The Power 50: Johann Ponniah

From its beginning as a house party to raise funds to pay an overdue gas bill in 2009, Johann Ponniah’s I OH YOU has gone from strength to strength. Warehouse parties turned into a record label in 2010 - sitting within the Mushroom Group stable - and expanded to management services in 2017 with the launch of Converge Management. Ponniah appeared on the 2018 Power 50 list at #36 following a year of top 20 ARIA Chart debuts from I OH YOU artists.

Following on from their event expansion in 2018 (co-founding the City Loop day party with Soothsayer and programming Laneway Festival’s Block Party Stage), I OH YOU announced Out Of Bounds festival in Campbelltown - where Ponniah grew up - with acts including Illy, The Rubens, Mallrat and more on the line-up. There were tours from international acts like Empress Of and Kelsey Lu.

Four albums dropped from I OH YOU artists in 2019, with Brightness releasing his self-titled second album and City Calm Down sharing what would be their last album, Television. Green Buzzard released Amidst The Clutter & Mess and DZ Deathrays’ dropped fourth outing Positive Rising: Part 1, which would see the Brisbane trio pick up an ARIA Award nomination for Best Hard Rock/Heavy Metal Album. 

Converge signed a co-management deal for producer Scott Horscroft, and The Jezabels’ Hayley Mary and Andy Golledge joined the I OH YOU label. Ponniah and I OH YOU had a strong end to 2019 with new album campaigns for Violent Soho and DMA’S rounding out the year in the lead up to their respective releases in 2020.

"Announcing the inaugural Out Of Bounds festival in my hometown of Campbelltown, I’d say that was a definite highlight. It was really nice to be able to go back to the community which has given my family so much and put on a real music event for the youth of Sydney’s south west…. we’re excited to keep developing things out there!"