THE AUSSIE BBQ LONDON 2023
COLOURS HOXTON
2-4 HOXTON SQUARE, LONDON
SUNDAY MAY 14, 2023
TICKETS ON SALE ON THE DOOR
THE AUSSIE BBQ London is the largest showcase of Australian music in the UK – and 2023 will be the biggest one yet! Presented by Sounds Australia, with support from Tourism Australia, more than 20 Australian artists will perform across two stages at Colours Hoxton on Sunday May 14. From noon until night, London audiences will have the chance to discover an incredible array of Australian talent.
Doors will open at 11:30am, with artists playing until 11:00pm. Tickets are on sale on the door.
Since 2014 Sounds Australia has been presenting THE AUSSIE BBQ London at Colours Hoxton (fka the Hoxton Square Bar & Kitchen), offering Australian artists in the UK for The Great Escape Festival an additional opportunity to be seen by industry and fans. Acts who’ve previously played THE AUSSIE BBQ London include Amyl & The Sniffers, Confidence Man, G Flip, Hatchie, Methyl Ethel, Sampa The Great, Stella Donnelly, The Teskey Brothers and Tkay Maidza.
SET TIMES
BACK ROOM
12.30pm Jem Cassar-Daley
1.20pm Phoebe Go
2.10pm Eliza Hull
3.00pm Baby Cool
3.50pm Teen Jesus & The Jean Teasers
4.40pm Ula
5.30pm dust
6.20pm Cap Carter
7.10pm Nice Biscuit
8.00pm Pacific Avenue
8.50pm RVG
9.40pm Tasman Keith
10.30pm Crooked Colours
FRONT ROOM
2.00pm Jem Cassar-Daley (solo)
2.45pm MF Tomlinson
3.30pm Gena Rose Bruce
4.15pm Mindy Meng Wang 王萌 & Tim Shiel
5.00pm Winifred
5.45pm Blusher
6.30pm Ashwarya
7.15pm Georgia Mooney
8.00pm Chanel Loren
8.45pm Milan Ring
9.30pm Gold Fang
10.15pm Big Wett
PLAYLISTS
SHOWCASING ARTISTS
ASHWARYA
In ASHWARYA’s world, nothing is as it seems. The 21-year-old Indian-born Melbourne native is a musician whose primary instruments are smoke and mirrors, whose dominant language is surprise and unpredictability.
In ASHWARYA’s music, every left turn is met with a trap-door; her sound traverses rap and pop, bhangra drumming and R&B trilling. Pop music is filled with supposed innovators, but said innovators pale in comparison to the head-spinning delights of ASHWARYA’s debut singles, each worlds unto themselves.
Suffusing the sound of Gen Z with grit and glamour, ASHWARYA is a weird and witty new voice in a scene desperate for one, an ascendant star desperate to fuck with the world around her. Give ASHWARYA three minutes of your time, and she can change pretty much everything you think you know about modern pop.
BABY COOL
Marrying psychedelia with folk and a touch of country, Baby Cool is the new side project from Nice Biscuit co-front woman Grace Cuell. Baby Cool made her debut with singles “Magic”, “The Sea”, “Poison” and “Daydream”, all lifted from her the lush album, “Earthling on the Road to Self Love”, which was released in February 2023 via Virgin Music (Aus/NZ), Levitation / Greenway Records (US), and Fuzz Club / Bad Vibrations (EU/UK).
Praised for its warmth and dreamlike swell, “Earthling…” was 4ZZZ’s Album of the Week, featured on the RRR Soundscape and playlisted on RAGE, FBI, PBS, 2SER and RTRFM. The Guardian flagged Baby Cool in its Best New Music column while NME pinned her as an artist to watch in 2023.
Following a debut appearance at Bigsound 2022, Baby Cool was tapped to support Babe Rainbow, Wet Leg and King Gizzard and the Lizard Wizard before travelling to the UK for a co-headline tour with Nice Biscuit, including appearances at The Great Escape and Wide Awake Festival.
BIG WETT
BIG WETT is the name on everyone’s lips.
