How Music SA’s Scouted Is Helping Take Adelaide Bands To The Next Level
With Music SA’s artist showcase Scouted scheduled to kick off this Friday in line with Indie-Con and the AIR Awards, The Music caught up with a few acts that performed at the inaugural event last year to gain some insight into just how important the initiative is.
Alana Jagt
What have you been up to since you played at Scouted last year?
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We've been really busy; I think Scouted opened up a lot of avenues for us, particularly as we were a relatively new band when we played that show. I think Emma [Coyle, organiser] mentioned that we were the 'wild card' of the night.
Since Scouted we've released our debut singles and EP, we played Handpicked Festival, I've supported some established acts and have been asked to play at events such as the Porch Sessions a number of times as well as Clam Jam at the Adelaide Guitar Festival coming up next month.
We're currently in the middle of a residency at The Grace Emily Hotel and working on a record thanks to a grant from Carclew, which will be released in 2019 as well.
How important do you think events like Scouted are?
Events where acts can showcase to industry professionals are always important. Emerging acts in South Australia kind of miss out by not having major labels/management and bookings companies based here. Scouted is an important developmental step and a chance to network, it gives these acts the chance to show what they've got, where they may not be able to as easily otherwise.
What makes the Adelaide music scene so great?
Adelaide's music scene, in my experience, is like a great big musical family. Mostly everyone is really great at supporting each other and lifting each other up, it doesn't feel competitive or anything like that to me. I can't really compare it to others places around the country as I've not resided in other major centres like Melbourne or Sydney, but I have met other very supportive artists from regional Victoria and Melbourne as well. I guess the difference is that Adelaide is such a small city and mostly everyone knows each other on some level and is available for advice, so there is that support network there.
How have you seen the local music scene develop in recent years?
When I first started out in the scene (being originally from regional South Australia) I found that it was a bit hard to get involved, but that may have been my inexperience. I definitely feel that there are more opportunities for musicians now, which is in a large part thanks to the Music Development Office at Arts SA as well as organisations such as Music SA and Carclew.
I also feel like, again, the community spirit has changed. Everyone communicates with each other really well, we have some fantastic live music venues/venue owners, and people with really great ideas for music events, and all these factors have contributed to the growth of Adelaide's scene.
What do you have planned for the rest of the year and beyond?
We are still working on our album and really need to focus on getting that finalised so that we can make moves on planning releases. We've also been confirmed for a few shows late in the year but, unfortunately, I'm not allowed to announce the final details at this point in time so people will have to keep an eye on our website or social media accounts!
Really, after Umbrella and Guitar Festival our major focus will be on the record, we're very committed to getting it as polished as we possibly can and are excited to be nearing the finish line on that. We released our first music video for the previous release about a month ago so we're also hoping to get a few others made; we're very busy but perhaps not in your traditional sense! The band is really working together well at the moment so it's a fun and creative time for us.
Timberwolf
What have you been up to since you played at Scouted last year?
I released my debut album, Íkaros, not long after, toured nationally, took some awesome time off to holiday in NZ and then moved down to the beach with my favourite person in the world to write some new music and go for night runs. I've been producing music for The Winter Gypsy, Bree Tranter and Banjo Jackson as well and that's been super rewarding for me. A refreshing change of pace from touring and recording my own stuff.
What did you take away from Scouted?
Getting to know Elk, Dyspora and the whole Playback 808 family was probably my favourite bit.
How important do you think events like Scouted are?
They do a good job at introducing artists from different circles around the state, and putting artists in front of industry in their hometown is always healthy because a band or crew doesn't have to find all that cash to bring the show interstate to reach people, and they can go all out.
What makes the Adelaide music scene so great?
It's definitely a lot more neighbourly than other scenes I've dipped my toe into. One of the strengths is the collaboration, and maybe because it's traditionally been a bit 'behind' compared to some other capital cities there's a hunger around and thirst for creative improvement around, and for anyone who isn't getting in their own way it's a really rich fertile hub of creative support and great funding.
How have you seen the local music scene develop in recent years?
I've only been doing this for the better part of four years but it's in an exponential period of growth I would say. There are heaps of more interesting venues/makeshift venues to play now, and there's a lot more collaboration than there used to be. I think there's also a more shared vision for the importance of life and experience outside Adelaide, to bring it home and use it to write.
What do you have planned for the rest of the year and beyond?
There's a new Timberwolf single just around the corner that I produced myself. New sounds, new things, important topics. Keep yo ears peeled.
