Danzal Baker aka Baker Boy, is a proung Yolngu man, hailing from Milingimbi and Maningrida in North East Arnhem Land. Upon his debut in 2017 with the instant-classic “Cloud 9”, Baker Boy struck the Australian music industry with his unashamed optimism and love for music, dance and his connection to his culture.

As fans have been able to see as his releases have continued to roll out in the following years, Baker Boy is not simply a one-off success story. The release of debut album ‘Gela’ on 15 October continues Baker Boy’s growing list of accomplishments including an Order of Australia Medal (OAM) and Young Australian of the Year, sitting alongside recent wins at the National Indigenous Music Awards (including Artist of The Year), his first Gold ARIA Certifications (‘Cool As Hell’ and “Mr La Di Da Di’), and numerous APRA and ARIA Award nominations.

Cub Sport has undergone a transformation from local indie band to global pop powerhouse. With sell out shows across 4 continents, and a community and message that is impacting lives worldwide, the prolific independent Brisbane group are forging their own path to global acclaim.

With over 175 million streams to their name, the energy around Cub Sport is fearless and captures the uniquely vulnerable writing and vocal delivery that has seen the group win praise everywhere from Billboard, i-D, Rolling Stone, NME, The Guardian, Nylon, PAPER, Gay Times, Attitude, The Fader, triple j, BBC Radio 1 and Line of Best Fit to DUMMY, Monocle, Music Week, and many more.

LIKE NIRVANA, the band’s most recently released fourth record, (NME 5/5 stars) debuted at #2 on the ARIA Album Chart, #1 on the Australian Album Chart and #1 on the Vinyl Chart, as well as earning nominations for Queensland Music Awards Album Of The Year and Australian Independent Record Labels Association Awards Pop Album Of The Year.

In a world craving transparency, where young people are marching in the streets demanding the right to it, alternative artist Didirri captivates his peers with his magnetic charisma and honest approach to songwriting. His music openly explores subjects, questions and themes many people in their early twenties are encouraged to avoid. Didirri Peters grew up in the coastal Australian countryside, in the town of Warrnambool. He began writing songs as a challenge to himself to be honest. His candid storytelling comes from wanting to face the truth, however beautiful or confronting. His poetic lyricism began as a private conversation, that now brings hope to his listeners. Live, the experience is electric. Confidence without ego, whether together in silence, erupting in singalong or feeling the joy of a moment, although personal, it’s always a shared moment. Didirri sings with both conviction and vulnerability and together strangers are connected to think and feel, be open to good, the fun, a surprise, the grey, raw or dark, always gently inspiring hope against all of life’s intricacies.

With her infectious melodies, clever tongue-in-cheek lyricism, fresh beats and a big dose of confidence, it’s not hard to see why Banks – who cut her teeth singing opera in Florence, Italy as a kid – has captured attention.

From her debut PRIZE mixtape, 2020’s Sweet & The Spice EP, through to her collaborative True North EP with Sydney’s Ninajirachi, talent and determination have paid off for the performer.

Alongside her own growing catalogue and her Cashmere Cat collaborations, Kota also wrote and performed with ground-breaking producer SOPHIE on the track ‘Not Okay’ from the 2018 Grammy Nominated album ‘Oil of Every Pearl’s Un-Insides’.

Empowerment is a common thread through Kota’s work, and she adds a vital voice to a music scene now buoyed by upcoming strong, talented and self-determined women. With much more music to come, the prolific writer also has a few other tricks up her sleeve.

Ninajirachi

With a sound that embodies a rich, opulent atmosphere and a flawless touch in the studio, Ninajirachi is truly in her own lane. The Australian triple-threat producer, songwriter, and DJ moved the needle with her record-breaking debut single, Pure Luck, which topped the Spotify Australia Viral charts and became 2017’s second most-played song on triple j — Ninajirachi’s musical aptitude reached audiences far and wide before she even had a chance to graduate high school. Beyond her own releases, Ninajirachi has lent her savvy in the studio to remixes for artists including Flight Facilities, Anna Lunoe, Hermitude and more.

In 2019, Ninajirachi was March’s resident DJ on Mix Up on triple j, released her first sample pack with Splice, delivered guest mixes for BBC 1XTRA and Diplo & Friends, became the first Australian producer to be featured in Ableton’s One Thing, and even co-wrote and produced the official anthem for Australia’s Matildas in the FIFA Women’s World Cup. In the midst of all the madness, Ninajirachi released Water Gun / Stingray via Nina Las Vegas’ NLV Records, which garnered praise from her peers and a premiere from Mixmag.

Luke Howard is an Australian Music Prize long-listed composer signed to UK label Mercury KX. He has toured extensively internationally and released several records, including the ARIA-nominated All That Is Not Solid and The Sand That Ate The Sea. He has worked with film and theatre extensively, working amongst others with Back To Back Theatre and the Royal Ballet in Covent Garden.

Australian-born New York-based trumpeter/composer Nadje Noordhuis’ deeply-felt, clarion tone and evocative compositional gift meld classical rigor, jazz expression, and world music accents into a sound that is distinctively her own. Noordhuis was one of ten semi-finalists in the 2007 Thelonious Monk International Jazz Trumpet Competition. Based in New York since 2003, she is a member of the Maria Schneider Orchestra, Darcy James Argue’s Secret Society and the Anat Cohen Tentet.