The enigmatic electro-pop sensation is taking the dance music scene by storm with her 90s inspired dance beats, explicit lyrics, and her thumping live show.
Her songs are tinged with undertones of queer pride, femme power and sexual empowerment, making her one of the moment’s most intriguing new artists with an overwhelming stage presence and personality to match.
The BIG WETT journey began when she uploaded her first ever demo onto Triple J Unearthed back in December of 2021. Within a matter of days, industry heads began to turn and die-hard fans were born almost instantly as her demo of ‘EAT MY ASS’ began to leak across the internet.
A few months later BIG WETT was playing regular gigs in packed clubs and bandrooms all across the country, supporting Confidence Man on their national tour, plus Channel Tres and Northeast Party House giving her the call up to join them at their Melbourne shows. By the end of 2022, tens of thousands had bore witness to her powerful live show, with even the most skeptical of chin strokers being drawn into the BIG WETT world by the end of each of her undeniably thrilling and wild performances. 2023 has international shores calling, with BIG WETT embarking on a tour of the UK, the release of her debut EP and sold out headline shows in her home country of Australia.
Whilst comparisons have been drawn between her and Peaches, Kim Petras, Uffie, COBRAH and more, it’s clear that BIG WETT is creating a world of her own and that there’s no stopping this act until the ultimate goal is achieved – world domination.
BLUSHER
Blusher are here to soundtrack your night out with their sparkly, energetic pop. Within a month of starting to write together, the Melbourne-based trio recorded and released their euphoric self-produced first single “Softly Spoken.” Soon after, they signed to their managers and, by the end of the year, to Atlantic Records.
2023 is primed to be bigger and better for the group; fresh off supporting Aurora on her national Australian tour with their explosive live show and releasing their second single “Dead End”, Blusher are gearing up for an EP, touring and soon, a global takeover. “We want to write hard-hitting, confidence-building pop, the kind you listen to when you’re getting ready for a night out”. With unfiltered lyricism peppered over dreamy synths and thick basslines lands the Blusher sound somewhere between late-night solitude and a 2am dancefloor.
CHANEL LOREN
British Caribbean artist Chanel Loren has been hailed by VICE as a ‘A defier of genres and a boundary pusher’, likened to SZA, Jorja Smith and PinkPantheress. South-East London born & raised, Chanel studied at the famed BRIT School, before moving to Australia in her late teens.
Chanel has released five songs that have 1.65 million+ streams, performed alongside Kehlani, Destin Conrad, IDK & Kota The Friend, received global radio + DSP support, championed by tastemakers CLASH, VICE, GRM Daily, The Line Of Best Fit, Notion, Dork Mag and won the FBi Radio SMAC Award for Song Of The Year.
CROOKED COLOURS
Crooked Colours are Philip Slabber, Leon De Baughn & Liam Merrett-Park from Perth, Western Australia. They formed in 2013 and have gone on to release two worldwide, critically acclaimed, albums ‘Vera’ in 2017 & ‘Langata’ in 2019. These albums include 2 x platinum award singles ‘Flow’ & ‘Do It Like You’ as well as 4 x gold accredited singles ‘I Hope You Get’, ‘I’ll Be There’, ‘Hold On’ & ‘Love Language’
Well known for their high energy live performances, the band has toured extensively internationally, playing in the United States, Canada, Mexico, United Kingdom, Germany, Switzerland, Austria, France, Japan, New Zealand and their home country of Australia. They have also performed at numerous internationally recognised festivals such as Bonnaroo, Outside Lands, Life Is Beautiful, Splendour In The Grass to name a few. The band have amassed over 500,000,000 combined streams across Spotify and Apple Music and sold-out multiple headline shows around the world.
The group released their first major label release with their recent album ‘Tomorrows’ via Atlantic Records featuring hit singles ‘Love Language’, ‘Falling’ & ‘No Sleep’. So far they have toured this record in Australia, New Zealand, Canada and The United States with plans in the works to tour the U.K. & Europe for the first time in three years.
DUST
Awabakal Land / Newcastle post-punk quintet dust is fast cementing their status as one of the country’s most singular and essential bands. Urgent, mesmeric, and arresting both on and off the stage, the collective has wasted no time in ensuring that their music and message reaches as far as it possibly can.
