THE AUSTRALIAN MUSIC PRIZE ANNOUNCES THE SHORT LIST

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 artistsjournalists, 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 DronesA.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 Music Festival Roars To Life with ‘Jurassic World ‘ Orchestrator

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 SchoolOn 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 UniversityAPRA AMCOSQueensland 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.

Fairbridge Festival announce their 2019 program guide

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 KreolDemon 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.

Some insights into If The Music Fits

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.

The Australian Music Prize announces the 2018 Long List

The prestigious and highly coveted Australian Music Prize has released its longlist for 2018 today, celebrating music’s peak creative format, the album.  The AMP longlist 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.
From chart-toppers like Amy Shark and Troye Sivan through to discoveries like Shepparton Airplane, Padma Newsome and Freya Josephine Hollick the AMP is not just a celebration of a year of Aussie creativity, but is a great starting place for those looking to scratch beyond the surface of hit singles.
“This year the quantity of Australian albums has really increased, but along with that, so has the quality,” said AMP judge and Hoodoo Gurus frontman Dave Faulkner. “The judges have been blown away by the number of albums that we’ve discovered for ourselves as part of this process. The reality that the Australian Music Prize can be a recognition of the winner, but also a platform for music-lovers everywhere to discover new records without the shackles of genre and formatis so exciting.”
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.
PPCA Chief Executive Dan Rosen said, “PPCA is thrilled to continue as the principal partner of The Australian Music Prize. 2018 has been an exceptional year for Australian music and we look forward to seeing which albums make the shortlist and to present the winner with the $30,000 prize money.”
Now in its fourteenth year, the award has been there throughout the transformation of the music industry, with its recognition of the album format more important than ever.
“In an age of streaming, we’re seeing a renaissance of the album as artists redefine what it can be,” said AMP judge and radio presenter Caitlin Nienaber. “The LP record taught us that an album was two 20-minute sides, then the CD told us an album was 70 minutes. Today fans may have been liberated in a world of pick-and-choose tracks, but artists can also create with a blank canvas when working on bringing an album into the world.”
With 85 releases making the 2018 longlist, the selections create perfect summer holiday listening ahead of the shortlist of nine releases which will be unveiled in early 2019 ahead of the winner’s announcement in March.
THE 14th ANNUAL AUSTRALIAN MUSIC PRIZE LONGLIST

Abbe May –  Fruit
Alice Ivy –  I’m Dreamin
Alice Skye  – Friends With Feelings
Amy Shark – Love Monster
Barney McAll feat. Monash Art Ensemble –  Zephyrix
Camp Cope – How To Socialise & Make Friends
Cash Savage and the Last Drinks –  Good Citizens
Catherine Britt & The Cold Cold Hearts  – Catherine Britt & The Cold Cold Hearts
Confidence Man – Confident Music for Confident People
Cosmo’s Midnight –  What Comes Next
Courtney Barnett – Tell Me How You Really Feel
Dark Fair – Off Into My Head
Dead Can Dance – Dionysus
Deaf Wish – Lithium Zion
DZ Deathrays – Bloody Lovely
East Brunswick All Girls Choir – Teddywaddy
Emily Wurramara – Milyakburra
Emma Louise – Lilac Everything: A Project By Emma Louise
Evelyn Ida Morris – Evelyn Ida Morris
Evelyn Ida Morris – Acute Misfortune
Flowertruck – Mostly Sunny
Fraser A Gorman – Easy Dazy
Freya Josephine Hollick – Feral Fusion
Gabriella Cohen – Pink Is The Colour Of Unconditional Love
The Goon Sax – We’re Not Talking
Grand Salvo – Sea Glass
Gregor – Silver Drop
Gurrumul – Djarimirri
High Tension – Purge
Hockey Dad – Blend Inn
Jack Ladder & The Dreamlanders – Blue Poles
Jack River – Sugar Mountain
Jethro Pickett – France
Jonathan Zwartz – Animarum (Expanded Edition)
Joseph Tawadros The Bluebird, The Mystic & The Fool
Joyride – Sunrise Chaser
Kasey Chambers & The Fireside Disciples – Campfire
King Gizzard & The Lizard Wizard – Gumboot Soup
Lachlan Bryan And The Wildes – Some Girls (Quite) Like Country Music
Laura Jean – Devotion
Loose Tooth – Keep Up
Lowtide – Southern Mind
LUCIANBLOMKAMP – Sick Of What I Don’t Understand (Pts 1 – 3)
Luke Howard – Open Heart Story
The Lulu Raes – LULU
Matt Corby – Rainbow Valley
Mia Dyson – If I Said Only So Far I Take It Back
Middle Kids – Lost Friends
Mojo Juju – Native Tongue
The Moles – Code Word
Morning Harvey – With The Pinstripes
The Necks – Body
Ned Collette – Old Chestnut
New War –  COIN
The Ocean Party – The Oddfellows Hall
Odette – To A Stranger
Oh Pep! – I Wasn’t Only Thinking About You…
Padma Newsome – The Vanity of Trees
Perry Keyes – Jim Salmon’s Lament
Peter Bibby – Grand Champion
The Presets – Hi Viz
Primitive Motion – House in the Wave
Psycroptic – As The Kingdom Drowns
The Putbacks – The Putbacks
Rabbit Island – Deep in the Big
Rolling Blackouts Coastal Fever – Hope Downs
Ryan Downey – Running
Sam Anning – Across A Field As Vast As One
Sarah Blasko – Depth Of Field
Sarah Mary Chadwick – Sugar Still Melts In The Rain
Setec – Atrial Flutters (or Raise Yr Hand If Yr Afraid)
Shepparton Airplane – Almurta
Southeast Desert Metal – Break The Silence
Space Invadas – Wild World
Steve Barry Quartet – Blueprints & Vignettes
Straight Arrows – On Top
SURFING – ‘Incubo’ Incubo
Tangents – New Bodies
Tape/Off – Broadcast Park
Tia Gostelow – Thick Skin
Tom Noonan – Pas de Deux
Tori Forsyth – Dawn Of The Dark
Totally Mild – Her
Tropical Fuck Storm – A Laughing Death in Meatspace
Troye Sivan – Bloom
William Crighton – Empire

You can listen to the playlist on Spotify or Apple Music