Former AFL player Marlon Motlop has teamed up with multiple-time ARIA Award winning artists Hilltop Hoods to feature on a brand-new track.
Motlop provided vocals for 'The Gift', which details the importance of music in a person's lives.
The former Port Adelaide player and state league star told National Indigenous Times that he has held a passion for music since a young age.
"Growing up in Darwin, there were always guitars around the barbeques and get togethers, so I would be around music all the time," Motlop told the National Indigenous Times.
"I started writing (songs) as early as 10, my dad used to play the guitar to my brother, sister and I and we used to sing and learn to play from an early age."
A talented junior footballer, Motlop featured in five games at AFL level during his time at the Power between 2008 and 2011.
Post-AFL he went on to have an admirable career in state leagues, playing over 100 SANFL games with North Adelaide and Glenelg as well as producing strong football in the WAFL and NTFL.
He was a member of Glenelg's drought-breaking SANFL premiership in 2019 and played a starring role on the day kicking three goals, including one of the goals of the season.
But after swapping his footy boots for a guitar, there is no turning back for the 34-year-old.
"Performing on stage to me is the most fun thing in the world – playing football was such an effort, fighting to make an impact in a game or to stay involved.
"When I perform, all the lights, eyeballs and ears are on me and it is a responsibility that I've fallen in love with more and more.
"It's such a different experience to be honest."
Since focussing on his music, Motlop has held support slots with massive national and international acts including Midnight Oil, A.B. Original, Pete Murray and Xavier Rudd and performed at festivals such as WOMADelaide, Bass in the Grass and Party in the Paddock.
He told National Indigenous Times that collaborating with Hilltop Hoods was a 'surreal' experience.
"I've known the lads for a couple of years now and working with those guys is a bucket list item that I can now reflect on forever.
"They're legends and great people to be around and I'm forever grateful."
He said that 'The Gift' was a representation of how important music can be in our lives and the purpose it serves to us.
"For Australia, the frequency of sound has been in the DNA of this great country for more than 60,000 years," he said.
"For the world, it's a universal sound that has the ability to heal and connect all people.
"What we stream today on our iPhones is a beautiful evolution of what we once started with.
"For me, 'The Gift' encompasses all of that, including what I gained from my parents."