Forming against the backdrop of COVID in May 2020, the group – comprising vocalists and guitarists Gabriel Stove and Justin Teale, bassist Liam Smith, guitarist and saxophonist Adam Ridgway, and drummer Kye Cherry – gathered whenever they could to hone their craft, performing at every possible chance as they sharpened their sprawling yet intricate sound.
Unleashing debut single ‘STARE’ in early 2021, dust soon found themselves gracing the live stage with greater frequency. In March 2022, the band opened up the Newcastle leg of the THIS THAT festival, with support slots for high-profile names such as Bad//Dreems, Pist Idiots, Party Dozen, CIVC, and ARSE following soon after.
All the while, dust were hard at work behind the scenes, putting the finishing touches on their forthcoming debut EP. In June, the band gave fans a taste of what was to come by way of ‘The Gutter’, which scored critical acclaim from commercial radio stations around the country.
Now, dust are set to officially make their indelible mark upon the Australian music scene by way of et cetera, etc. Produced by Wade Keighran (Hockey Dad, Polish Club, Wolf & Cub) the eight-track EP is a culmination of dust not just as people, but as resonant artists.
Leaning heavily on themes of mortality, family, and social commentary, et cetera, etc arrives not just as an accomplished debut, but a vital addition to local music as a whole.
Offering a contemporary take on Australian post-punk, along with elements of experimental jazz and electronic music, dust have curated a sound that is as dark, introspective, and angular as it is powerful and progressive. Together, they’re set to provide Australian music with the sort of powerful jolt that will reverberate for years to come.
Together, they’re set to provide Australian music with the sort of powerful jolt that will reverberate for years to come.
ELIZA HULL
Eliza Hull is an award-winning musician; she recently won the Music Victoria ‘Amplify’ award and The Women in Music Award. Her music has been described as ‘stirring, captivating and heartfelt.’
Her songs are featured in ABC KIDS TV show ‘And Then Something Changed,’ ABC drama ‘The Heights’ and American TV shows ‘Awkward, ‘Teen Wolf’ and ‘Saving Hope.’
She is played on radio nationally and internationally including on ABC, RN, BBC, double j and triple j. Eliza recently performed at SXSW in 2022 and Big Sound Festival. She also has performed at Sydney Opera House and Melbourne Recital Centre.
Eliza has toured international and nationally and performed at the Natural History Museum in London and in Central Park New York. She has performed at the Brunswick Music Festival, Surround Sounds, New Years Eve on The Hill, St Kilda Festival, Ability Fest and Moomba.
Eliza has her fifth studio record coming out in 2023, which will feature lead single ‘Running Underwater’ which she performed live on Q&A on ABC TV. The EP will be produced by Pip Norman, with collaborations with Gordi and Odette.
GENA ROSE BRUCE
Last year a suffocating black fog pursued Melbourne musician Gena Rose Bruce through the night’s depths – a recurring dream wraith brought on by the passing of her partner’s mother and pandemic instability. But as the inky spectre retreated, she began waking early, when the stars just barely cling to the sky – the first sparks of the strength, self-acceptance and resilience, which came to fruition over the recording of her new album Deep Is the Way.
“I really connected with the idea that stars are the people we’ve lost looking over us,” says Bruce. “You see that there’s so much beauty still left. You’re awake and you’ve got this whole day, this whole life ahead of you.”
It’s a memory Bruce channelled into the hopeful, devotional track ‘Morning Stars’, taken from Deep Is the Way – a record of dark introspection punctuated by the brightness of self-acceptance; and startling guitar excursions that articulate the present moment’s roiling emotions. It’s a complex album – devastating, jaunty, heavy and besotted.
Deep Is the Way chronicles Bruce’s fraught path back into the light, as she processes death and inner turmoil to emerge with a newfound state of strength and resilience. Following the success of her acclaimed debut Can’t Make You Love Me, Bruce had international touring planned, including stops in the US for SXSW Music Festival, the UK and Japan. But her last stores of adrenaline were running dry as she attempted to balance her career with trips to Israel to support her partner.