Read more:
Young Offenders
Anthony Katern
What have you been up to since you played at Scouted last year?
A lot! We’ve played some great events here, including Groovin The Moo and the Adelaide 500. We’ve been writing for our first album, which we started to record in May. We’ve continued to tour as well, playing five or six shows in Melbourne since Scouted and just recently returned from a nine-date East Coast tour with The Bennies and The Gooch Palms.
What did you take away from Scouted?
Firstly, appreciation that we were regarded as up and coming amongst other great up and coming Adelaide talent. The fact we were exposed to new people and a new audience, from not just Adelaide but around Australia, was really valuable. In the end, playing Scouted and having interest from certain people in the industry that happened to be there was what got the ball rolling for us playing at Groovin The Moo this year.
How important do you think events like Scouted are?
I think it’s a very important opportunity for Adelaide. To have our own mini BIGSOUND with industry people coming here from around the country and taking notice, it shows Adelaide isn’t one to ignore, like it may have been in the past.
What makes the Adelaide music scene so great?
What makes it great is how much genuinely good stuff is coming out of here at the moment! The negative to that being the concern that so much of it will go unnoticed even with events like Scouted. The tight, supportive community is another big plus.
Having only ever lived in Adelaide it’s tough to say how it differs - what I can say from having played a lot of interstate shows and having musician friends in other cities and hearing their opinions, is that Adelaide seems to have a very tight community and somewhat of a camaraderie that seems to be lacking in other cities.
I’m sure having only a quarter of the population compared to say Melbourne or Sydney helps this and the danger of this can be the ‘cliqueiness’ that can sometimes develop. But, currently, it seems to be genuinely galvanised in a way I haven’t seen since I started playing shows nine years ago.
How have you seen the local music scene develop in recent years?
There’s always been great music in Adelaide, however, the depth of talent in the scene at the moment is the most I’ve seen since being a part of it. There’s a genuinely exciting feeling within Adelaide currently and the variety of sounds/genres/styles is helping with that.
What do you have planned for the rest of the year and beyond?
Putting the final touches on our album and, fingers crossed, having it out by the end of the year!
Heaps Good Friends
Dan Steinert
What have you been up to since you played at Scouted last year?
Phwoaa since we played Scouted, I’d say we did more than what we thought we would ever do, I guess? We managed to do a couple of laps of the country as a support and on our own, we released an EP that we toured with and sold out heaps of shows on, we’ve seen people sing and dance, we’ve grown as friends and we’ve grown as a band, we’ve expanded our team and we’ve made a lot of wonderfully beautiful friends along the way.
How important do you think events like Scouted are?
Events like Scouted are super important because it’s something that brings together so many artists and also so many people that work within the arts to one convenient location.
Scouted itself is super handy because it can show people outside of Adelaide the artists that are readily available and are kicking butt right now. I think in return it also shows the Adelaide population what’s up in the land of music, to help increase the number of people that attend shows and spread that love we have to offer.
What makes the Adelaide music scene so great?
The Adelaide music scene has a lot of heart. Everyone is so supportive here! What I’ve learnt is that Adelaide is full of nice little pockets of communities. There’s a lot of talented people doing very, very wonderful things here and there’s also a lot of people that are willing to support that, rain, hail or shine.
I think it differs from the rest of the country because we’re a unique place full of wonderful individuals that have a lot of heart, everyone knows everyone here, so there’s a special bond in our music community that just feels uniquely special than any other community I’ve had the pleasure of being involved in.
How have you seen the local music scene develop in recent years?
I’ve watched the music scene blossom over the past few years! I’ve noticed more people starting bands, more people writing music, more people just having a good go at it. Which in return has made for more people seeing shows and offering their support, which as a whole has developed our art scene further.
I’ve seen programs like the Robert Stigwood Fellowship do amazing things for acts and the music community as a whole. I’ve noticed Music SA making things more accessible for artists here in South Australia. I’ve noticed places like Northern Sound System do amazing things with so many of those pockets of community, working with those younger artists and helping with funding so people can actually afford to make art as well eat.
What do you have planned for the rest of the year and beyond?
For the rest of the year, we’re going to keep writing so much music until we explode into a million bits, collect all the bits and do another hot lap around our beautiful sunburnt country! By the end of the year, we will have hit every capital city in our smiley happy country with a second lap already booked for early 2019.
Scouted goes down this Friday across various Adelaide stages, including one proudly presented by The Music and featuring Blush Response, Dhungala Baarka, Runaway Weekend and Siamese. Head over to the Scouted 2018 website for all the details.
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