From the perspective of a New Zealander, the Australian music industry has it all.
Colourful characters, iconic voices and venues, and spectacular platforms that highlight underground talent. I've spent the past few years seething with envy at its magnificence.It all began by listening to Australian music podcasts such as Take 5 and being intrigued by the names mentioned. The rabbit hole began expanding until it became unescapable.
It would be harsh to say that New Zealand has none of these qualities, but it's near enough. There is no live venue in my home suburb of Tawa, Wellington.
If you want to venture into the city with a desperate desire to see up and coming talent, you've got two options: San Fran or Valhalla. Maybe Meow once in a blue moon. Clubs that are dingy and boxy, with a few seats if you happen to get there early.
With live music being my passion, these paltry options were not enough. This is why, as of two months ago, I decided to up sticks and move to Melbourne to live with my great uncle and aunty.
Now in my current home city, there is a panoply of iconic music venues. The Espy, Palais, Forum et al. Beautiful, capacious rooms that contain Greek columns and statues (in the Forum's case), with seats that go as far as the eye can see.
There is always a fascinating event going on. This advantage makes New Zealand seem distinctly rural, in comparison.
An exemplary showcase of all that the Australian music industry has to offer is perhaps best embodied in Brisbane's BIGSOUND. A foundational festival and conference where acts have been discovered and integral connections have been forged across two-plus decades. As an outsider it's an intoxicating elixir.
Staged the first week of spring (5-7 September) this year, please let me offer my profuse apologies and allow me to brag here for a quick second. During BIGSOUND this year, I was in rooms with heroes, all of them beyond my wildest dreams.
I vividly recall listening to Rolling Stone Magazine's Music Now podcast on my walks to college and loving every episode that writer Brittany Spanos would appear.
She was a special international guest at this year's BIGSOUND, so fortunately I ended up in a room with her and asked her a question about when she interviewed Harry Styles and Adele. Fate has never been more delicious.
In the midst of all of the lockdowns that we've experienced, everyone had a comfort watch. Mine was the Aussie music trivia show, 'Spicks & Specks'. Again, I was in attendance when 'Spicks & Specks' regular, radio royalty and the voice of Aunt Trixie (if you know you know) Myf Warhurst interviewed Kate Miller-Heidke.
My basic knowledge of Miller-Heidke was that she represented Australia in Eurovision, so it was exceptional to hear her keynote speech about the high and lows of her illustrious career.
In her speech, Kate informed the audience that her big break came when she performed at BIGSOUND nearly 20 years ago, making it extraordinarily inspiring to see what can happen when you play the festival. Kate, if you’re reading this, myself and everyone else in attendance can't wait to read your memoir in ten years time.
Now, let's go from the microscopic to the panoramic. The atmosphere is incomparable. Streets bustle with potential and hope. Everyone has the look of a muso (lots of tight, black jeans and leather jackets) or someone who knows a sh.t tonne about the music business (Michael Chugg, I see you).
Passersby are left starstruck when they brush shoulders with mighty musicians. You may even find them humbly lugging their gear or suitcase from venue to hotel.
The melting pot of sounds that spill out of each venue clash and contrast with each other. Lanyards sway in the wind around the necks of those lucky enough to be delegates.
You can wander through Fortitude Valley (BIGSOUND's home) and be drawn to the appetising sonics from a particular bar/ club. Old friends bump into each other and new friends tentatively get talking. It's a truly remarkable place to be.
Read our multiple reviews of 2023 BIGSOUND.
It would be remiss not to detail what lies at the heart of this festival, of course, music. Any genre that you can think of, can be heard emanating at BIGSOUND. Even some that you haven't heard of – yet.
Marvellous singer-songwriters like Hannah Cameron make breakdowns sound so melodic. Extravagant performers such as RIIKI REID showcasE her terpsichorean abilities and beautifully raspy voice.
Onehunga's SWIDT causes a ruckus, with their hard-hitting hip hop tracks. The Merindas performed their remix of Courtney Barnett's 'History Eraser' as a funky dance track – and it was a case of a left-field cover being absolutely fitting.
"This is life. This is actually happening," has been my entire inner monologue for BIGSOUND week. Surreal doesn't come close to capturing the wide-eyed amazement that I've experienced constantly at BIGSOUND.
The electric interplay between the crowd and audience is unreal. To see acts on the cusp of, what I hope to be, massive careers is something behold. I'll be informing everyone that I know, 'I saw Ra Ra Viper before they were famous, and look at them now'.
My interlocutor may groan and grumble, but I will retain my superiority at seeing a great band before they've been catapulted on the world's stage. All of the performers at this year's BIGSOUND will, if given the chance, shake up and rejuvenate the Australian musical landscape.
I am proud to have been a first-hand witness to what awaits them in their burgeoning future. It is unlike anything else to knowingly be in a mecca for the future of this country's musical landscape.
- written by Thomas Hewett
This article has been commissioned as part of the 2023 Music Writer's Lab, a creative initiative developed by Creative Australia and MusicNT.