Artists are told by the industry to capitalise on momentum both explicitly and implicitly, to keep pushing or risk losing it all. When the pandemic flattened Bruce’s months of preparation, doubts about her future and artistic worth crept in. Her journey into balancing ambition and self-worth shows up on the burning slow-build ‘Future’.
“My passion and drive had actually been a burden and held me back from a lot of other aspects of life,” says Bruce. “You’ve dedicated yourself to something – and then there’s a pandemic and it’s just gone. I took it too far, too hard and kind of destroyed myself.”
She found herself facing Melbourne’s extended lockdown, in a tiny apartment with a grieving partner, and her career in jeopardy – anxieties that bubble over in a whitewater of arpeggiated synthesisers on ‘Misery and Misfortune’
“I just burnt out completely. When everything stopped, I felt exhausted and completely frustrated,” says Bruce. “It sounds funny to say now, but I felt like I wasn’t really good at anything. I didn’t like myself as a person, like I needed to have attention, recognition, or praise to make myself feel acceptable.”
She began turning inwards and shutting down around friends and family. Her close relationships felt laboured and her responses in social interactions insincere. She even began questioning her commitment to her partner. On the baroque, Billie Holiday-inspired track, ‘I’m Not Made to Love Only You’ Bruce fantasises about the thrill of new romance with unflinching honesty; and on the album’s dancefloor-ready opening track ‘Foolishly in Love’, that heat feels palpably close.
“I was asking myself: ‘am I meant for one sort of relationship?’,” says Bruce. “I think it’s an important question to ask, to really just have a frank conversation about those feelings.”
Housebound, with the claustrophobia of lockdown setting in, Bruce began identifying with characters in the books she was reading, like April Wheeler in Revolutionary Road – an actor whose ambitions are dampened by domesticity. Frustrations that made their way into the aching track ‘Captive’.
“Being out of work made me feel like a 1950s housewife,” says Bruce. “Because music wasn’t happening at the time, it felt like my time was over… I couldn’t see a way out. I just kind of felt trapped at home. That’s what April’s like, she’s just not made for that kind of suburban housewife existence. She kind of fell into it and let go of all of her dreams.”
Bruce’s journey inward led her to seminal psychoanalytical texts, including Sigmund Freud’s Civilization and Its Discontents, in which he continues his exploration of humanity’s self-destructive tendencies. On the doom-laden ‘Destroy Myself’, with its buzzing synths and chugging guitars, Bruce reflects on her own dark compulsions.
“I think what I found fascinating was that he was talking about the fact that people have a need for that sort of behaviour. I have always felt that I drive towards that darkness,” says Bruce. “But it’s not a way to live your life and you do need help.”
Deep Is the Way is Bruce’s outlet for those emotions; but writing only gets you part of the way. It’s only through professional help and embracing the strength in her long-term relationship – found on the delicate piano tribute ‘Love’; and on ‘Harsh Light’, with its jagged Crowded House-like guitars and post Paul McCartney swing – that Bruce has found herself back literally on solid ground.
In the absence of touring, she has relished nature’s therapeutic qualities, through her newfound love of gardening, which she’s now studying too. Investing time in life’s cycles of renewal and growth gave Deep Is the Way its name, and the context for its pivotal title track, co-written with iconic songwriter Bill Callahan.
“Sometimes you don’t know why plants die, it can be so many things,” says Bruce. “Gardening just feels like going back to simple things. Working with your hands, in dirt and mud, is just a really beautiful feeling.”
Now, Bruce is content in her artistry: happy to dream, and relinquish herself to the whims of time and circumstance, rather than fight the tide. On the Electric Light Orchestra-inspired ‘I’d Rather Be a Dreamer’ she bucks society’s measure of success, instead finding contentment in her own creations and inner-strength, the dirt below and the stars above.
Deep Is the Way is out now via Remote Control Records.
