If the Music Fits

The prestigious and highly-coveted Australian Music Prize has unveiled its official shortlist today. Beginning with an 85-album Longlist made up of Australia’s strongest and most beloved records for the year, the prize’s shortlist is now down to just 9 of Australia’s most important releases of 2018.

2018’s shortlist once again sees the true artist breadth of Australian music; from Gurrumul’s posthumous orchestral release ‘Djarimirri’ to Courtney Barnett’s indie pop tome ‘Tell Me How You Really Feel’ to The Presets’ self-described “Pub Rock Techno” album ‘Hi Viz’. Then there’s Abbe May’s sexy funk on ‘Fruit’, Dead Can Dance’s art-rock masterpiece ‘Dionysus’, dream-pop songwriter Laura Jean’s ‘Devotion’ and the baroque-folk of Grand Salvo and their record ‘Sea Glass’.  The instrumental jazz stylings of Sam Anning’s ‘Across A Field As Vast as One’ and rock of Rolling Blackouts Coastal Fever’s ‘Hope Downs’ rounds out perhaps the most eclectic list in the Australian Music Prize’s 14 year history.

“As each year starts to tick by you think it’ll be easier than the last to settle on the nine. Then the excellent albums start to stack up and the judging panel is again faced with a Herculean task of collectively agreeing – and 2018 was no different,” said judge and journalist Kate Hennessy.

“Even as people who listen constantly to Australian music, the judges are always surprised by new discoveries, which are by no means always new artists, either. This discovery is one of the prize’s most rewarding and important roles. We are all really proud of the breadth of Australian music evidenced by this year’s shortlist.“

The AMP Shortlist transcends genre, popularity and politics, with 21 judges – including artists, journalists, retailers, programmers and more – selecting the best Australian albums of the year based solely on artistic merit. The AMP Shortlist proves the virility and importance of the album format as it continues to boldly wave the flag as an artistic counterpoint to on-demand single track consumption. 

“Looking at the Shortlist as a judge, what’s thrilling isn’t just that there were more than 400 albums from which to choose and somehow we got it down to 9, but that the best of 2018 had such breadth as well as depth. Said Australian Music Prize judge Bernard Zuel. “From neo-classical intersecting with traditional indigenous and a record which captured the sounds of the world as heard through Australian ears to electronica with a hard edge, jazz and rock, there was so much to sink teeth into. How good is it that artists still see what an album can do?“

With past winners including The Drones, A.B. Original, Courtney Barnett, Sampa the Great, Lisa Mitchell and The Jezabels, the Australian Music Prize awards the year’s best album $30,000 courtesy of its principal partner PPCA and is respected along with global contemporaries including the UK’s Mercury Prize and Canada’s Polaris Prize. 

Dan Rosen, Chief Executive PPCA said “On behalf of PPCA, I would like to congratulate the nine artists that have made it through to the shortlist of the 14th Australian Music Prize. All of them have produced remarkable albums. We look forward to presenting the winner with their $30,000 prize money in March.”

The judges will meet in Melbourne on March 7th to decide upon a winner of the 14th Annual Australian Music Prize.

Queensland’s composers of tomorrow have today been given an amazing opportunity to shine, with the Queensland Music Festival opening applications this week for two programs for school students looking to further their musical ambitions; Score IT! and On Song. 

Score IT! provides Queensland school students from years 7-12 interested in film composition with the chance to create an original composition to accompany a short film produced by the Griffith Film School. On Song, a statewide songwriting competition for emerging singer-/songwriters, is open for musicians students aged 12-18 years old in regional areas.  
Both competitions provide the opportunity for young people to participate in workshops and be mentored by some of the country’s most lauded musical talent.

Score IT! will be judged by an expert panel including award-winning screen composer and orchestrator Cameron Patrick, known for orchestrating films including Jurassic World, Spider-Man: Homecoming, Inside Out and Star Trek Into Darkness, giving students a rare insight into the world of professional music. Finalists will be given the opportunity to participate in composition and filmmaking workshops with leading industry professionals this July. 

On Song will be judged by Jack Carty, one of Australia’s most respected singer/songwriters who has toured the world and released five full-length studio albums and acclaimed vocalist, songwriter, producer and Queensland Music Festival Artistic Director Katie Noonan. The selected musicians will participate in a series of songwriting and performance workshopsjoined with advanced mentoring from Jack Carty, before travelling to Brisbane for a performance alongside Jack at one of Brisbane’s respected live music venues.
The prize pool for both competitions also includes a RØDE AI-1 Complete Studio Kit with Audio Interface to support the professional development of these young musicians and singer-songwriters.

Minister for the Arts Leeanne Enoch said Score IT! and On Song provided music students and budding composers with an incredible opportunity to create their original piece of music and to be mentored by music and film industry experts.

“QMF’s annual programs, Score IT! and On Song, have an important legacy of  developing emerging artists and musicians, helping students to hone their skills in musical expression, and entertaining audiences with their original and highly creative compositions.

