On Christine Anu's birth certificate, the section for father is marked "unknown".

But Anu was raised by her mother and a stepfather who so lovingly and completely fulfilled the role of father that she refers to him as her dad.

It was this man, who passed music on to her.

"My dad was a massive music fan," Anu told ABC News.

"He self-taught lots of instruments – the ukulele, the guitar, the keyboard and electric guitar. He loved the steel guitar."

Anu spent many "hot, balmy nights" on the verandah at their rental in Wooloowin, Brisbane before her family relocated to Mabuiag Island in the Torres Strait where she spent much of her childhood.

Anu's parents taught their children how to speak Kala Lagaw Ya, her Dad's language, and Kalaw Kawaw Ya, her mother's, through song.

"It was shown [to us] that [music] could take up space in a room, fill it and really give joy to other people," Anu says, adding that music was handed down to her Dad too.

"His mother was also a prolific composer in her own right."

Two albums almost 30 years apart

Anu has been a household name since she released a cover version of the Warumpi Band's Island Home in 1995.

The song was the second single on her debut album Stylin' Up which was certified platinum.

So, it might come as a surprise that when the ARIA-award winner's new album Waku – Minaral A Minalay is released this Friday, August 2, it will be her second original album, and first in almost 30 years.

Anu was "dropped" by Mushroom Records after her 10-year contract expired.

"There was no email, there was no phone call, there was no card," she said.

"When Mushroom broke up with me it was crickets and tumbleweeds, basically. And that was harsh. That was absolutely harsh to be dropped.

'"You're dropped.' I remember using that in the 80s when I was in high school, 'you're dropped'.

"And nothing was [as] painful as that idea of being dropped when you realise that you're label-less.

"But your label didn't give you your talent. All they did was give you the opportunity to put your music out there. And I think I made a great impression with that first album."

Now with ABC Music, she says she couldn't have released Waku – Minaral A Minalay all those years ago anyway. The time is now.

So, what does Waku – Minaral A Minalay mean?

The album Waku – Minaral A Minalay, also the name of the lead single, is produced by David Bridie, who produced Stylin' Up.

There are soundscapes captured from Anu's visit to Thursday Island with Bridie, as well as traditional instruments from the Torres Strait on the album, but the primary instrument is Anu's powerful and euphonic vocals.

The literal translation of Waku is mat. Minaral is colours and Minalay means the patterns.

He was a lauded songman from Saibai, a low-lying island of the Torres Strait Islands archipelago, and died in 1979 when Anu was 10 years old. 

Anu drew from her mother's memories for the album in singing her grandfather's words and songs he composed, celebrating his legacy and her Saibai Island roots.

Music has continued to run through the family

In 2021, Anu moved to Rockhampton to care for her mother whose health is declining.

She's cherishing every moment as her mother's carer.

"What a privilege," Anu says.

Anu's dad passed away in 2019.

"He had been carrying the secret of cancer," she says.

"He knew what was going on. But none of us really knew."

As she had music passed down to her, Anu, who is also a grandmother, has passed music onto her children.

She says while her son Kuiam loves music, he isn't drawn to it in the same way her daughter Zipporah is.

"I'll be there in the wings or out the front clapping with all of the people who would rightfully adore her because she is a pocket rocket force to be reckoned with.

"She's gorgeous and a wonderful talent.

"I'm a fan and when I grow up, I want to be Zipporah."

Christine Anu's Waku – Minaral A Minalay is out August 2.