Month: July 2019

15th Anniversary of Australian Music Prize brings new opportunity for budding musicians

Posted on by Free Vreman


The first release of 2019 nominees confirms an updated look and judging system in deciding which Australian musician deserves the win and $30,000 cash prize.

As one of the world’s most respected music awards, the Australian Music Prize has shifted its focus to shining a light on upcoming artists that may not otherwise have the resources or support to have their music heard.

This new system offers opportunity for lesser known artists to have an equal chance at winning the reputable award as renown nominees such as local acts Alex Lahey, Cub Sport and Thelma Plum. 

Australian Music Prize coordinator Scott Murphy shares his support for the update.

“The Australian Music Prize has never been more vital in our music ecosystem, so it is important for us to show the evolution of the prize with a refreshing new look and an expansion,” Mr Murphy says. 

“This year’s judges have already listened to over 250 albums, which is an unbelievable nod to the amazing body of work being produced by Australian musicians every year.”

The judging panel is made up of over 30 music industry professionals who will critique the nominees on artistic merit alone.

The winner of the prestigious award and $30,000 prize will be selected in March next year. 

Mixed Media: Where Traditional Art Meets Contemporary Fashion Design

Posted on by Chiara Torelli


Art has been a medium for storytelling since the beginning of the human story itself, used to capture memories, emotions and knowledge. Whether sharing information, imbuing representations of nature with abstract significances or tapping into our more profound emotional landscapes, art has always brought us together.

Drawing on this tradition, the artists at the Cape York Hopevale Arts and Culture Centre are teaming up with QUT Fashion Design students. This exciting union will see the creation of a young, cutting edge couture collection entitled Wubuul buii, ‘together.’ Textiles designed by the artists are transformed into provocative and creative zero-waste garments. The products of this collaboration have told their individual stories at the 2019 Cairns Indigenous Art Fair and will be displayed at the artisan gallery from September 21st.

Established in 2009, the Hopevale Arts and Culture Centre is a space for local Guugu Yimithir artists to further their creative practice and maintain their unique culture. This not-for-profit corporation is owned and governed by indigenous artists and board members, actively encouraging Aboriginal people to engage with their cultural traditions and languages through intergenerational sharing.

Here budding or experienced artists learn ancient skills like gathering, weaving and bush dyeing local fibres, or more contemporary skills like printing, etching, and modern art techniques. There is also a workshop space available to members of the community, providing them with a safe place to experiment and push their creative practice.

The centre displays the arts, crafts and artefacts produced by local artists, which can be bought on-site or through the exhibitions which the centre attends. The work produced is highly interdisciplinary, with much emphasis on textiles, multi-media and collaboration with other art forms such as dance, fashion design and song.

The Wubuul buii collection will celebrate one of the oldest cultures on earth, with garments characterised by the bright, bold patterns used as forms of storytelling and cultural communication. The garments which made their way down the runway were designed with a zero-waste work ethic, further emphasising our connection to the earth and each other and challenging the designers to push their creativity to new levels.

The design students are excited to renew their collaboration with Hopevale, whom some worked with last year as well. Expressing kinship with each other and our past, this juxtaposition of traditional cultural storytelling with modern fashion design is narrating ancient stories in a new way, to an ever-changing audience. By adapting and transforming themselves, storytelling and art are always evolving, always relevant, and always essential to the human condition.

Be sure to check out this fabulous and thought-provoking collection at artisan from September 21st! For sneak peeks at the work in progress, take a look at the Hopevale Arts and Culture Centre facebook and Instagram pages.

Greta Stanley keeps on evolving with new EP, ‘Sun In My Eyes’

Posted on by Matthew Wotherspoon

Known for her heartfelt songs tackling themes bound to the human spirit, 23-year-old Greta Stanley has continued her reign as far north Queensland’s wunderkind with her new EP, ‘Sun In My Eyes’.

Weaving together pop, folk, rock and electronica, Stanley‘s newest release exhibits her confessional lyricism and raw themes, solidifying her reputation as an artist that is both relatable and mesmerising.

