BIGSOUND 2019 Artist Focus: Lincoln Lim

Give us a short description of your music: An electronic-driven and folk-inspired collection of tall tales and longer stories, bringing together layered lyricism and delicate soundscapes for an aurally cinematic experience.

Which acts are on your must-see list at BIGSOUND? Dream Coast, Savage The Girl, Mariam Sawires, Mambali and The Amazons are gonna be freakin' amazing! I'll be seeing Wolfjay both in Sydney and at BIGSOUND, so I'm pretty psyched for him too!

Why should people come and see you among the many amazing bands at BIGSOUND? Because my music is about them – they’re songs that resonate with feelings and thoughts that I don't think are really explored in music these days. I know it'll be a set that you'll remember for the things it'll make you feel and think about, more than anything else.

What music trends do you think are dominating right now, and do you have any predictions for the coming year? We are seeing a massive melding of genres, where the lines between pop and everything else are increasingly blurred. Look at K-pop's success, changing genres five times in five minutes! I think we are gonna care less about what a song is, but simply if it's great music or not.

In your career to date, what have been the key watershed moments? Being selected for BIGSOUND is amazing of course. Deciding to choose music full-time over a ‘normal’ job was massive as well, and deciding to release what I want to release, rather than what potentially would be popular was probably one of the biggest turning points for me too.

What industry lessons would you like to take away from the BIGSOUND conference? I think I'd appreciate a deeper understanding of how the industry works, about how artists grow and create in the Australian sphere as opposed to the Singaporean scene, which is still up-and-coming and growing bit by bit. BIGTECH is also incredibly cool, can't wait to see what's coming up!

What do you identify as the most pressing issue impacting the Australian music industry at present? From the outside looking in, I think awareness. I think people outside Australia are surprised to learn that some of their favourite artists are from Australia, and that kind of downplays the work that's been put in and how established the industry is, which is a massive shame to me.

What is the best bit of advice you've been given to prepare for your time at BIGSOUND? To just enjoy the process. Take the time to appreciate and remember all the things that have brought me to this point, and to take away as much as I can from the experience. And yeah, it's been absolutely amazing, and I can't wait to see you all there!

When and where is your BIGSOUND showcase? 4 Sep, Hear65 @ BIGSOUND, Ric’s Big Backyard, 5pm.