I’ve seen about a quarter of the 100+ homegrown artists playing at SXSW Sydney before, and if you’re going through the schedule looking for emerging, independent, or DIY artists to check out, you won’t go wrong with any of these excellent acts.
Beryl
WHAT I’VE SAID: “Beryl beam in tonight from outer space, intergalactic distances and supernova explosions transmitted into song. It’s may not be rocket science, but it takes us all to new worlds.”
Big Wheels
WHAT I’VE SAID: “Big Wheels conjure up tones from times long past, wielding them like weapons to add glorious shine to a drabber era. These are modern wheelspins laid down on well-travelled roads, and it reminds you of what you miss and what you need right now.”
Body Type
WHAT I’VE SAID: “It’s been a short while since Body Type were front and centre, but tonight they come long on new song, and (even) big(ger) on attitude to boot. While there are a few old ones for the old heads, the new stuff dominates – and it boy-howdy dominates. It is fully ripped and muscular, and if this is the statement of intent for the album to come then we might as well all lie down and submit right now. Oof.”
Bonniesongs
WHAT I’VE SAID: “Bonniesongs gives us songs about Frankenstein’s monster, about a love of olive oil, and about learning to fly by doing the breaststroke in bed. Amid the whimsy though, these songs not only have a high-tensile core of skittering guitar lines and antique bursts of banjo, that voice is guaranteed to blow you over the back of your chair.”
Bread Club
WHAT I’VE SAID: “Bread Club shimmy and shake their way through a giddy set of gleeful disco-fuelled beats, enough to put a smile on the face of a concrete elephant.”
C.O.F.F.I.N
WHAT I’VE SAID: “A C.O.F.F.I.N show is never to be trifled with and tonight, even on a Sunday, the bodies are flying as their ragged explosions of joy-fuelled chaos explode among us. Few finer.”
Deadshowws
WHAT I’VE SAID: “Deadshowws both shrink back and explode forwards, but unpredictably. It’s the not-knowing that gets you – discovering whether they’ll be tickling your tummy or knocking your damn teeth out is what makes the set such a ride. From rich and quiet to raw and deafening, it’s a full-spectrum dose.”
DOWNGIRL
WHAT I’VE SAID: “DOWNGIRL are all sorts of contradictory, subtle and sly but still as heavy as a hammer blow to the head; mayhem on a stick but still clear and precise; angry as all hell yet warm and welcoming. Fabulously wild, wildly fabulous.”
Folk Bitch Trio
WHAT I’VE SAID: “As Folk Bitch Trio start their first of two sold out Sydney shows this week, the heavens open outside, the downpour even audible inside the venue. Nothing will dampen this show or our moods though, this glorious set of gentle three-part harmonies, coupled with the sharpest of tongues in the songwriting, is as bright as a spring morning. Outside everyone’s running for sanctuary, but in here we’ve already got plenty.”
GAZAL
WHAT I’VE SAID: “DOWNGIRL are all sorts of contradictory, subtle and sly but still as heavy as a hammer blow to the head; mayhem on a stick but still clear and precise; angry as all hell yet warm and welcoming. Fabulously wild, wildly fabulous.”
Gordon’s Grandson
WHAT I’VE SAID: “Gordon’s Grandson’s pop wants to be wonky but can’t help being flawlessly smooth, oddball notes flying on perfectly pitched wings. Nuttier than a squirrel’s lunch underneath, it somehow keeps both itself and us on a dead level keel, masterclass and mischief rolled into one.”
GRXCE
WHAT I’VE SAID: “GRXCE don’t seem to know how to get worse. It’s been a while since I heard many of these songs but they’ve all grown fangs and muscle – again. When a band doesn’t just not get bored of their own songs but clearly spends time refining and punching them up, putting in the work and the effort, it doesn’t just show, it rips your damn hair out at the roots.”
Haley Holgate
WHAT I’VE SAID: “Haley Holgate’s fabulous solo set barely raises its voice above a whisper, but the stories and the emotion that pour off the stage yank your head around towards it, demanding attention. The sharp wit and the keen observations match with engaging narrative and rich musicality to leave you far better off than you were when you arrived. Right there, that’s the job of an artist. Job done.”
Hellcat Speedracer
WHAT I’VE SAID: “There was once a band called Piranha Deathray, which was – unarguably – the best band name ever. Unfortunately, they weren’t quite as brilliant as their name. Hellcat Speedracer though have both a top-tier name and are totally, barkingly, hilariously brilliant. Like Leftfield or Chemical Brothers before them, this is punk as fuck but done with tech. If you can’t have a good time to this, if you can’t feel the cathartic and primal release, if you can’t utterly lose your mind into places it literally needs to go… well, hell, there are just things wrong with you that medicine can’t fix.”