Before ‘Sun In My Eyes‘, Greta Stanley‘s ‘Bedroom City’ and album ‘Full Grown’ combined evocative storytelling with a gorgeous indie-folk palette to create a sound which gained her plenty of support from radio stations and listeners.

Now, on her new EP ‘Sun In My Eyes’, Stanley has taken a bold sonic leap forward, blending folk with pop and rock, and other genres. The lyrical vulnerability remains the same, but her artistic horizons have broadened dramatically, while her voice continues to entice. Altogether, ‘Sun In My Eyes’ creates a rich tapestry that’s hard to define, but easy to listen to.

Stanley says of the EP:

“This is a collection of songs from a long list of memories. From Melbourne to Mena Creek to Cairns, to things I’ve dreamt up in my head that never landed anywhere at all. I wanted to share both the outward real things and the inward mess of thoughts – in the hope that others find comfort or connection in that.

It’s a collection of songs about dealing with the lows, about putting your heart on the line but knowing your worth and when to say no, about day to day things that drag, about crying in your room (and probably a lot of other places), about beautiful memories but the sadness that comes from not being able to have the moment again and again – and questioning everything. But despite the brushes on depression and mental health, it’s about maintaining hope, about getting up from the floor and remembering that time heals – friends rule – there’s lessons in everything and to never stop loving, even when it gets hard to.”

‘Sun In My Eyes‘ saw longtime producer Mark Myers and Tristan Barton (The Middle East, Emma Louise) assist Stanley in creating an EP that is cinematic, nuanced and immaculate. Known for its mesmerising soundscapes, the EP features popular singles ‘Kick’, ‘Come Undone’ and ‘Follow Suit’.

‘Sun in My Eyes’ is out now on all digital streaming platforms via Double Drummer/AWAL.

BIGSOUND announces major keynotes to 2019 lineup

Posted on by Matthew Wotherspoon

Australia’s leading new music festival and industry gathering, BIGSOUND, has announced another major addition to its 2019 speaker lineup.

Joining the bill is Best Coast’s Bethany Cosentino, music writer and industry figure Vivien Goldman, Frontier Touring’s Sahara Herald and acclaimed artist Mojo Juju.

Apart from writing some of the best indie anthems of the past decade, Best Coast’s Bethany Cosentino has become a key figure in the feminist movement, speaking out against sexism and sexual assault, on top of being a voice for those battling addiction.

Vivien Goldman is another figure who has helped evolve the industry through her work as a journalist in the UK on publications such as NME, Sounds and Melody Maker and pirate radio. On top of such feats is her work as a publicist for Bob Marley, becoming an artist as part of 80s new-wave duo Chantage and receiving acclaim through her latest book ‘Revenge of the She-Punks’.

Sahara Herald has been a staple of the live music industry for decades, co-ordinating Big Day Out for eighteen years before moving to Mushroom Group’s Frontier Touring where she was appointed Tour Director in 2018.

Mojo Juju is an ARIA-nominated Australian musician, best-known for her breakthrough album Native Tongue. Her storytelling through music and musical journey has led her to become an important artist voice in the industry, giving us insights few other artists can provide.

BIGSOUND has also announced their party program, which comprises of no less than 16 official events. The BIGSOUND Virgin Australia ‘HOME’ Welcome Party will feature music from Electric Fields, DRMGNOW, Deline Briscoe and Mambali and the Women in Music lunch. The bill will also see music from Milan Ring, Kobie Dee, Stevan and Dulcie, Nettwerk Music Showcase (featuring Riley Pearce, Jaguar Jonze, Hayden Calnin and Harrison Storm), the Unified Showcase (with Tones And I, Jack Botts, Stellie and RINI), Music Industry College Bacon & Bangers and the famous Bloody Mary Brunch.

For more information about BIGSOUND and ticketing options, click here.


Artistic Science or Scientific Art?

Posted on by Chiara Torelli


Art and science are usually seen as being opposed, the realm of whimsical creatives versus the domain of technical and precise intellectuals, but notable figures from the past show us time and time again that the division between art and science is illusory.