GEORGIA MOONEY
Georgia Mooney is an ARIA-winning singer-songwriter and multi-instrumentalist from Sydney. Her music is ornate and hand-crafted, sculpted by a strong mind and a delicate heart. Her songs tell stories of the beauty and potency of vulnerability, and the complexities of connection and perception, carried by her soaring ethereal voice over lush, cinematic soundscapes.
Audiences already know Mooney from beloved folk band All Our Exes Live In Texas. With Exes, she became a festival favourite, touring extensively around the world. She’s shared the stage with everyone from the Backstreet Boys to Nathaniel Rateliff & The Night Sweats to Midnight Oil.
The release of debut solo singles War Romance and I Am Not In A Hurry mark an exciting new chapter and the stepping forward of a major talent. Her solo work is a stylistic departure for Mooney, a striking indie-art-folk-pop album, co-produced with Grammy-winning LA producer Noah Georgeson (Joanna Newsom, Cate Le Bon, Marlon Williams). Mooney’s music exists beyond the bounds of time and space. An avowed Star Wars nerd who presents as a 40s movie star – she seems both from a long time ago and a galaxy far away, while speaking directly to the present. Influences from every member of the Wainwright family, Joni Mitchell, the sophistication of the Great American Songbook and even classical composers sift through her songs seamlessly, alongside fuzzed out guitars and production that evoke the unsettling genius of Kate Bush – both her idiosyncratic wall of sound instrumentation and unexpected turns of chords and melodies.
Georgia Mooney’s debut solo album will be released in August 2023 via Nettwerk.
GOLD FANG
Hailing from Sydney, Trinidadian born Gold Fang moves effortlessly between Dancehall, Reggae, Hip-Hop, R&B and Soul. Flying the flag for Caribbean music in Australia, Gold Fang’s magnetism leaves a mark. His vocabulary and his unmistakable voice alone propels Gold Fang far in front of the local space, most notably heralded by triple j (Australia’s national youth broadcaster) as “versatile yet unmistakable, able to seamlessly imbue any genre that he touches with a sonic fingerprint that is as distinctive as it is powerful. It is his undeniable presence and charisma that has caused Gold Fang to be earmarked as one-to-watch.”
Since signing to NLV Records late 2021, Gold Fang’s catalogue of singles and features have amassed over 6,500,000+ streams and secured 90 editorial playlists, including six playlist covers. triple j Unearthed placed him the 3rd most played on the station in 2022.
March 2023 saw Fang release his debut mixtape, SMOOVE KILLA, introducing the international music industry to Gold Fang’s world. With nods to his Caribbean culture and heritage pulled into every corner of his expansive musical palette, the 15 track project explores his identity, culture, talent and community and his two distinct sides – one more emotive and romantic, and the other more street ready and grungy. SMOOVE KILLA generated 85,000 Spotify streams within the first week of its release and was named FBi Radio’s ‘Album of the Week.’
Gold Fang upholds his reputation as a live performer who has an unrivalled ability to command an audience. In 2022, he sold out his debut headline show in Sydney; travelled the country on nationwide tours with Australian bands Sticky Fingers and The Terrys; showcased at Australian music conference BIGSOUND and was chosen for notable international support slots with UK Grime legend Novelist and Jamaican dancehall icon Sister Nancy. In 2023, he was awarded his debut festival performance at Field Day, invited to showcase at SXSW in the US in March, and selected to support international superstar Lil Nas X in Sydney and Genesis Owusu in Brisbane. As well as a run of notable support slots in the bag already and soon-to-be-announced festival performances, including Splendour In The Grass, Vivid and Promiseland, Gold Fang has also landed multiple brand partnerships and sync placements with Adidas, McDonalds, JD Sports and Champion.
Gold Fang is motivated to put his country on the map, whilst paving the way for a new generation of young, Black and powerful Australian artists. There is truly only one Gold Fang, and now he is ready to share it with the world.
JEM CASSAR-DALEY
The talents of indie-pop artist Jem Cassar-Daley have dazzled the Australian music scene since her debut in 2021.
Jem’s debut EP I Don’t Know Who to Call released in 2022, a devastatingly gorgeous collection of all of the singer-songwriter’s works to date. Featuring previous singles “Letting Go,” “Changes,” “Like it More” and “Oh No” which have quickly gained her notoriety and adoration.
