Kaninna Langford (known professionally as Miss Kaninna) is an Australian singer and songwriter.[2]
Miss Kaninna released her self-titled debut EP in September 2024. In 2024, Australian Recording Industry Association announced that Miss Kaninna is the first independent Aboriginal woman to ever be nominated for a debut single at the ARIA Music Awards.[3]
Early life
Kaninna grew up on Bruny Island.[1][4] She had beginnings in musical theatre. At age 18, Kaninna was accepted into WAAPA (Western Australian Academy of Performing Arts).[5] Feeling unsupported, Kaninna returned to Tasmania, telling The Music in 2023 "I was living away from home when I was 18 – like I'm from Bruny and then, all of a sudden, I moved to Perth, which is a massive jump. I just kind of fell out of love [with the course] and thought, 'Oh, this is not what I thought it was'."[6]
In 2021, Miss Kaninna commencing singing backing vocals in community bands before meeting producer Finn Rees.[1]
She was cast as Cynthia in the 2022 national theatre tour of The Sapphires.[7][8] In 2022, Miss Kaninna debuted her solo music at Dark Mofo before relocating to Melbourne later that year.[7][1]
Career
2023-present: Kaninna
In 2023, Miss Kaninna signed with Soul Has No Tempo and in April 2023, announced the release of debut single "Blak Britney" (4 May 2023), a song the artist described as "an anti-establishment anthem".[5] The song received rotation on triple j.[9]
In October 2024 Miss Kaninna released "Pinnacle Bitch".[10]
In June 2024, Miss Kaninna released "Push Up", a song about moving from Tasmania to Melbourne.[7]
In September 2024, Miss Kaninna released her debut EP. Upon release Miss Kaninna said "It took me a while to finally name the EP Kaninna. I had other names circling in my head but none of them really felt right. This being my first body of work as an artist I wanted to name it something I can be proud of and look back at in years time and still feel a connection to it. That's when I realised it had to be my name. Since releasing music, people often ask me 'what my real name is' which is so funny because my name is so unique that people must think it's made up."[4]
Her grandmother, Rosalind Langford, was a famous painter and renowned activist. Rosalind played an important role in starting the Aboriginal Information Service (AIS) in the 1970s; the first Aboriginal organisation in Tasmania and was its first State Secretary.[9][11]
Her mother, Ruth, work with the Indigenous Women's Legal Centre for women experiencing family violence. Ruth is the founder of Nayri Niara, an Aboriginal social enterprise that works to uplift local communities.[9][11] Ruth also performed in a funk-reggae band.[11]