From Galileo’s models of planets to da Vinci’s technical plans; Descartes’ illustrations of magnetic fields and Lomonosov’s drawings of the aurora; Agnes Arber’s illustrative sketches of plant anatomy and Edison’s designs for electrical filaments: the best thinkers are the ones who balance the technical with the creative, who think accurately outside the box, who create with precision and passion.

Jarred Wright is one contemporary creator who embodies this symbiotic relationship between art and science. Originally from Christchurch, Jarred studied at the British Society of Scientific Glass, part of the University of Queensland’s Chemistry and Microbiology Department.

As a scientific glassblower, he works in the fields of chemistry, nanotechnology and microbiology, creating technical instruments dedicated to the study of nature’s microcosm.

As an artist, he finds inspiration in these natural forms which appear under the microscope, as well as in the unique flora, fauna and artistic stylings of his home, Aotearoa.

As with all intellectuals, Jarred has always been curious. How things are made, how they work, which tools and materials are best suited to which task – these are questions he’s probably been asking himself since before he could walk! However, the most crucial issue for Jarred was always: “how can I use this information to make something new, something unique?” This is how creativity grew out of curiosity. He aimed to create something that “pushes the use of the material in a way that is both interesting and aesthetically pleasing.”

His journey into scientific art, or artistic science, began early. As a child, he would tinker away at toys and tools, always improving them. Maybe they could fire further? Spin faster? Could they be made to emit weird sounds? Significantly, his tinkering wouldn’t stop at improving their function and would extend to embellishing their form as well, adding paint or components until he felt satisfied. This sense of accomplishment as he would sit back to admire his creations is one he still strives for to this day.

He actually stumbled into glassblowing a little by accident, or maybe providence. Having been made redundant “for calling my boss a bad name – he deserved it, no regrets,” he saw a listing for a scientific glass blowing apprenticeship. The notion of being so intimately involved with an industry that “takes the building blocks of physical matter and manipulates them” drew him in, and he liked the idea of creating “the tools that these wizards and sorcerers would use to, hopefully, improve the world.”

Unbeknownst to Jarred, his life up to this point had actually instilled in him skills that were surprisingly relevant to the field. Years of workshop management experience, a basic understanding of glass casting from his Fine Arts studies and a solid foundation in microbiology and fluid dynamics from homebrewing beer (which his grandfather taught him) imparted to him some of what he needed to know, and his future boss discerned in him a particular promise.

Despite this, it was a steep learning curve. “Think the karate kid training montage, but with my ass being kicked every day by failed and broken attempts at complex glass apparatus.” Scientific glass is heavily focussed on the technical skills of glass manipulation, as opposed to Jarred’s more curious and creative approach to scientific questions. He found himself having to “approach the training as a discipline” rather than an exploration.

Scientific glass is highly technical and precise, as well as being somewhat repetitive, leaving little room for error or experimentation. Jarred describes himself as going into a “semi-meditative state” when working the scientific jobs. “I imagine the microscopic actions taking place in my hands: the silica atoms to which I’m imparting energy, exciting them to move erratically and turn the crystalline glass into a liquid; how they cool down and settle back into the tidy hexagon formation again. I think of the cell cultures multiplying, splitting and releasing gas that fills the empty chambers of what I’m working on and how that will move through the forms.”

Nine years after embarking on his glassblowing journey, Jarred is beginning to expand his work into creative fields, building on the hard-earned skills he has acquired and finding his artistic inspiration in the microscopic actions unfolding in his hands. Unlike scientific glass, art glass is “fluid, dynamic, ambitious and much more forgiving,” giving free rein to his creative curiosity and allowing him to freely create artistic representations of his scientific meditations.

If you’re interested in finding out more about Jarred’s work, check out his upcoming exhibition at the artisan gallery artisan.org.au/blogs/news/small-object-space-jarred-wright, which will open on the 20th of July with a workshop artisan.org.au/blogs/workshops/artist-talk-demonstration.

There aren’t many scientific glassblowers around for the level of demand, and I would like to personally thank Jarred for taking time out of his busy schedule to answer my questions. I certainly learnt something new!

