Jodie Kell

PhD Grad Dip. Education (secondary). Grad Dip. Audio Production.

Dr. Jodie Kell is a musician and ethnomusicologist whose practice-based research focuses on the power of music to create a space for the expression of different cultural backgrounds and perspectives. She researchers the dynamics of gender in music performance, the importance of intercultural collaboration and works with First Nation musicians across Australia and the Pacific.  Jodie is the lead guitarist and manager of the Ripple Effect Band, who are the first women from their community of Maningrida to take up instruments and play music. Formed in 2017, the band has become strong voice in the Australian music scene with a stellar debut album Mayawa released in 2024. Jodie is currently the project manager for the Music for Change: Pacific Women project with Wantok Musik. This aims to support the development of women musicians in Pacific Nations, starting in Bougainville and Tonga in 2026.

As an audio engineer, Jodie is interested in ways that audio production techniques can contribute to the expression of identity and place, as well as support the maintenance and revitalisation of cultural practices. Jodie is the Laboratory Manager at PARADISEC (Pacific and Regional Archive for Digital Sources in Endangered Cultures), working towards the reformulation of archival workflow to enable access and to bring meaning to archival materials. She is a senior research officer for LDaCA (Language Data Commons of Australia) and she co-produces the podcast, Toksave: Culture Talks, a series of interviews with people who have personal and cultural connections with the PARADISEC archive. She also works on the Jukurrpa manu yawulyu mardukuja-patu-kurlangu: Warlpiri Women’s Digital Learning Space, an archival access tool that enables community members to access digital material on mobile phones or tablets and share with others.