How The Gold Coast Music Community Supported This New Artist Through Her Cancer Journey

Bianca Hinton, AKA ALBII, is no stranger to the music world. The Gold Coast artist was an established videographer long before she made her debut as a musician - winning Visual Creative Of The Year at the Gold Coast Music Awards in 2022. Best known for her work with Jaguar Jonze, Wallows and Saint Barae, Hinton directed, filmed, edited and produced an impressive portfolio of music videos and show coverage. She was even set to move to LA for six months, ready to work with her contacts at Sony and more.

And then hit 2023. In a shocking turn of events, Hinton was diagnosed with a rare and aggressive form of triple-negative breast and lymph node cancer. 

“With triple negative [cancer], they don't have a targeted treatment course,” Hinton explains. “So it's like, ‘We're just gonna throw everything at you and hope for the best’. So I did six months of chemotherapy. I did 12 months of immunotherapy. I did five weeks of radiation, which is every day for five weeks, and then I did three surgeries, a mastectomy, and then radiation. The radiation really just ruined everything. I got really bad burns, like, second and third degree burns from radiation.”

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A post shared by ALBII (@albiimusic)

But it wasn’t the treatment that hurt the most. It was the financial side of things.

“The treatment costs, yes. I think, in hindsight, we have an amazing system here. I think the thing that really kills you is that you can't work. I said to [my doctors], I was like, ‘Can I still work?’ I didn't feel like I could possibly work, but I was like, ‘If I have to, I will’. But they were like, ‘No, you can't go out and be around people because your immune system doesn't exist.’”

So, with costly treatments and no mode of income, Hinton had to come up with a creative solution. That’s where Bangerz 4 Boobiez comes in.

“I was in the thick of my treatment, when my uncle - Jamie, who’s also my producer - he's like, ‘Let's do a music fundraiser, where we can just get a bunch of friends who are musos, and we can just put on a little festival kind of thing, and we can just raise money.’”

With the Gold Coast music community rallying around her, Hinton and her uncle organised Bangerz 4 Boobiez, a music festival with a stacked line-up and a worthy cause. The artists who volunteered to play on the day included local icons like Jaguar Jonze, Bella Amor, Jacob Lee and Lily Papas, as well as Saint Lane, Buttered, René Le Feuvre and Kent Dustin. A suite of artists also donated signed items to be raffled off on the day, including Amy Shark, Sheppard, Casey Barnes and Mallrat. 

The Burleigh Bazaar itself offered to host the event, while the audio visual equipment was rented free of charge. Even the Gold Coast Music Network helped out.

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A post shared by Bianca Hinton | Videographer (@thatcameragal)

“It was just so nice,” Hinton says. “I don't know - like, in the weirdest way, I felt super lucky because I was in a shitty situation, but like, I have really good friends and support. Yeah, it's good, sweet, nice.”

Raising around $8000 through the event, Hinton donated half to Breast Cancer Network Australia, and put her own half towards covering her medical bills, post-treatment recovery and loss of work.

Not only did this experience help Hinton financially - it also helped her realise a lifelong dream.

“I've always wanted to make music, but I am a massive introvert. I was super shy as a kid, like, debilitatingly shy. So it's like, music was one of those things that I always knew that I wanted to do, and it was the thing I love the most, but I could just never do it. It was just impossible. I'd never even told my parents or any of my family about it. Never, never. It was just this secret little relationship that I had with music.

“But then, obviously, long story short, I was diagnosed. I was in hospital a whole bunch of times, and it just snowballed. So obviously, throughout all of this, your perspective changes a lot. And so I was like, ‘You know what? Stuff it. If I want to make music, I'm going to make music.’ The whole Bangerz 4 Boobiez thing, and the fact that so many people were on board, and The Music wrote an article about it… I was like, ‘Man, why am I so afraid to just put myself out there? Everyone is so supportive. I should just do it.’ I mean, what's the worst that can happen? Someone's like, ‘You’re shit’, and I'll be like, ‘Cool, thank you. I'm just gonna keep making music anyways.’ So that's pretty much how it all started.”

So, now, in remission from her cancer, Hinton has released her debut single, Hold On (Psycho), today (February 7). Describing her music as “if dreamy pop had an affair with the grim reaper”, Hinton - stage name ALBII, after her grandfather’s nickname for her - is embracing her playful side on the track.

“To be honest with you, I just felt like having some fun. And I kind of wrote this really ridiculous take on an ex partner who doesn't love the idea of you finding someone else. It's just like a comedic take on someone that just doesn't want to let you move on. So it's a little bit ridiculous, but it was fun and bright. I think I wrote it in like half an hour. It's random, but I love it. I really love it,” she laughs.

“I have a few more singles that I'm planning on releasing this year, which all kind of stick around the same genre, the genre that we can't really pinpoint - I think I would call it pop, for sure, but some kind of variety of pop. I would say this single is probably one of the more jokey fun little ones. I've got one that is very real. A lot of my songs obviously stem from everything that has happened to me or my family or whatever. So we do have a nice little variety, but it's all within the same kind of pop-y alternative vibe. And then if all goes to plan, I will maybe release an EP towards the end of the year.”

ALBII’s debut single, ‘Hold On (Psycho)’, is out on all streaming platforms now.