BLESSED provides the goods with, “Memoirs of the Melancholy”

Posted on by Matthew Wotherspoon


For the past two years, BLESSED has been nurturing his talent as a musician, producer and songwriter to bring forth a style that’s not often seen or heard in Australia’s music scene.

Combining his influences of Kid Cudi, Jimi Hendrix and Kanye West, BLESSED‘s sublime talent has seen him bridge the gap of punk and hip-hop to create a unique and textured sound, full of colourful melodies and grungy layers.

His singles, “Sorrows“, “My World” and “Superfly“ have soared into the realm of online streaming, racking up millions of plays and has led to him to receive nods from Triple J, Pigeons & Planes, NYLON, Noisey, i-D Magazine, and Clash Mag.

Weaving together stories and life experiences with his passion for art and music, BLESSED is an artist that is hard to put your finger on. But as time goes on, his sonic deliverances allow us to step into the world that is BLESSED. And the result is just as commanding as it is enchanting.

With his latest single “Memoirs of the Melancholy”, you get a little more of the picture –

“You built your walls on my back, Then told me I can’t come inside”

Stream “Memoirs of the Melancholy” – HERE.

To learn more about BLESSED, visit his Facebook page here, https://www.facebook.com/blessedtunes/.

Swanny announces debut single, ‘Sweat Baby Sweat’

Posted on by Matthew Wotherspoon


Before Royal Blood electrified the globe with their thunderous, hard rock tunes, they were but an ominous duo rumbling local bars and recording demos along the east coast of Australia and Great Britain.

As they blemished the walls of pubs and clubs with their sonic grit and broadcasted their brash and bluesy tunes, bassist, Mike Kerr and drummer, Matt Swan found themselves thrusted into the musical spotlight, earning comparisons to early Muse and Led Zeppelin.

It was only after the release of their debut single, “Come On Over” (previously “Leaving”), which saw Matt Swan depart the blues rock duo to embark on his own sonic endeavours. Fast forward to July 2019 and Swanny (Matt Swan) has released his debut single – an absolute hip-swinger of a single entitled, “Sweat Baby Sweat”.

Swanny has said, “Sweat Baby Sweat is simply about letting the good times roll live life to the max – life is one big party. It was written after a long hot Summer’s night of no sleep in Byron Bay in 2018. I had just got home in the early hours of the morning after playing drums at one of Byron Bay’s crazy warehouse parties – I picked up the guitar, cracked another beer and the main riff quickly came to me. I then laid down some drums and Sweat Baby Sweat was born.”

Swanny‘s “Sweat Baby Sweat” drips with his signature tribal and thunderous drumming, while his raw vocals provide a sensory experience reminiscent of Led Zeppelin and Kram (Spiderbait). Now that we can grasp what Swanny is like on his lonesome, we can truly hear how he has shaped the sound we know as Royal Blood and how his drumming has effectively helped revive a new era of Rock n Roll.

If you’re a fan of Royal Blood, Kram, Led Zeppelin, Torrential Thrill and everything in between, be sure to get around this tasty jam, it’s definitely worth a listen.

The single saw the light of day on all digital outlets and streaming platforms on Friday July 5th.




How one local artist is combining creativity and consciousness to build community

Posted on by Chiara Torelli

More than merely a tool for bringing communities together, art spreads messages and sparks inspiration, exploring our motivations as individuals and bringing to the forefront issues that can only be solved as a collective.

So what happens when creativity, community and environmental awareness meet? Unique and meaningful works of art, of course!

Ipswich-based artist Rebecca Lewis understood from very early on the power of art to be a messenger, an inspirer and a platform for transforming mindsets.

Her own artistic transformation started early, during a childhood spent on an acreage in the bosom of a family with a highly attuned sense of their environmental footprint.

Although her parents would never have described themselves as ‘creatives,’ they were nonetheless continually finding creative ways to re-use materials and fabrics. Their imaginative perspectives on matter, function, and aesthetics have significantly impacted Rebecca’s own.