In the European summer of 2014, pianist/composer Luke Howard and trumpeter Nadje Noordhuis recorded an album of miniatures, “Ten Sails” on Nils Frahm’s piano in Berlin. Seven years and millions of streams later, they performed it for the first time in Australia, to great acclaim.

Mindy Meng Wang

Mindy Meng Wang a versatile Chinese/Australian Composer and world leading contemporary Guzheng Performing Artist. She is a pioneer to bring the Guzheng (ancient Chinese harp) into many western genres such as experimental, Jazz, western classical, Electronic, pop and improvisation.

In the UK, she collaborated with many high-profile artists like Gorillaz and frequently performed in many significant venues like O2 Arena and Barbican Centre in London among others, she also performed regularly in festivals in Ireland, Spain, Portugal, Belgium, and France.

In Australia, Mindy performs regularly in many events, festivals and top venues including the Melbourne, Sydney, Brisbane, Darwin, Adelaide, OzAsia, Mona Foma, Dark Mofo, TEDx Sydney, AsiaTOPA festivals. Her collaborators include Regurgitator, Tim Shiel, Paul Grabowsky and Deborah Cheetham, AAO, Orchestra Victoria, MSO among others.

Her work explores the fertile space between traditional and contemporary practices, and is part of a significant movement of Chinese musicians redefining and reinvigorating their musical tradition. She is a strong voice for young female composers and artists of Chinese heritage on global stage.

Tim Shiel

Tim Shiel is a musician and radio broadcaster based in Melbourne. He is known for his on-air roles at triple j and Double J radio, his award-winning indie game soundtracks, and for his collaborative work with artists including Gotye, Mindy Meng Wang and Ben Abraham. He co-founded the artist-run music label Spirit Level in 2014.

Shady Nasty are a Sydney-based trio. Their forthcoming EP ‘CLUBSMOKE’ is a meditation on vlogging, gymming, clubbing and clout. Both ecstasy and emptiness are felt through sonic and visual homages to EDM and influencerdom in their harbour city home. As the blur between the group’s online and offline worlds intensifies, so too does their relationship to these accelerated cultures. As entranced as it is disconnected, CLUBSMOKE remains inseparable from these hyper-stimulating worlds. Coupled with a raucous live show, the trio create a compelling niche at the boundaries of alternative punk and contemporary hip-hop.

Ever since their breakthrough EP Sidewinder was released in 2017, Stand Atlantic have been one of the “Hottest Rock Artists” in the world, according to KERRANG.

In 2018, Stand Atlantic released their critically-acclaimed debut album Skinny Dipping, amassing over 60,000,000 streams, magazine front covers and featuring on the opening of Riot Games’ League Of Legends.

Fronted by the fiercely unapologetic Bonnie Fraser, the band have enjoyed airplay across BBC Radio 1, Sirius XFM and securing the illustrious Feature Album on triple j.

Selling out headline shows across Australia, UK/Europe and North America, Stand Atlantic released their highly anticipated album Pink Elephant in 2020.

Sycco is 19 year old Sash McLeod, an Australian singer/writer/producer for whom 2020 was a breakout year, thanks to her colourful, pop-infused neo-soul, standout voice and droll turn of phrase.

“My Ways” is the latest in a string of consistently impressive singles (Peacemaker, Nicotine Dribble and Germs) that have won the charismatic artist praise from Billboard, Cool Hunting, Atwood Magazine, Lyrical Lemonade, NME, Ones to Watch, triple j (winning a Level Up grant and scoring an Unearthed Artist of the Year nom), and more. Gracing the cover of Spotify Australia’s New Music Friday and the popular Front Left playlist multiple times, as well as being named Apple Music’s New Artist of the Week, Sycco is quickly establishing herself as one of Australia’s most promising and popular new artists, beloved by fans, media and her contemporaries alike.

Sycco debuted at #29 in triple j’s Hottest 100 with Dribble, making her the highest ranked new local artist in this year’s poll. Her first ever national tour, comprising 12 shows in three cities, sold out in less than 24 hours.

You’re dancing under the stars, living your best life and The Merindas are playing. You’re channelling your most favourite girl groups of the 90’s TLC, Destiny’s Child and Salt n Pepa. The Merindas, with infectious energy, strut onto the stage with their soaring vocals, engaging persona with double the amount of swagger and sass.

Melbourne based duo, The Merindas are set to trail-blaze their innovative style of Indigenous music. They describe their unique sound as “electronic pop with a dance-hall feel, alongside hip hop and R&B influences.”

Garnering rave reviews on the live circuit, playing festivals and major events across Australia has led them to support some of Australia’s biggest stars including US Grammy Award-winning artist Brandy and UK artist Craig David.

With several singles under their belt, their hotly anticipated debut album We Sing Until Sunrise (“Ngangk Ngoorndiny Ngala Warangka” – strongly reflects that we are forever singing, forever dancing and forever celebrating our culture”). Keeping culture alive and strong through language and song, the album was released in June 2020.

The Merindas will follow up with new music releases and showcases in 2021.