Brisbane's music calendar is pretty busy these days, but out of all the gigs and festivals going on in the Queensland capital all year round, BIGSOUND is certainly one of the city's biggest musical highlights.
Happening every September, Fortitude Valley becomes a hub for musicians, music lovers and industry experts from across the globe. Besides aiming to find the future of Australian music during their well-attended festival, BIGSOUND is also a world-renowned international music industry conference.
This 15th incarnation in 2016 will take place from the 7th to the 9th of September will span across a mammoth 16 venues, with over 160 participating bands - creating a village playground unique for its density of live music venues and conference facilities.
With names like Sonic Youth co-founder Kim Gordon and Stones Throw Records hip-hop legends Peanut Butter Wolf and J Rocc as keynote speakers alongside buzzworthy acts such as Tkay Maidza, AB Original, DZ Deathrays and Alex Lahey on the festival bill, this certainly promises to be particularly significant edition.
BIGSOUND prides itself on its notable roster of international talent and music professionals, so it's also encouraging to see a well-curated lineup of Singaporean acts being spotlighted on this year's schedule as well.
Featuring artists such as indie-electronic duo .gif, progressive post-metal outfit In Each Hand A Cutlass and alt-folktronica singer-songwriter Inch - these diverse choices should provide Australian audiences with a well-rounded representation of what Singapore's indie scene has to offer.
In addition, Singapore-based events promoter Jane Blondel will also be a featured speaker during the conference. Representing her company Songs For Children and her newly found record label Records For Children, Blondel will be providing insight on "The (Not So) Far East: Touring Opportunities In Asia" forum.
UPDATE: In addition to the gigs during the main festival itself, Lush 99.5FM and the National Arts Council will also be hosting an exciting showcase of contemporary Singaporean music at BIGSOUND as well!
Appropriately dubbed as the Singaporean Sound System, the event will be taking place at Ric’s Big Backyard on 8th September, and will feature performances by the aforementioned .gif and In Each Hand Cutlass alongside rapper THELIONCITYBOY and audio-visual collective Syndicate who will be represented by Vandetta, Kiat and Intriguant.
As most of you already know, Vandetta aka Vanessa Fernandez is also the Programme Director of Lush 99.5FM. And as she explains to Hello Asia, “Music biz people talk about Asia as this growing market but we’re not just a commodity, we’re a community with a unique perspective... Hearing is believing and we welcome everyone to the Singapore Sound System experience.”
Please visit BIGSOUND's official website for more further details.
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