While creativity in her family was linked with a practical, economic, and ecological philosophy, Rebecca invariably took this practical inventiveness one step further. She perpetually had a pen or pencil in her hand, took up printing early on at afterschool clubs and then lino printing in high school. Textiles and printing would come to be the hallmarks of her artistic practice while her creativity would continue to go hand in hand with environmental awareness.

After having kids, it came naturally to Rebecca to combine working from home and being available for her children with furthering her creative practice. Like many artists, she needs to be exercising her creativity to find personal fulfilment (and not go stir-crazy).

Today, she reconstructs our discarded and unwanted objects in ways that enable us all to perceive the beauty and potential in them.

Working exclusively with second-hand fabrics, discarded craft supplies and found objects, Rebecca produces singular and quirky items, which you will find nowhere else. Browsing her Instagram page instagram.com/littlebrowndog, Rebecca’s childlike ability to see magic and beauty in everything is palpable. Joy and wonder emanate from each item her hands have crafted.

One of Rebecca’s priorities in working with second-hand supplies is letting the materials speak for themselves. Their stories, characters, and quirks inform the design of each work of art: they stay true to themselves even as they are transformed.

While most artists work in isolation, Ipswich art shops have opened up studios and performance areas, enabling artists to share workspaces and creative processes. Practising alongside each other and engaging in personal artistic growth as a collective has greatly strengthened an already lively creative community. Local artists frequently attend each other’s exhibitions and are deeply involved in each other’s progress and growth. As an artist in Ipswich, Rebecca has found her ‘tribe.’ (She shudders as she says this, having found no better word to describe her community but hating the new-age hipster vibe she is imbuing it with).

However, she really hit her artistic stride around 2014, when she ran one of the three teams taking part in a community grant project across Ipswich. For Rebecca, the Animating Spaces project was truly about showcasing the artistic talent Ipswich has to offer and getting artists involved with the local community. Gaining lifelong friends and a confidence boost, Rebecca grew in her practice, with stronger project management skills and more courage in working with the community and other artists. But this was only the beginning…

In 2017, Rebecca was part of the Queensland Regional Art Awards touring show; then in 2018, she took first place in their Digital Art category! While she found this hugely validating to her artistic ambitions and self-belief, even more valuable to her was being embraced in the wider Queensland artistic community. She found herself surrounded by like-minded people who aligned with her creative practice. To this day, the artists involved are actively supportive of each other and genuinely involved in each other’s progress.

Rebecca’s sustainable ethos has continuously informed her creativity and brought her into contact with like-minded artists from all over Queensland. Nevertheless, her immediate community is just as crucial to Rebecca’s practice. Community, the forging of bonds through creation and exploration of self, and the ability to spark discussions on pertinent and urgent themes are central to Rebecca’s artistic values.

In this spirit, workshops are an integral aspect of her creativity, and she loves creating environments where knowledge and understanding flow alongside creative development. Her workshops for kids and grownups build on motor skills and artistic confidence as well as being highly open, friendly and nurturing environments.

Although she’s an introvert, Rebecca also loves the face-to-face interactions which take place at markets. This aspect of the creative process is perhaps one of the most rewarding, and while ‘design and maker’ markets are always fun, her favourite is the Southside Arts Market, in Brisbane. Here, people set out knowing they’re going to purchase artwork, and there’s nothing a creator loves more than connecting with someone who connects with her creations. Rebecca is most moved when she witnesses a person genuinely relate with the one-off items she’s produced. Knowing she has impacted this person’s life in very personal ways is profoundly fulfilling.

This artist has big plans for the future – or does the future have big plans for Rebecca? Having attended a workshop on running exhibitions, she won the opportunity to host her own solo show, and her ambitions are running high! Be prepared to witness the fusion of sustainable art with secret histories.

Taking the family unit as her starting point, Rebecca wants to collect the ‘little’ histories that inform the daily lives of real people and real places. Giving them their place in the broader historical tapestries of state and nation, she’ll bring to the forefront the personal struggles that shape entire communities. Highlighting these ‘little’ histories will truly bring to light our power to impact society around us. Make sure to keep a look-out for her first solo venture in Ipswich!