THE HIDDEN PLAYLIST: NE DOWN UNDER | OCTOBER
by Kayleigh Nickson
The Australian music scene is dying.
This is not something I thought I would find out when I moved across the world. Just like in the UK, Australia’s local live music venues are closing down, festivals are being cancelled and independent artists are struggling. Since COVID began, 1,300 venues have closed – that’s 25% of all live music venues nationwide and more than 25 music festivals have been cancelled since 2022, Splendour In The Grass being one of the most recent cancellations. Don’t get me wrong, people are still going to shows but they are prioritising the big interational acts in major venues over the up-and-coming local acts in indepedent venues.
I’m here to put the spotlight on some of the incredible artists here that I hadn’t heard of before. Not all of them are small, independent artists but they are all artists that are certainly new to me.
The Rubens
Genre: Alternative Rock
Established: Menangle, New South Wales in 2011
Spotify Monthly Listeners: 745,000
Latest Release: ‘SODA‘ Album released on 20th September 2024
Song recommendations: ‘Black Balloon‘ and ‘Hoops‘
Lime Cordiale
Genre: Pop Rock
Established: Sydney, New South Wales in 2009
Spotify Monthly Listeners: 1.7 Million
Latest Release: ‘Enough of The Sweet Talk‘ Album released on 26th July 2024
Song Recommendations: ‘Robbery‘ and ‘Enough of The Sweet Talk‘
(photo credit Charlie Wright/Northern Exposure)
Mitch Santiago
Genre: Indie
Established: Perth, Western Australia in 2020
Spotify Monthly Listeners: 34,000
Latest Release: ‘Bandaids‘, single released 19th July 2024
Song Recommendations: ‘Seeing Straight‘ and ‘Bandaids‘
The Last Martyr
Genre: Cyberpop Metalcore
Established: Melbourne, Victoria in 2019
Spotify Monthly Listeners: 36,000
Latest Release: ‘Requiem‘ EP released 23rd October 2024
Song Recommendations: ‘The Nihilist‘ and ‘Burn it Down‘
Jacob Fitzgerald
Genre: Pop Rock
Established: Melbourne, Victoria in 2018
Spotify Monthly Listeners: 13,000
Latest Release: ‘It’s Getting Lonely in Boston Avenue‘ EP released 31st July 2024
Song Recommendations: ‘Sophia‘ and ‘Coffee, Cigarettes & Sex’
Middle Kids
Genre: Indie
Established: Sydney, New South Wales in 2017
Spotify Monthly Listeners: 392,000
Latest Release: ‘Faith Crisis Pt 1‘ Album released 16th February 2024
Song Recommendations: ‘Edge of Town‘ and ‘Dramamine‘
Discover these and many, many more names across the Australian new music scene with Kayleigh’s specially curated ‘Hidden Playlist‘ over on Spotify now!
What would you add to our Hidden Playlist?
Tag us over on Instagram @northernexposure_mag and X/Twitter @ne_magazine for feature opportunities!
Author
