BIGSOUND Artists Give Their Elevator Pitch, Describe Themselves & Their Music

We received many answers from musicians across the country, providing diverse responses as distinct as their music. Read on to find out whose music “sounds like David Axelrod and Frank Zappa arm wrestling each other”, “If Prince made a record with Charlie Puth and D'Angelo”, “I'm an introvert that writes hyper indie pop that sounds like your favourite bands from 2010”, and many more.

S.A.B

I'm a South-African-born, Meanjin-raised rapper who floats between trap-based bangers and neo-soul boom-bap vibes and then back again. I'm calculated, Black, bold and unapologetic. Musically, I align with artists like JID, SABA and Denzel Curry.

REBEL YELL

Grace and REBEL YELL are quite different beings; we blur the line between tough and soft, and I'm sure you can guess which one is what. REBEL YELL has always been an alter ego and an outlet for Grace, allowing for harsh and heavy music to express the anger and frustration inside. Let's just say, my work colleagues would not be able to pick the genre of my music from my face value, if that's anything to go by. Expect the unexpected. 

Full Flower Moon Band

FFMB makes conceptual, modern, effortless rock music—strong themes of sex and power.

Thunder Fox

Thunder Fox is what happens when you cross the brooding neuroticism of a 90's singer/songwriter with the genre-bending debauchery and endless creativity of a funked-out party band. Expect high energy, high notes, horns, stinky grooves and lyrics that span from the introspective to the absurd. There's a song for everyone, a lyric for everyone and a band member for everyone. Thunder Fox is One Direction for the modern thinker.

ECB

Described as "the most talented family in Australian hip hop," ECB, the indigenous hip-hop artist from the NSW North Coast, has made a name for themselves as raw and authentic in a scene that has sometimes struggled for that.

Porpoise Spit

Porpoise Spit is all about connection, authenticity, and raw feel it in your guts experiences. We generate a stirring brand of rock that merges heartfelt ballads, raucous energy, thrashing guitars and a socially progressive punk spirit.

We work bloody hard to tell stories and be in the moment together; we trust each other and our audiences to be present and receptive, and we just love entertaining. As a band, we are best friends and family, and we go out there to be vulnerable and also to make people remember why they love being a part of a community. The Porps are for every old mate who needs a sing-along, a sway, a reason to leave the house, or just to get sweaty in the pit.  We've got a pearler of an album coming out in October 2023, so it is fast becoming the year of the Porpoise.

GIMMY

GIMMY brings a diverse flavour to the table indie-rock with sways of surf garage and glimpses of folk. Alongside her band “The Spring Rollers”, Gimmy delivers a raw, authentic sound with heavily lyrical songwriting and vibrato vocals that captivate crowds with a charismatic stage performance.

Ruby Jackson

I'm an R&B/Soul artist from Sydney, Australia, and I love to tell stories. There are a handful of artists that inspire my music, but Lily Allen, Ms. Lauryn Hill and Eloise are some standouts. My songs lean into an acoustic, old-school space, and for me, that's where I get to be the most honest and real.

Nikodimos

My music sounds like David Axelrod and Frank Zappa arm wrestling each other.

Battlesnake

Battlesnake is a high-octane cult metal septet with an undeniably powerful sound that can only be described as the genetically engineered cyborg superchild of Queen, King Gizzard and Judas Priest. All Hail, Battlesnake!

Ben Swissa

Neo-soul funk-pop amalgam. If Prince made a record with Charlie Puth and D'Angelo.

BAYANG (tha Bushranger)

Chimerical homemade bomb mixing punk rock, hip-hop, gabber, noise and general marginality in the red-hot mixing pot.

Mazbou Q

Fundamentally, I'm a hip-hop artist. However, a particular flavour reflects my personal story - a conglomeration of eclectic sounds, styles and cultures, many of which are seemingly conflicting/contradictory, bundled up into a unique musical identity.

There's rock, metal, afrobeat & highlife, funk, classical, cinematic and soul; politics, social commentary, self-reflections, intimacy, knowledge sharing and motivation. It speaks to those who find a sense of 'home' nowhere and everywhere and who relate to nothing and everything.

Baby Prince

REFRESHING, CAPTIVATING, UNIQUE SOUND AND CADENCE & RELATABLE.

The Omnific

The Omnific is a progressive instrumental trio from Melbourne. Our music is focused on creating music with two bassists and a drummer. The music started with this combination is vast and endless; we have found over the eight years we have been making it. Consisting of slap grooves, harmonious bass riffs, synth soundscape, and fuzz-distorted bass, it allows for dynamics within the songwriting, which excites us.

