Sasha McLeod, known professionally as Sycco, is an Australian singer-songwriter and producer from Brisbane. She was nominated for Triple J Unearthed Artist of the Year in 2020, having released the pop singles "Nicotine" and "Dribble" in the same year.
Coming off the release of their second full length album 'Strange, Strange Times', their first under powerhouse European label Napalm Records, The Ugly Kings are eager to take their unique power-blues sound to the stage and unleash their electrifying performances across Australia. Supporting on the night are Melbourne riff beasts A Gazillion Angry Mexicans and soul wizard Millar Jukes.
Sonic identity paired with storytelling ability is a combination held by only a small number of songwriters throughout the past century. This essential link between a primal sensory attraction and meaning created through spoken language gives us the magic found only in a great work of music.
The type of magic that affords the listener an understanding that their strange, unexplainable experience is somehow not theirs alone; the type of magic that allows you to think that maybe, though characterised in its own unique ways, there is a beautiful commonality in your sadness.
The type of magic that connects an everyday person with another who just happens to write some of the most-relatable, empathising songs you have ever heard. An artist with as much sonic identity and storytelling capability as country Victoria’s Alice Skye is truly a magician in their own right.
Growing up aside the sandstone mountains and wildflowers of the Grampians, Skye is inspired by her roots, though now calling Melbourne home she says, "I take great pride in my heritage, and to combine both music and my background brings me an unexplainable amount of pride and happiness." Alice Skye’s vital relationship between her music and own life experience remains at the core of her art, her body of work serving as a lens through which she continues to synthesise who, and what, her essence of being truly is.
Flynn Sant, known professionally as Flowerkid is an Australian producer, singer/songwriter from Sydney, New South Wales. His songs "Boy with the Winfields and the Wild Heart" and "Miss Andry" both received full rotation on Triple J in 2019.
Keli Holiday (Adam Hyde) is here and unleashing his debut album, KELI, on the world! Featuring previous singles such as ‘song goes on’, ‘december’, ‘off my mind’ and ‘where you feel’, KELI all started with heartbreak and born out of the ashes of a break-up, coming into existence in a tiny bedroom in a Waterloo apartment, overlooking Sydney’s Eastern Distributor motorway.
They say life imitates art, but in the case of Keli Holiday, art also imitates life. Hyde describes Holiday as a caricature of himself: “A heartbroken man who still thinks he’s the shit.”
Heartbreak is the universal feeling at the core of the record and Hyde captures it with brutal honesty and stomach-sinking relatability.
The album, which was co-produced by The Presets’ Kim Moyes, is at once candid and cathartic, revealing and relatable, helpless and hopeful. There are dizzying pop peaks – in the form of crowd favourites ‘Corolla’ and ‘Human Nature’ which features Nicky Night Time of Van She. And there are sombre synth lows – including ‘Better’ and ‘With You’, which Hyde wrote about losing his best friend when he was 17, growing up in Canberra.
Having started the Keli Holiday project back in 2017, Hyde says now is the right time to release it into the world. “Life is a game of learning, and now that I’m 30, I know who I am and what I want. I’m more sure of myself as a person. I’m finally in a place where I feel comfortable sharing the deepest, darkest corners of me with whoever will listen. Now is the time,” says Hyde.
Known for her remarkable voice, emotional honesty and ability to translate difficult subject matter into rich pop songs, Cairns-based artist Greta Stanley has been on a steadily rising trajectory over the past few years.
Unafraid to tackle themes of depression, anxiety, heartache and the challenges of transitioning from youth into adulthood, Greta's writing also explores the beauty of the natural world, the comfort of home and the importance of friendship.
Taken from her forthcoming sophomore album, new single 'Hope It Lands' is a collaboration with producer/co-writer Tristan Barton, who is best known for his acclaimed film soundtrack work. It's immediately clear that the combination of Stanley's warm, natural pop sensibilities and the textural depth of Barton's day job work is a winning formula.
She says of the song: “I wrote Hope It Lands when I was in a low headspace and struggling to be social. It’s about a kind of longing to be this person who went out and had ‘fun’ and what might come about if I did go to parties. At the time I was feeling really lonely, but I found it hard to meet anybody or build connections because I was struggling to put myself out there. So it was this kind of alter ego view of who I’d be or what kind of night I’d have if I could have had the courage to say yes to events and step out of this comfort zone or safe zone I was in at the time."
The song showcases Stanley's vulnerability and nous for storytelling. It's an exciting harbinger for her upcoming second album, which will also feature previously released tracks, 'Soak Into This' and 'New Feeling’, both produced by German heavy hitter Tobias Kuhn (Milky Chance, Dean Lewis).
With millions of streams to her name, numerous festival appearances and a list of support slots that reads like a who's who of Australian indie pop (Amy Shark, Tash Sultana, Eves Karydas), now's the time to get on board this truly exceptional artist, if you aren't already.
Jack Botts is a breath of fresh air out of the Northern Rivers of NSW, creating a brand of surf folk drenched in depth and substance. This is showcased in droves on his debut EP 'Summer Nights', released in November 2018.
Born out of mid 2010’s meme culture, KANADA THE LOOP is an eclectic bundle of creative weirdness. After debut tracks ‘ZOOM IN and ‘Y U NO LIKE ME’ were added to high rotation on Triple J, the musical mad scientist is bringing his bedroom beats and big hype energy to venues across Australia in March / April 2022…bring your friends.
Born in the depths of the high school band room, Brisbane’s Shag Rock have managed - through sheer determination, skill and plenty of shenanigans - to sell out multiple national and international tours and amass over 40 million streams worldwide.
Since the release of their debut full-length album Barefoot (2017), the indie surf-poppers have toured the USA, embarked on multiple sold-out headline tours locally and across the ditch, and toured with the likes of Ocean Alley, Lime Cordiale and The Rubens. With over 16 million streams alone on their single ‘Sunbleached Girl’ they’ve collected a passionately loyal fan-base.
What has kept the fans coming back? Jacob Reed (vocals and guitar) says it’s simple. “We’ve met so many great people and they always seem unbelievably stoked. We’d like to think our stoke is bringing their stoked-selves back.”
Over the past three years, the comfortably dishevelled group of Alex Wilson (vocals and guitar), Jacob Reed (vocals and guitar), Nick Cavdarski (Bass) and Max Beech (Drums) have had their heads buried deep in the lyric books trying to stoke things once more. The dedicated group of lifelong mates are now emerging into the glow after spending months on end in the recording studio.
Recently welcoming Brisbane via Townsville’s Tayla Young to the band, the lovable livers of life, are back with a taste of their most substantial body of work yet - a double album. With tracks written as far back as 2015, Double Overhead is the band’s huge 18 track, double sided ‘magna carta’.
Working with long-time friend and producer Ian Haug (Powderfinger, The Church) and signed to his label Airlock Records, the band have released a string of new singles including ‘Flicker’, ‘Golden Lungs’, ‘Creaky Minds’, ‘Blur’ and ‘Wild Thing’. Recent single ‘April Nights’ landed in Spotify’s New Music Friday and Rock Out Playlists as well as Apple Music’s New Music Daily.
The band have an ability to write music that spans generations. Recently selling out staple Brisbane venus such as The Tivoli and filling The Triffid four times over, they have lodged a special place in the hearts of Australian music-lovers, and hope to edge more feels with the release of their most profound body of work Forever, Whatever
This new era of shaggy groove is set to open a new chapter for the band and whilst remaining true to their well-known optimism and cruisey vibes.