Alt-electro-pop artist DAMIEN has become somewhat of a cult hero in his home town of Ipswich, where he has become well recognised for both his music and his passion for the local community and music scene.
Since his emergence in 2020, DAMIEN has released two full-length albums and a seven-track EP, and has featured heavily on the airways of 4ZZZ, twice reaching the stations annual Hot 100 Countdown as well as being awarded Album Of The Week by the community radio station.DAMIEN recently released his first new single in over 12 months, a pop-dance track titled 'I Don't Listen To The Radio', which is available on all major streaming platforms.
However, while DAMIEN has had multiple highs in his short career so far, having worked with internationally renowned producer Zardonic and recently being featured heavily in Ipswich's SPARK Festival, he also knows the inevitable disappointment of rejection that comes with being an artist, and particularly how it can feel when one doesn't get accepted to showcase at events like BIGSOUND.
"I've applied for BIGSOUND four years in a row now," DAMIEN says, "and each time I have been told, 'thanks but no thanks'.
"As an artist, it's very easy to interpret that as: 'YOU SUCK!', which of course can be very damaging to one's mental health, but I think I'm getting better at accepting the rejection and not letting it destroy my sense of self."
So with that, here are DAMIEN's tips for dealing with BIGSOUND disappointment.
Remember your music is about you
Making original music is an art form. It's an expression of self, and this means it's not made to please another person. Your music should be an extension of who you are and reflects your story at this point in time, and not everyone will understand it. But if you can hear your music and say: 'Yes! That is me!', and it's something you're proud of, then you have made something of significance.Keep an eye on the big picture
I find it helps to step back and say, 'Why is getting into BIGSOUND important to me?' and 'what is the ultimate goal I'm trying to achieve?'. Maybe you want to play live in front of more people. Maybe you want to tour the world. Maybe you want to release music in other countries. Maybe you're wanting to earn enough money to buy a house.
Only you know what your big picture goals are
My advice is to find those goals and look at alternative ways you can reach them if BIGSOUND doesn't come knocking. The less you need to rely on others to make your goals happen, the more in power of your goals you will be.It's all subjective
This is an obvious point, but I think it's important to remember that music taste is largely subjective. Yes, there are certain sounds and chord progressions and genres that tend to connect more readily with a larger audience, but often in music, people tend to like what is familiar to them and what they have heard before. So perhaps your music is breaking new ground? Or maybe it just hasn't been heard enough yet? Getting back to point one, the big question is: 'Do you like it?'.They're only human
This is related to the last point, but I think it is important to remember that people in the music industry aren't special. The people who curate BIGSOUND aren't mystical gods with superhuman musical taste and judgment.They're just people, like all of us. I think we can often elevate people into positions of power where we suddenly think their opinion of us is the one that matters, but it isn't. BIGSOUND has no more right to tell you 'your music isn’t any good', than you have to say 'BIGSOUND isn't any good'. We're all just humans, and I think it's good to remember that.
DAMIEN plays Rock Beats Depression at Mansfield Tavern (Brisbane) 7 September, Satan's Nightclub Vol 3 at Banshee's Bar & Artspace (Ipswich) 13 September and Pulp Collective Live @ MELT Festival at Studio 188 (Ipswich) 9 November.