Rum Jungle

We’re an Aussie Alt-Rock band with a massive range of sounds and songs for all tastes, but always with a Rum Jungle sound. If you look at our most recent release, it’ll give you the best idea of what we mean. Dash Of Speed is the classic Australian sound that we love making and playing, and the B Side of that single is a slow RnB Soulful tune with a completely different vibe.

We love it all, want to make it all, and hope a bunch of people are as into what we’re doing as we are.

Who Shot Scott

Fast, frantic, punky and funky production mixed with some of the most fearlessly vulnerable songwriting you have ever heard. It's like a therapy session from hell.

Little Green

I play music, produce and write ear-wormy songs about love and healing.

Beckah Amani

I'm a very vulnerable and reflective artist who delivers stories through alt afro\soul\R&B and alt-pop. My music is thought-provoking, versatile and meant to be listened to, not just looked at.

Kid Heron

Kid Heron is a soulful, evocative artist, performer, singer, and songwriter. An introspective, bold, heart-on-sleeve storyteller, with a penchant for melodic hooks and vocal harmonies. Drawing inspiration from R&B, soul, folk, hip-hop, jazz, electronica, textural, orchestral and cinematic elements.

Boomchild

Think Kaytranada, Anderson Paak, Brockhampton, and Tom Misch had a love child and decided to put a whole bunch of best friends together to make the funnest and most eclectic music we can. We love putting on a spectacle, collaborating with artists, and fusing hip-hop, R&B, dance and a hybrid-big band-esque ensemble to create a contagiously fun and hype environment for everyone.

Yorke

This photo says it all…

Radio Free Alice

Melodic post-punk. Something like that. There's definitely an 80s British thing going on.

RAAVE TAPES

PARTY ROCK IS IN THE HOUSE TONIGHT - EVERYBODY HAVE A GOOD TIME, respectfully.

Siobhan Cotchin

I would describe myself as an honest, confessional songwriter who is not afraid to be vulnerable and finds strength in that vulnerability. I would describe my sound as grunge-rock with a dose of twang. I believe I'm forging my own genre; "grunge-alt country'.

I like to think of my music as the lovechild of Courtney Love and Sheryl Crow.

Kobie Dee

As an artist, I'm someone who lets it all show through my music; I pour everything into my art and am not afraid to be vulnerable. My music is where I let my storytelling abilities come through.

Foley

Gritty, dance-able and fearless, innovative pop duo Foley have arrived as fully formed contenders on the world stage.

The multi-instrumentalist team of Ash Wallace and Gabriel Everett galvanize with their forward-thinking sound. A singular organism in duo form, their boundary-pushing formula bears all the gleaming hooks, infectious rhythm patterns and deft arrangements required for success.

Fierce energy between the writers and a powerful understanding of the pop form ensures only elements that advance groove and bolster melody are employed. Says the duo, “We aren’t afraid to experiment and push at the seams of pop to find our own place within that”. Their lyrical themes explore complex facets of the human condition, heart and soul, love and loss and the importance of togetherness.

Freight Train Foxes

We're an acoustic Indie Folk duo who love storytelling and harmonies. We love all things vintage with a healthy sprinkling of modern influences, and above all, we strive for artistic authenticity. We have a deep appreciation for our folk music forbears like Bob Dylan and Paul Simon, but our music also showcases our contemporary influences such as Passenger and Vance Joy.

STUMPS

Combines indie rock and dance elements that we hope people can boogie to, hug their friends to, and listen to on the way home from a night out with a smile on their faces.

Miss June

We are Miss June, and we're back with a vengeance, fuelled by the mayhem of the past few years. Our second album is in the works, and we've been building on our signature mix of melody, noise, and chaos - this time, we're throwing killer pop hooks into the mix. Forget the rest, MJ4EVER.

Charm Of Finches

Hi there, we’re Mabel and Ivy - a Melbourne-based sister duo making melodic folk-pop. Our sound is all about the tight blood harmonies and the poetry - there’s a bit of Sufjan Steven, Phoebe Bridgers and a sprinkle of Fleet Foxes. Our songs tell stories of travel, concepts of home, emotional landscapes and the fragile and fraught dynamics of human relationships.

Alf The Great

I'm an artist rooted in the rich heritage of the Kalkadungu and Bidjira people, and I really draw creativity from the breathtaking landscapes of Mt. Isa and Carnarvon Gorge. Currently, I love living in the vibrant city of Naarm (Melbourne).

Moaning Lisa

Stadium dreams on a bedroom budget. That line belongs to the band Loser actually, so we definitely can't take credit for it. But it 100% captures the kind of energy we're trying to put out every time we're on stage. We want to make every show feel like the sound expands perfectly to fit the space. Maybe instead, we're something more like "Shoegaze dreams, bedroom budget".