Jem’s captivating performances, stellar vocals and timeless songwriting have earned her the Indigenous Award at the 2022 Queensland Music Awards along with the New Talent of the year at the 2022 NIMA’s, impressive Spotify and Apple editorial playlist support along with nationwide press, including being named as the star to watch in 2023 in the Sunday Mail.
The young talent has come into her own as a contemporary artist, with a world class sound that is a unique combination drawing from favourites like Missy Higgins, Phoebe Bridgers, Angus and Julia Stone, and Carole King. As imagined, the result is a gorgeously diverse soundscape of soul, indie, pop grooves.
Make sure you see this immeasurable new talent for yourself.
MF TOMLINSON
MF Tomlinson is an Australian-born, London-based artist who, with his collaborators the MFs, crafts sonic worlds that draw upon acid folk, prog, jazz and ambient music – lying somewhere between Bill Callahan, Yo La Tengo, and Leonard Cohen. His second album, We Are Still Wild Horses, was released February ‘23 on PRAH to a remarkable critical reception (★★★★ The Times, Uncut, Mojo, The Line of Best Fit). Their compelling live show has earned them supports with Dry Cleaning and Rolling Blackouts Coastal Fever and a set in Latitude in ’22. This summer the MFs are set to play numerous festivals in the UK and abroad (including The Great Escape and The End of the Road) with more announcements to come.
MILAN RING
A singer, rapper, guitarist, producer, mix & mastering engineer, Milan Ring meticulously curates each and every aspect of the creative process, from the first chord struck on the guitar to the final master. This one-woman powerhouse is perfectly illustrated to us in her live show, stepping out solo, creating loops, dropping beats, triggering samples all whilst effortlessly leading with the guitar and drawing us in with her honest & unique vocals.
MINDY MENG WANG 王萌 & TIM SHIEL
A cutting-edge collaboration from two of Australia’s most distinctive musical voices: Chinese guzheng virtuoso Mindy Meng Wang 王萌 and Melbourne-based electronic producer Tim Shiel.
Their unique works connect ancient traditions to the distant future, with exploratory wide-eyed production that oscillates from jungle breakbeats to minimal house thumps, incorporating smoky trip-hop atmospheres and lush ambiences. Everpresent throughout are the dreamlike melodies of Mindy’s 21-string guzheng – a two-metre long Chinese harp with a rich tradition stretching back millennia.
Their debut EP, forged during Melbourne’s brutal 2020 lockdowns, organically reached across the world to touch tastemakers at BBC 6 Music, NTS & Mixmag, with MTV Australia calling it “some of the best Australian electronic music released this year,” and Gorilla vs Bear calling it “incredibly hypnotic and cinematic.”
NICE BISCUIT
Brisbane-based psychedelic rock quintet Nice Biscuit are unique in the mesmerising sonic and visual world they create. A swirling blend of krautesque rhythms and powerful dual vocals, combined with heavily modulated guitar tones, the band creates a hypnotic psychedelia that sets them apart from the rest. Their choreographed live show has taken them to festivals all around the world and earned them supports slots for King Gizzard and the Wizard Lizard, Wet Leg and many more. With two EPs and an independently-released album behind them, Nice Biscuit has recently signed to cult labels Bad Vibes/Fuzz Club (UK) and Greenway/Levitation (US), and will release their much-anticipated sophomore album in late 2024.
PACIFIC AVENUE
In 2017, in the Australian coastal town of Gerringong, a four-piece alternative rock band was born, blending the sounds of classic rock & roll with a contemporary indie flavour.
Pacific Avenue have had a busy and exciting few years landing festival slots at; Mountain Sounds, Sounds of the Suburbs, Yours and Owls, Lost Paradise, and Snow Tunes. They have also supported the likes of established acts including; The Wombats (UK), Tash Sultana, Ocean Alley, The Vanns, San Sisco, Tyne James Organ and The Angels.