“The Queensland Government is proud to support QMF and transformational programs that engage and connect communities through the power of music,” Minister Enoch said.

“I’m so excited to be starting the QMF year with these two wonderful opportunities for Queensland’s young people,” said Katie Noonan. “They really encapsulate the spirit of the Queensland Music Festival– collaboration, creativity and musical excellence along with our mandate for community engagement and supporting the music and musicians of tomorrow to flourish. These are unique careeropportunities and I am so thrilled to bring these competitions to our Queensland schools. I say to all Queensland students, have a go and experience the magic
of making your own music!”
–
Both competitions open for entries today with submissions closing on Friday May 24. Entry is free for all Queensland students. For more information and guidelines for the opportunities, please visit www.qmf.org.au
Score IT! is presented by Queensland Music Festival and Brisbane City Council and supported by Griffith University, APRA AMCOS, Queensland School of Film and Television,PixelFrame and RØDE Microphones.
On Song is presented by Queensland Music Festival and Brisbane City Council, and supported by APRA AMCOS and RØDE Microphones.

For Fairbridge Festival 2019 we’ve handcrafted a program you’ll never forget. With over 100 acts playing across three days, you’ll see the triumphant return of some festival favourites, and discover new acts that you’ll hear for the very first time. And all of them you’ll fall in love with.

That’s the magic of this festival: you’ll be taken on a journey of the new and the familiar, from overseas to your home turf, with breathtaking musical performances spanning folk, world, blues and roots!

The festival kicks off in style with opening concert performances from our beloved GinaWilliams & Guy Ghouse (WA), Riccardo Tesi &Banditaliana (UK), the unmissable Rory McLeod (IT) and the spectacular Flats and Sharps (UK). During and after these performances you can head on over to the new Peacock Bar, where you’ll gather with festival artists for a evening jam season. 

Aussie crowd favourite Mick Thomas and the Roving Commission (VIC) returns to give you a good dose of contemporary folk. There’s a heap of Fairbridge Festival first-timers coming from across the sea, such as the hugely popular Mànran (SCT) and Darol Anger’s Republic of Strings (USA). Closer to home Grace Barbé Afro Kreol, Demon Days and New Nausea are just a taste of the local talent we have in-store for you.

The program is now online. Search by international or local artist, and you’ll see one heck of a program for under the trees and stars at Fairbridge Festival 2019!

There are day, night, weekend, camping and no-camping tickets available, room for your RV or caravan, Cosy Camping tents already set up, or room for you to put up your own. So bring the family and enjoy our festival, your way. 

Find out more here.

How did If The Music Fits Get started

If the Music Fits started as way for AJ Glew to find, listen and critique local Australian music. AJ was interested in helping bands with some exposure by writing a review on their music or live performance. AJ also wanted to help launch her career as a journalist by starting a blog/ website and writing on a topic or topics that interested her. Music, bands/ artists and the music industry was and still is an area of interest for AJ.

Once AJ had set up the website, she set up an Facebook page, Instagram profile and Twitter profile. On these profiles she updates them with the reviews she writes. AJ also started contacting Perth music pages on Facebook, asking for musicians to send through their music and press kits so that she could start reviewing music. This led to Tim Price from Collision Course contacting AJ to do reviews. AJ was ecstatic to be able to receive reviews from Tim and was excited by the idea of being put onto SCG Media database to receive press releases.

Over the last 6 months, AJ has been reviewing music from a variety of genres. AJ hopes to continue reviewing music and hopes to attend a few more gigs over the coming year.

What does If The Music Fits mean?

It The Music Fits is a play on the phrase ‘if the shoe fits’.

Why am I interested in music/ the music industry?

When I was a teenager/ early twenties, I dreamed of working and performing music. When I was 23 I went to Central Institute of Technology to study a Diploma and Advanced Diploma in Music Business. During this course, I discovered I had an interest in the marketing and publicity of musicians/ bands and decided I wanted to be a publicist. Towards the end of my Diploma, there was talks that the Advanced Diploma course would not be offered unless the was enough people. I was crushed as I wanted to study the course. As a backup, I applied for a Bachelor of Commerce (Marketing and Management) at Curtin University. I sat the STAT test and managed to get an offer into university. I ended up studying the Advanced Diploma full time and doing the degree part time. When the Advanced Diploma course finished, I went to university full time. I ended up failing a unit in the Commerce degree and switching to a Bachelor of Arts (Mass Communications) degree majoring in Journalism and Web Media.

Through this course, my perspective on what I want to do in the music industry has changed. While I still want to provide publicity to musicians and bands, I would like to report on their music in an objective fashion. I find joy in being able to listen to music and let the world know my perspective on their recorded music or live performance.

What do you find rewarding about the website?

I find it rewarding that people from all over the world go to the website to read what I write. I also find it rewarding when bands appreciate the reviews I make.