on a world stage is very special. It means a lot, thinking of where my people come from.”

Ahead of his debut album Gentleman, the App Store Editors chatted to Budjerah about his creative process and the tools that have helped him succeed.

A natural storyteller, Budjerah is constantly jotting down song ideas. “If something pops into my head, I’ll go to my Notes app and write it down there – it’s every songwriter’s best friend.”

His favourite feature of the app is the integration with Voice Memos, which he uses to record melodies. He then shares these recordings to the Notes app to keep lyrics and tune in one place.

To capture musical ideas when he’s on the go, Budjerah reaches for music production app, Ableton Note. “I love it because it’s just like the old groovebox I have at home,” he says. “If I hear something in my head I can just create it on my phone, really fast.”

Getting started in Ableton Note’s 16-pad grid is refreshingly intuitive. Budjerah picks his instrument sound – or takes a sample from app’s extensive library – and taps a rhythm to begin building on the track.

“It’s very adaptive and easy to mix and match everything you create. I can add different sections and loops and even a vocal track if I want to. It’s just a really nice interface to work with.“

Budjerah credits his extraordinary singing voice to the teachings of his dad and the soul-lifting experience of growing up in a gospel choir.

To continue nurturing this talent, he uses vocal warm-up app Warm Me Up. “Every morning and afternoon, I open up the app. As a singer, my voice is my first instrument, and that’s how I take care of it.”

Budjerah loves that the exercises in Warm Me Up are tailored to his voice type and can be adapted to fit his warm-up timeframe.

“In the morning I spend about five minutes on the app. And before a show I’ll do more intense vocal exercises to really get my voice into gear. It’s a big help.”

Early in his career, a mentor told Budjerah that reading and an expansive vocabulary are key to songwriting success. “You need to take in the words before you put them out!” he explains.

For this reason, the singer is a big fan of MyVocab. “When I'm writing or if I get stuck, it’s something I can just pull out of my pocket,” he says.

“It offers words you might not have heard before that help express what you’re trying to say. There might be something in there that’s just right.”

And when he has a down minute, he gets his daily reading fix from Substack. “I get to read all kinds of things on different topics, and that’s really good for songwriting – getting those other perspectives and stories,” he says.

He was particularly inspired by a Substack essay from fellow singer Lizzo, which explored the complexities of being an artist in the age of AI. “AI can be a helpful tool for the business side, but let the human heart do what it does. Feel it, express yourself,” he reflects. “That essay inspired me to keep writing and being a musician.”

Artwork by Dylan Finney (Marra and Ngalakgan man, born and raised on Darkinjung Country).

Apple acknowledges the Traditional Custodians of country throughout Australia and their continuing connection to land, culture and community. We pay our respects to Elders past and present.