Throughout 2018 and 2019, Pacific Avenue spent time in the studio with producer Adrian Breakespear (Gang of Youths) to create their debut EP ‘Strawberry Skies’. These songs were written over a period where all the boys were out of home for the first time and living together in a beach shack at Woonona. Through these shared experiences, the EP expresses the notion of ‘freedom of youth’ and discovering oneself at a sometimes confusing age.
Following the release of this EP in late 2019 and establishing their powerful sound, Pacific Avenue have been back in the studio with Adrian Breakspear to bring to you their latest single ‘My Hero’. This song was written when singer Harry met someone for a fleeting moment on holidays, who amazed him in every aspect. ‘This person had all the beautiful things that made you stop and forget about this crazy world for a while, and with music that is exactly what we want to do’- Harry Obrien.
PHOEBE GO
Previously fronting much loved acts Snakadaktal and Two People, Phoebe Go is the exciting new solo project of Australian alt-pop artist Phoebe Lou. The process of finding her voice as a solo artist has been, as described by Phoebe herself, daunting, but it has also set her free.
Phoebe Go unveils a full-bodied and wholly realised acoustic world unlike anything Phoebe has shared before. Produced by trusted friend Simon Lam (Kllo, Armlock), ‘We Don’t Talk’ muses on pushing through, riding on rough textures, grit and determination, kicking the Phoebe Go project into gear.
Phoebe Go is a heartfelt project that at its core, is full of hope. It’s lyrically heavy at the crux, but there’s lightness for a reason. It’s about growing up, staying young, losing your feet and finding them again. It’s passing Go and collecting $200 on the monopoly board. It’s the sweet milk at the end of a bowl of Crunchy Nut. It’s a NASA mission control countdown and Phoebe Go is the rocket.
RVG
RVG’s highly-anticipated third album is named Brain Worms for the hyper-recognisable experience of, each day, baring witness to a world of private obsessions being aired out in the infinite. For the Melbourne post-punk band and its lyricist/frontwoman Romy Vager, there’s a newfound radical acceptance glistening overtop everything.
After a momentous first five years — finding critical acclaim for debut A Quality of Mercy, landing on countless end-of-year Best Of lists, and playing alongside some of the world’s biggest acts in Pixies, Kurt Vile, Pete Doherty, Sleaford Mods, Shame, and more — RVG released second album Feral as the world was locking down. Feral was called “masterfully executed” by The Big Issue, “the record of a lifetime” by Rolling Stone Australia, and given four-and-a-half stars by the Sydney Morning Herald.
Between the four bandmates — lead singer and guitarist Vager, guitarist Reuben Bloxham, drummer Marc Nolte and bassist Isabele Wallace — this is the most confident they’ve ever felt in RVG. They’ve moved past their influences, pushed themselves, and tried new things. And they have made a record they can, by all accounts, call their best.
TASMAN KEITH
Hometown pride runs deep for 26-year-old rapper Tasman Keith, whose music is indebted to giving back to the community that raised him. From a small town on New South Wales’ mid-North Coast most commonly recognised for one of the country’s most notorious missions and most shameful history the rapper is carrying on the storytelling traditions of his family, by writing a new chapter through music. From syrupy 90s West Coast synths, to neo-funk, skittering trap hi-hats and emotive R&B, his music defies categorisation, but his message remains hard to ignore.
TEEN JESUS & THE JEAN TEASERS
Formed during high school in their hometown of Canberra in 2019, TEEN JESUS AND THE JEAN TEASERS – Anna Ryan (they/them; vocals/guitar), Scarlett McKahey (she/her; guitar/vocals), Jaida Stephenson (she/her; bass) and Neve van Boxsel (she/her; drums) – channel Riot Grrrl-era energy with a 2023 spin and are the most natural, confident and damn likeable punk-rockers you’ll meet. Now based across Dharawal Country/Wollongong, Ngunnawal/Canberra, and Naarm/Melbourne, the band have graduated into an astute group of early twenty-somethings – just as concerned about issues facing today’s women, non-binary people and young people everywhere as they are with their loud and completely cool punk rock sound.
