The Must-see Artists At New Melbourne Summit CHANGES

Melbourne’s new music summit CHANGES is right around the corner, and with a massive speaker and artist announcement dropping last month, there’ll be more than enough on offer to keep you busy.

Come July 4 – 5, HQ ACU Melbourne Campus and various other venues around the city will be overflowing with talent as part of a program that’s aiming to “reshape the Australian music industry”.

Here are seven acts helping shape the Australian music landscape that you don’t want to miss during CHANGES.

Alice Skye

Currently touring the country with Emily Wurramara after inking a bookings deal with 123 Agency last month, Wergaia singer-songwriter Alice Skye has been a formidable force since the release of her debut album, Friends With Feeings, early this year.

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Growing up in country Victoria and now living in Melbourne, the young artist’s take on indie pop has been labelled with a maturity well beyond her years and her performances are rich with raw emotion and gentle and hauntingly sparse melodies. Skye was also awarded the inaugural First Peoples Emerging Artist Award this past March and was named triple j Unearthed’s Feature Artist.

Ausmuteants

It’s hard to pinpoint Ausmuteants exact genre, but you’ll have a stack of fun trying to. Their sound sits somewhere between punk, new wave and boogie, and when you throw those elements together in a live environment, it’s party time.

It might be a little while until their next record drops (it was recorded 18 months ago and is now finally being mixed), but fans were treated to new music not too long ago when they released a split 7” with German outfit PUFF

Birdz

Indigenous rapper Birdz is bringing a fresh energy to the scene, being labelled the “most exciting hip-hop acts in Australia” after he dropped his debut album Train Of Thought in 2017.

"If there was an overall theme in my music, and a meaning in it, I guess it would be the drive for self-determination and empowerment - empowerment of myself, my family and community," the NT artist told The Music upon the release of Train Of Thought.

High Tension

Aussie punk metal at its finest, High Tension have taken a step in an even heavier direction for their latest LP, Purge. The new release dropped last week and captures their devastatingly brutal live show well; something they’ve been perfecting for the past six years across countless headline dates, Laneway, Splendour In The Grass, Download Festival Australia and more.

"It's inspired, it's exhausting, it's exhilarating,” said The Music’s Matt MacMaster of Purge.

Nancie Schipper

Nancie Schipper knows her way around a hook, as evident by singles Corner Store and Your Eyes, which won her numerous new fans at triple j’s Live At The Steps last year.

The regional Victorian artist needs little more than an acoustic guitar and her rich voice to win a crowd over, and she only just turned 18 last month.

With ARIA Award-winning producer Matt Fell working on her forthcoming album, you can expect big things to come.

The Outdoor Type

Melbourne rockers The Outdoor Type have had a massive 12 months, capped off with the release of Australiana jangle-pop hit Don’t Be Fooled By Me last month.

The band’s mind-blowing new tune follows on from their first international shows, supporting Vance Joy, Portugal. The Man and more, all the while chipping away at their highly anticipated debut LP with producer John Castle. Having wrapped their single tour this past week, they’ll be itching to unleash a serious dose of indie rock at CHANGES after a few weeks off.

Ryan Downey

With the release of his Running LP, charming singer-songwriter Ryan Downey has become one of the country’s most promising artists; fuelled by a hauntingly beautiful voice.

On seeing Downey live in Melbourne last month, The Music noted: “Downey is a joy to watch on stage, waltzing around with slow, deliberate movements and hand gestures, indicating precisely how deeply entrenched in the moment he is as he's performing these songs for us.”