Singer - Songwriter | Musicosity

Phil Jamieson

Phil Jamieson was first introduced to Australian music fans back in 1995, with Grinspoon becoming the first act to win triple j’s Unearthed High competition with their debut single ‘Sickfest’. The band then became one of Australia’s most in-demand names - young leaders of a new wave of alternative music that would prove to be a strong thread in the tapestry of new Australian music.

The band’s graduation from Unearthed High to triple j mainstays ran alongside broader industry success. Grinspoon have enjoyed multi-platinum album sales, ARIA success, six Top 10 debuts and a strong presence in the hallowed triple j Hottest 100, where they have made the list 17 times, twice with the hit ‘Chemical Heart’ (#2 in 2002; #63 in 2013’s Hottest 100 of All Time).

With thousands of shows to his name with Grinspoon, Jamieson’s live performance talents have continued to diversify and develop as he has explored new stages and formats. Embracing a solo career that has seen him perform over 100 shows Australia-wide over the years, Jamieson made the transition from live music venues to the boards of theatres around the country in 2017, being cast as St. Jimmy in the Australian stage production of American Idiot. The Broadway musical made an impactful debut with its initial Australian premiere in Brisbane, leading to a national tour in 2018 - a performance that earned Jamieson acclaim.

As well as performing and songwriting, Jamieson has been involved in a number of philanthropic and industry-specific initiatives.

In 2013, Jamieson and Adam Zammit co-founded the Rock N Ride Tour for the national Youth and Mental Health Foundation, headspace. Bringing awareness to mental health issues faced by young people, the initiative saw a group of media figures, musicians and friends of Jamieson’s engage with local communities across a five-day motorcycle road trip, taking in over 5000km on the road.

While 2020 has seen Jamieson dedicate time to his new music, he was also seen on various stages around the country before COVID-19 forced the music industry (along with the rest of the country) to come to a halt.

Participating in the massive Firefight Australia event in Sydney in February 2020, Jamieson and Grinspoon were part of the charity effort that raised over $10.7 million. Additionally, profits from Jamieson’s solo touring have been donated to national initiative Support Act, who continue to assist and uplift those in the music industry who are in need.

Since 2015, Jamieson has been an industry judge for the prestigious Australian Music Prize. The Australian equivalent of the UK’s Mercury Prize, the prize awards $30,000 to an artist for a decided Australian Album of the Year - winners during Jamieson’s tenure including Courtney Barnett, A.B. Original and Sampa The Great.

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Garrett Kato

KNOWN FOR HIS REFLECTIVE MUSINGS ON LOVE, LIFE AND VICES, SINGER-SONGWRITER AND PLATINUM-AWARD WINNING PRODUCER GARRETT KATO’S UNIQUE STYLE OF FOLK-POP IS CATCHING FIRE AROUND THE GLOBE. A STRING OF POWERFUL RELEASES INCLUDING HIS SOPHOMORE ALBUM “HEMISPHERES” HAS SEEN HIM PERFORM SOLD-OUT SHOWS ALONGSIDE DAMIEN RICE AND ZIGGY ALBERTS AND AMASS OVER 70 MILLION WORLDWIDE STREAMS.

ON HIS NEW EP ‘KUMAMOTO’ GARRETT PAYS TRIBUTE TO HIS JAPANESE HERITAGE WITH A POWERFUL LOOK AT TRIUMPH AND TRAUMA, PAST AND PRESENT. WRITTEN DURING THE TURMOIL OF 2020, THE SONGS WERE A WAY OF COPING WITH AN UNCERTAIN FUTURE.

‘THE COUNTRY WAS ON FIRE AND SOON AFTER, A WORLDWIDE PANDEMIC HIT THAT CHANGED THE WORLD FOR THE FORESEEABLE FUTURE,’ SAYS GARRETT. ‘I BEGAN THINKING OF WHAT GENERATIONS BEFORE US WENT THROUGH, ABOUT MY GRANDPARENTS; VICTIMS OF INTERNMENT CAMPS OF WORLD WAR II. HOW STRONG PEOPLE CAN BE, DESPITE OVERWHELMING ODDS.’

AUSTRALIAN TASTEMAKER TRIPLE J DUBBED HIM AS THE “PRODUCER AND MUSICIAN BEHIND SOME OF THE MOST PROMINENT SOUNDS COMING OUT THE BYRON BAY'S BOOMING BUSKERS SCENE” AND RIGHTLY SO; THE EP WAS SELF-PRODUCED BY GARRETT AT HIS HOME STUDIO, WHERE HE HAS ALSO WORKED WITH A STRING OF ARTISTS INCLUDING JULIA STONE, PETE MURRAY, TONES AND I, KYLE LIONHART, RILEY PEARCE, PIERCE BROTHERS, JACK BOTTS AND MORE.

‘KUMAMOTO’ IS WHERE THE KATO STORY BEGAN IN SOUTHERN JAPAN. THE EP WILL BE OUT WORLDWIDE JULY 9, 2021 WITH A NATIONAL TOUR THIS AUGUST.

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Dami Im

It’s a new era for Dami Im. Always evolving, there’s a continuum in Dami’s work that reaches back to her pop past while simultaneously demonstrating a creative growth that keeps an eye firmly on the future.

Sitting around her home studio as she plays a smattering of new tracks, you quickly realise you are in the presence of an artist who is entering an exciting new period in an already formidable career.

Dami hits ‘play’ and her new single ‘Lonely Cactus’ bursts through the speakers. Written with Bri Clarke and Andrew Burford (aka One Above), the tune is one long hook. It’s the kind of song you hear once, and then spend the rest of the day with it running through your head.

When the song fades, Dami takes a minute to explain where the inspiration for ‘Lonely Cactus’ came from.

“While I was working on promoting my last single ‘Paper Dragon’, I became obsessed with cacti. I really wanted to write a song about a cactus and it started off as an idea about myself. On one hand I feel lonely and want to be around other people, and on the other hand I quickly get annoyed and prickly around people and just want to be left alone. I took the idea to our writing session and we tweaked it to mean it’s about a friend rather than myself because everyone knows someone who is that way.”

Dami’s sure got that right. As we know, all great singers sound like they’re telling the truth – and maybe that’s why ‘Lonely Cactus’ hits so hard.

While 2020 saw the world enter lockdown, it also saw Dami Im release a handful of new singles which signaled where the artist is taking her career. Among them were ‘Kiss You Anyway’, ‘Crying Underwater’, ‘Marching On’ and the aforementioned ‘Paper Dragon’. It was around this time that Dami started working with producers that ‘got’ where the modern pop muse was taking her music. Dami’s latest collaborators include Andy Mak (Vera Blue) and Konstantin Kersting (Mallrat, Jungle Giants, Tones and I).

Before we press on, it’s worth considering a few of Dami’s impressive career highlights to date.

Dami won X Factor, she is ‘Eurovision Royalty’ (coming second in 2016), her subsequent #1 global hit ‘Sound Of Silence’ charted in 38 countries, Dami’s had four top ten albums on the ARIA chart and further hit singles with the likes of ‘Alive’, ‘Super Love’ and ‘Gladiator’.

That’s a lot of gold and platinum discs in any language … and in 2019 she was the Women In Music Humanitarian Award winner.

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