On their debut EP Pretty Good For A Girl Band, Teen Jesus and the Jean Teasers proclaimed that they are a true force to be reckoned with and aren’t here to mess around. Their most recent single ‘Girl Sports’ hit #55 on the triple j Hottest 100, and the band played a string of summer festivals including Party In The Paddock, Beyond The Valley, NYE On The Hill and St Kilda Festival, following their sell-out national EP headline tour last spring. The PGFAGB EP saw praise from the likes of The Guardian, triple j, frankie, The AU Review, Music Feeds, The Music and Kill Your Stereo, cover stars on Spotify and Apple Music, with ‘AHHHH!’ taking the #117 spot on the Hottest 200 countdown last year.
ULA
Ula and her music are clearly in a class of their own, and with 1.5M + engaged followers, her fans tend to agree.
Starting off in the humble world of street busking (a passion that Ula still regularly indulges in), there has never been a question of Ula becoming anything other than a performer – it’s in her DNA. Maybe it has to do with the fact that the legendary Gene Simmons from KISS signed her mother’s belly when Ula was in there, or that she attended her first concert at the tiny age of four.
Whatever the reason, Ula is a natural artist, ready for greatness.
Born and raised in Sydney, on a diet of 80’s rock with a side serving of traditional Lithuanian folk music, Ula is quickly making a name for herself. As an only child, Ula grew up with a collection of imaginary friends accompanying her on journeys through magical worlds. This vivid imagination that she describes as “me and my brain going off” has transferred into the beautifully esoteric lyrics that she and her imagination concoct.
In 2020 the then 16-year-old released her first track Futon independently. The track, which has now amassed an enormous 23.3m + streams across all platforms, not surprisingly started getting industry ears pricking up.
With in-person opportunities for Ula to spread the word of her talents almost non-existent with seemingly endless lock-downs, she had to formulate an alternate plan. Utilising her Gen Z skills, the multi-instrumental teen jumped aboard the social media platform TikTok to embark on her rapidly expanding musical journey. A decision that’s proved to be a master stroke.
When asked how she would describe her musical style, Ula provides a pretty phenomenal answer:
“I think I’m overly ambitious to compensate the mundane; I’m very conscious of steering clear of becoming a carbon copy of another musician.”
Ula has already given her ever-expanding fanbase a taste of what to expect off her debut EP through her most recent release of Gold Star. With an accompanying video, directed by Amber Mealing (Birdz, Benny Morell), that oozes early 00’s nostalgia, Gold Star showcases the inspiration Ula takes from the Y2K pop and grunge eras.
Her on-stage reputation has already paved the way for Ula to share the stage supporting the likes of international stars Alfie Templeman, Amy Shark and The Veronicas. She’s also spread her ‘festival wings’ at the Someday Soon Festival, alongside Holy Holy, Middle Kids and Ruby Fields, plus a national tour with Tyne James Organ, and her very own debut headline show Sydney’s Playhouse Playground.
Ula was also recently handpicked to support multi-award-winning Canadian Indie rock band Mother Mother on a run of shows across Australia’s East coast.
And finally, the Pop Princess is ready to unleash her music to a global audience; having received a perfectly timed offer to perform at the highly coveted 2023 UK festival – The Great Escape.
Having recently signed to boutique agency Flagrant Artist Management (Ruel, Taka Perry, Tom Thum), Ula and her aethereal, abrasive indie pop are soon to be very, very big.
WINIFRED
Winifred is forging her own path as a standalone, alt-pop artist with an emphasis on sound design production and shimmery, hook-centric vocals.
Townsville-based artist Winifred released her debut project, aptly titled EP1 in 2022. It received glowing support from the likes of Home & Hosed, MTV Australia, Pilerats, Cool Accidents, The Music and Women In Pop. Her singles ‘Drowning Purple’ and ‘Fixed On You’ were featured on Love Island UK, and ‘Into The Night’ was played in-game on Fortnite Radio.
In the past year Winifred has supported Holy Holy, Eskimo Joe, Running Touch and Slumberjack. Outside of her own project, Winifred has co-written for other artists including Alice Ivy’s 2019 single, ‘In My Mind’ featured in a global ‘Shot & Edited on iPhone’ Apple TVC.