PRETTY BLEAK

This indie blog once described us as 'new wave dream rockers'; additionally, someone told us we left them feeling like synth-pop had a baby with emo and shoe-gaze. It's always really interesting hearing the different descriptions of how people perceive your music, but I think those two are pretty accurate in painting the picture.

Otherwise, PRETTY BLEAK has ethereal visuals, dreamy guitars with ripping solos, 80s synthesisers, and pop hooks, all with a 90s grunge and modern emo vibe. We really like utilising everything we have access to and taking advantage of conventions from different styles of music. So it's not unusual to hear anything from orchestral melodies and choral harmonies to electronic ambient soundscapes in what is ultimately a pop song.

Delivery

We are a rock band, playing our version of Melbourne punk. There are five members, four vocalists, three guitars, and more is more attitude. Our friends in Pinch Points said this about us once, which is pretty cool: “They beautifully dance around the line of gnarly post-punk and fun, party garage rock in a way that I haven’t heard since Eddy Current.” Guitar solos forever.

FELONY.

I’m FELONY. I’m 17y/o and from Brisbane! Taking inspiration from MUNA, The Japanese House, Sky Ferreira and The 1975, I make spiky, unadulterated alt-pop that blows you a kiss while flipping you the bird. Teen dream x apocalyptic nightmare is probably the best way to describe it. We’re bringing guitars and real drums back to pop music, and I couldn’t be more excited about it.

Twine

Combining shimmering violins with outbursts of feedback from an amp being pushed to its limits, Twine is a noise rock band that almost defies genre labels. Influenced by the experimentation of 90’s bands like Unwound, Slint and The Dirty Three, while also incorporating an approach to honest songwriting reminiscent of alt-country staples like Jason Molina and David Berman, the band have already made an impact during their short period of existence.

At the heart of Twine's artistic practice is a commitment to creativity and experimentation. Combining the mess and clamour of noise and feedback with soft passages of meditative lyrics and violin, the music Twine makes delves deep into many of life’s issues, with the instrumentation made to match the turbulence.

The band creates technically impressive and exciting music, holding emotion and vulnerability at its core, shrouded in the jagged edges of violence and noise. This has led to a string of critically acclaimed releases and live performances that have thrilled audiences around the country.

Kristal West

I am a proud First Nations woman, and I tell stories through music that holds stories of culture, identity and the resilience of black people.

Moss

I'm a First Nations bass music producer who combines storytelling with contemporary and club-ready beats.

Otiuh

Sun-kissed, bouncy alt-rap. Sounds like somewhere between Fremantle, the south of the US and the Mediterranean. We're babies that grew up listening to Ms. Jackson.

Komang

Neo-soul with Balinese spirit (plus some dreamy electronic elements).

Behind You

1. Electronic post-punk somewhere between total chaos and total precision

2. A trio that pushes genre boundaries, blending electronic, rap and hardcore elements into something jarring but hype as fuck. Best enjoyed live with flashing lights.

3. Take the wings off a butterfly and watch it get really buff and strong and unstoppable, then get a laptop, download a crack of Ableton and start making electronic punk music.

mostly sleeping

I'm an introvert who writes hyper-indie pop that sounds like your favourite bands from 2010.

Tamara & The Dreams

The Charli XCX of Australian indie rock/folk/ jangle pop music.

CHISEKO

Having lived in the UK for eight years & spent a lot of time in Switzerland, where my grandparents live, I have had the privilege of travelling around Europe & the rest of the world from a young age. Growing up, I attended nine schools in 3 different countries; this helped to influence my understanding and appreciation of a range of cultures, genres and peoples.

When I found hip-hop, it gave me a sense of belonging. I was dealing with a lot of bullying at school due to how different I was. Being one of three black kids in my school meant I had to find a community of similar people elsewhere, and I found that online via the hip-hop community on Tumblr and YouTube. This was around when Odd Future, A$AP mob, pro era, Flatbush Zombies and Danny Brown were gaining popularity. During this time, I also developed a huge passion for 90’s rap, which I still have to this day with three of my favourite rappers: Biggie Smalls, Q-Tip and Mos Def.

My experience influences my music; my music is a reflection of my truth and is an honest and personal expression through my lens. I try not to box myself in by making specifically one kind of music. I write fun songs, happy songs, sad songs and everything in between. For me, art is about creating an accurate reflection of my human experience and is almost like an audio/visual diary. It’s a snapshot of me in a particular moment, which seldom lasts much longer than the period in which I'm writing the song.

You can catch all these artists and more at BIGSOUND 2023. Check out the BIGSOUND schedule here.