Jazzy Dale
WHAT I’VE SAID: “Jazzy Dale’s set slinks and drifts through the room like lazy smoke from a red leather bar booth, bluesy and head-nodding, soaring and soothing and seemingly effortless. It’s box of treats wrapped in a film noir package, the stage show of your gumshoe dreams – the only thing to do is just lie back and let it all play out.”
Kitty of the Valley
WHAT I’VE SAID: “Kitty Of The Valley blare like a city-wide alarm, loud and insistent and urgent and with the possibility that something might explode in short order. Heed the warning, duck and cover.”
Lady Lyon
WHAT I’VE SAID: “Lady Lyon’s honey-sweet country rides into the midst of Fangzstock like a much-needed reminder of the power of twang, a slice of rich and lovely cake. Loud is great, sure – but not all voices need to shout to be heard.”
Last Quokka
WHAT I’VE SAID: “Last Quokka are a live rail, something to avoid stepping on, or even to get too close to. Fizzing with energy, it starts fully charged and doesn’t let up – right up in your face, it’s a blast to the chest and enough to give new life to the dead.”
media puzzle
WHAT I’VE SAID: “media puzzle’s one-man DIY punk may be set the lo-est of fi but it’s a bloody distance from lightweight. Ragged beats rattle the skull, matched with sharp-fanged earworms that chew through the side of your skull like the bone wasn’t even there. It howls and barks at the moon, sure, but it’s got the teeth to back it up.”
MEOW MEOW AND THE SMACKOUTS
WHAT I’VE SAID: “MEOW MEOW AND THE SMACKOUTS are savage with a smile, tartan-trousers punk with a grin a mile wide and sharp poise for days and days and days. There’s the snot, the snarl, and the snark, but there’s also instantly addictive song underneath it all, a blinding blast of noisy trouble.”
Ninajirachi
WHAT I’VE SAID: “Ninajirachi drops in for a DJ set this afternoon, and it’s of note because I understand almost none of it on a conscious level. I recognise there are deep parts of my brain that are lighting up like fireflies, and there may be something wrong with my shoulders. It’s brilliant fun, even if I’m clearly far too old to explain exactly why.”
O.M.R.
WHAT I’VE SAID: “O.M.R lay down hypnotic phrases as bait but slam the trap shut with eggpunk and chaos – no warning and no quarter, but always with one raised and amused eyebrow. Sharp wit, cutting to bone.”
Sesame Girl
WHAT I’VE SAID: “Sesame Girl combine urgency and free-floating whimsy, roaring and furious underneath a deceptively calm surface. For every gentle ripple of melody, there’s a far bigger wave of sound right behind it ready to take you far out to sea.”
sleepazoid
WHAT I’VE SAID: “sleepazoid’s set is a pack of wild horses thundering over your body and through your mind, deafeningly loud, crushing all in its path, and utterly, utterly beautiful to watch. It’s a spectacular set of noise and song, impressive and confident, a grin a mile wide while it levels the building around you.”
Sonic Reducer
WHAT I’VE SAID: “Sonic Reducer only shop from quality stores, connoisseurs of the very best musical ingredients. Velvets, Ramones, Pistols, Stones – all the classic plurals are referenced either in song or in style, but what comes blaring off the stage is both the art smashed into the attitude and the innovation built on the influences. Familiar notes, hitting new.”
The Slims
WHAT I’VE SAID: “The Slims twang with style and poise, cinematically moody but still full of pop hooks to reel you in.”
Velvet Trip
WHAT I’VE SAID: “Velvet Trip in full-band mode are a vortex of psyche and blues, with considerable fuzz and heft. In solo mode we get to see the gentle heart at its core, and while it might be a bit softer at the edges for being exposed to the air, it still beats like a mad ‘un. The guitar skills are still enough to shred the skin off fingers, but the songs are revealed to be as hypnotically lovely as a puppy’s ear.”
xiao xiao
WHAT I’VE SAID: “xiao xiao whirl like a tornado, something you can’t stop nor stop staring at, moving with both purpose and the threat of malice. It’s a hurricane force sound, heavy and with purposeful intent, and it stamps through the room, enough to rip the house clear out of the ground and send you to a whole other world, you and your little dog.”
Yasmina Sadiki
WHAT I’VE SAID: “We don’t get many songs from Yasmina Sadiki tonight but all are lengthy explorations into jazz and hip-hop and soul, intricate and dense. There’s a sense of impending menace that pervades it all and makes it positively cinematic, music bringing light to the darkest of corners.”
Yorke
WHAT I’VE SAID: “Yorke springs into life here tonight – wait, did I hear that right? – with their first ever gig. This can’t be possible. This is so fully formed, so rich and stellar and gaseous and amazing, it could have been in an oak cask for twenty years. Regina Spektor does Chvrches. Just fabulous.”
—-
SXSW Sydney 2025 starts next week – passes and wristbands are on sale now via sxswsydney.com
You must be logged in to post a comment.