I literally landed in Australia from Vietnam the day BIGSOUND started but I was so ready to get straight back into Aussie music culture. The first evening of BigSound made QLD feel more like the soggy state, but a bit (A LOT) of rain did not dampen my mood. Every year I look forward to getting to run around Fortitude Valley between my favourite venues in Brisbane City for BIGSOUND 2018 listening to and seeing for the first time live, very talented musicians.
As Bigsound 2018 opened on a rainy Tuesday night in Fortitude Valley, a little thing like rain did not stop the crowds of punters and industry professionals making their way into the music and entertainment hub of Brisbane. BigSound is renowned for being the festival with a bill of up and coming artists to watch so it is difficult to choose with the several venues and an incredible bill. The first music act I get the chance to see live is homegrown Brissie band WildHeart who rocked it both Tuesday and Wednesday evenings; proving that they definitely have a growing fanbase.
I was lucky enough to catch one of the two sets and it definitely had the best mosh-pit going of my entire BigSound. Brisbane rock band WildHeart are hardcore, gritty rock with a twist. Rock ‘n’ roll with the coolest combination of melodic sounds and they put on a damn good live show setting the bar high for BigSound 2018.
Emily Wurramara opening for The Guardian sponsored event at Ric’s backyard, telling stories of Brisbane, on behalf of First Nations. Her storytelling abilities captured every single audience member, I felt taken through her stories like a friend reliving her memories but with the purpose of understanding and empathising.This set definitely gave me goosebumps and is a performance I will not forget.
I have had the opportunity to interview/talk with Emily Wurramara a few weeks back during her tour with Alice Skye (Also showcasing at BigSound 2018). Even through the phone talking with her I could feel her warm spirit, and has political views she is educated and vocal about; utilising her digital platforms to speak about her First Nations Heritage, personal journey, topics she feels should be discussed to forward equality, and being a working mother. ‘Milyakburra’ her debut album is titled that so, as it is the name of the community she grew up on Groote Eylandt in Northern Territory, Australia. On the album she sings in both English and her First Nations traditional language, Anindilyakwa. This language is sadly now a dying one but she can write, sing and translate all of that to a live-stage beautifully.
The final music performance I saw of the night was over at The Elephant Hotel to catch a hip-hop act, Kwame, whose music has been doing the rounds on a bunch of Australian radio stations lately, but I only heard of this artist via BIGSOUND (thanks, BigSound). And although The Beer Garden at The Elephant Hotel is one of the smaller venues of BIGSOUND, Kwame’s contagious energy on-stage and skillful rapping made it an epic close to night one of BIGSOUND 2018. The track ‘Wow’ had the crowd going wild and was one of my favourite songs of the evening.
The artist Didirri really intrigues me, in the best way. I love vulnerable, well-thought out lyricism and Didirri really knows how to funnel what he thinks and feels into words and sounds. You can feel the feelings pouring out whilst Didirri showcases music at BigSound 2018 to a decent-sized crowd at Ric’s Backyard early evening Wednesday. It is mesmerising and feels intimate, and ambient; not a way I usually describe Ric’s Backyard, but he could manipulate the mood of a room with music. Didirri has the musicality and sensitivity to shift the atmosphere of an entire ‘backyard’ of people and completely encapsulates the audience, especially me.
I got my opportunity during the BigSound takeover of Fortitude Valley to catch a set of Melbourne solo artist, CANDY on Thursday evening. The Brightside, is a very well-known venue in ‘The Valley’’; some local slang for you there, CANDY had a packed in mosh-pit and really great tracks to showcase, two that really stood out to me were ‘Hiding from the Sun’ and ‘Apartment in the City’ due to their seamless blending of pop/punk.
CXLOE showcased at BigSound 2018 Wednesday and Thursday evenings definitely proving that she can translate her cool alt-pop and electronic sound to a live-stage. The audience is completely captivated by her stage-presence, and, there is no denying the talent. I have been listening to her a few months now so this was a treat. On a side-note, her track with SUPERCRUEL titled ‘Sicklaced’ has been one of my favourites all year, and SUPERCRUEL are an act that showcased at BigSound last year.
CXLOE’s Thursday evening set, it is the single ‘Monster’ that is my personal stand-out moment because the entire audience was singing the chorus back toward CXLOE as she eloquently increased the volume to reciprocate.You can feel and see she is in her element and the audience goes along for the ride with her as she took the energy of The Flying Cock venue to another level.
But of course, Bigsound is not only about catching the live showcases 0 there are also many enlightening panels, ideas and discussions that take place during the day. LoveBusk Launch Party at the hip new venue with summer’s day feels at X-CARGO Thursday during the early afternoon. I was interested to check this out because it relates to digital media platforms, live-streaming which we have here at 4ZZZ Radio, named aptly, ZED Digital. This forum has been designed specifically for artists to connect with fans on a GLOBAL platform and monetise their live-streams. VERY interesting considering how many musicians are discovered via social media, YouTube or community and DIGITAL platforms in today’s music industry. I like ideas like LoveBusk because it allows artists to take more action in their own careers, for less money and it would be easy to learn to use. Start-up artists need more time and money to create and perform music so this can take SOME of the middle men out to help alleviate, technology can be so useful for new artists in the world now where we can share our music and art globally and digitally.
“Panel Discussion: 20 Questions” was a super-chill way for me to entirely wrap-up my BigSound experience on the Friday afternoon at the Judith Wright Centre venue. Though, I only quietly observed and listened it is always nice to come together at the end of the BigSound experience and debrief, and delegates are able to ask Panel members any queries or topics they want discussed. It was a lot marketing, business and management related topics. Women getting to the front of the industry, and working Mothers were a frequent talking point throughout a lot of the BigSound talks, and from a delegate mentioning that they feel the music industry is becoming a more comfortable environment for women, I had a sense that the majority of the room was in agreence but there is still change to be made. Digital marketing is definitely one of the HOT topics, as most, if not ALL music-related business has given in to the pressure of the utilisation of digital marketing, social media, and learning how to grow with technology so it can be a positive for your music-related project/business.
Another Bigsound done and dusted - and rather successfully at that!
Brianna Denmeade