The Aussie music you need to hear

American commentators have borrowed the previously Asian-centric name A-Pop to herald the Australasian invasion of new music predicted to crowd the charts worldwide in the next 12 months.

The phenomenal chart success of Gotye, then Lorde, followed by 5 Seconds of Summer and now Iggy Azalea and Vance Joy has the world’s tastemakers and fans keen to champion Australian and New Zealand

Already leading the way is Troye Sivan, the 19-year-old singer, songwriter and YouTube star who recently featured on Time magazine’s list of the world’s most influential teenagers.

Sivan signed to Capitol Records a year ago and his debut EP TRXYE peaked at No. 1 on the iTunes charts of 51 countries when it was released in August.

EMI boss and respected talent scout John O’Donnell, who has helped steer the success of 5 SOS and Sivan in Australia, said our artists had always made music which could travel but now it could so faster.

O’Donnell warned his American counterparts that the Sivan EP would blow up on the charts on the day of release even though most of the music industry hadn’t heard of him yet.

He has almost three million subscribers for his YouTube channel and his videos have clocked up more than 130 million views.

“You look at someone like Troye, you have to release his music in all markets on the same day because his audience is built on a truly global platform,” O’Donnell said.

“But it still blew everyone’s minds when it lit up iTunes around the world, knocking 5 SOS off No.1.”

Cheaper airfares, Skype, SoundCloud, Hype Machine and YouTube have all proven instrumental in bringing Australian music to the rest of the world.

But closing the deal and convincing fans and the industry to stick with our artists comes down to what we have always been great at and that is getting on the stage in front of the audience.

“We have always been renowned for producing artists that have substance in their music and a toughness and tenacity in their performance and work ethic,” O’Donnell said.

Universal Music Australia co-managing director Michael Taylor has also been on a new artists signing spree in recent months with new folk duo Winterbourne and 17-year-old producer Just A Gent among his finds.

Winterbourne are an old school signing having been discovered by several labels thanks to attracting hundreds of fans with their regular busking sessions in Pitt St Mall in Sydney and also in Melbourne.

“I discovered them busking in front of this huge crowd of kids and while I was watching, they sold 150 CDs at $ 10 each; I can’t do that on a good day with some of the bigger acts,” he said.

“I went the next week to make sure and there are another 200 kids in the school uniforms on a Friday afternoon and they sold another 150 CDs. That is unreal.”

But Taylor said it is in the dance and electronic scenes where Australian artists are punching above their weight.

“I am hearing stuff happen here before the US, Uk or Sweden which is really exciting,” he said.

“In the past, we were doing stuff that sounded like last year but from Joel Fletcher and Will Sparks on the club side to Flume and Chet Faker on the electronic side, we are leading the way internationally.”

Project U.tv editor Nic Kelly said some of the success of our artists was due to their passionate fans here.

He said Australian pop music fans are being recognised as global tastemakers by bloggers who then herald their picks around the world.

“The Australian audience is a lot more adventurous and if you look at the top 10 here in any given week, you will see a lot of artists breaking through with their first single,” Kelly said.

“The Australian music fan buys music on how good the song is rather than how good the pop star is. We still love the underdog rather than the cult of celebrity.”

Here are 10 artists we predict will be storming the global charts in the next 12 months.

Tkay Maidza

MTV in the US warn that prevailing indie hip hop stars Azealia Banks and M.I.A. “better make way for this new underground queen.”

Iggy Azalea has put Australian rappers on the map in America but this precocious 18-year-old Maidza can deliver both fierce raps and sweet vocals.

She has just released her debut EP Switch Lanes and scored a host of new fans with her showcases at the influential CMJ Music Marathon 2014 in New York last month.

Her signature electro hip hop sound with a pleasurable dose of perfect pop melody has veered all over the sonic map as evidenced by singles Brontosaurus, Uh-Huh and Handle My Ego.

She returns to Australia to open for Illy on his December tour and perform sets at the annual Falls Festival.

Winterbourne

This Central Coast duo attract hundreds of people to their busking sets at Pitt St Mall in Sydney, selling more than 100 CDs in an hour.

They were the subject of a label bidding war after several executive just happened to catch them playing while shopping on a weekend.

Their debut EP All But The Sun has just been released and the duo hit the road to open for Little May on their EP launch tour this month.

They sound like Pearl Jam frontman Eddie Vedder singing with Mumford and Sons.

Little May

TITLE: Little May Boardwalks

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CAPTION: Little May’s single Boardwalks has enchanted critics from Sydney to New York

“Little May have become one of Australia’s most buzzed about bands, drawing comparisons to First Aid Kit, Fleetwood Ma and Haim. Now, they’re poised for an explosive debut in the States.” – Billboard.

Their recent showcase gigs in New York had queues around the block and actors in the audience, including Julia Stiles.

The self-titled debut EP released last month perfectly showcased their harmony-laden “ghost folk” and instantly charmed international labels, with the trio signing with Capitol Records in Hollywood in addition to their local deal with Dew Process.

Little May will open for Bernard Fanning on his January homecoming shows.

Little Sea

Andrew Butler and Oliver Kirby started posting covers on Youtube in late 2013, with the line-up completed by Leighton Cauchi and Dylan Clark.

The Sydney pop rockers had many labels keen to sign them as their social media profile built rapidly, snagging fans in the UK and US. They have now signed to Sony Music and Universal Publishing.

Already being hailed as the next 5 Seconds of Summer, the band also built their fanbase with solid touring and opened for 5 SOS during their theatre tour earlier this year.

The band have already been on a songwriting trip to Los Angeles and organised “fan meet-ups” with the early American adopters.

Montaigne

The artistic alter ego of teenager Jessica Cerro, Montaigne headed straight into the studio to record her debut EP just days after finishing her HSC last year.

The Sydney singer and songwriter has become celebrated by Triple J bosses and indie bloggers for her grand, ambitious pop.

Her voice is soaring and dramatic, perfectly suited to the kind of quirky yet assured art pop she writes.

She is signed to new label Wonderlick Recordings which is a joint venture with Sony Music and will be touring around Australia with San Cisco this month.

Olympia

This prodigiously talented Melbourne artist known as Olivia Bartley on her passport has been captivating audiences with her spine-tingling performances opening for Paul Dempsey, Josh Pyke and City and Colour.

Think a female Jeff Buckley in terms of her soaring vocal range and guitar playing, sparse yet mesmerising.

She has signed to EMI and her debut EP is expected to be released in early 2015.

Artists she tour with adore her, with Hunters and Collectors frontman Mark Seymour among those singing her praises, proclaiming her “of greatness”.

Troye Sivan

he over-the-top talent of this 19-year-old actor and YouTube vlog sensation converted at warp speed into chart success when he released his debut EP TRXYE a couple of months ago.

Preceded by the single happy Little Pill, which has notched up more than eight million views thus far, Sivan hit the top of the iTunes charts worldwide in 58 countries with his dark, minimalist electro pop.

The captivating and intelligent singer and songwriter has spent the past year writing his debut record in London and Los Angeles and is being hailed as the next global pop star to hail from Australia.

KLP

Australian electronic music’s renaissance woman, Sydney artist KLP is a DJ, producer, vocalist, radio host and a go-to collaborator for international chart stars including What So Not (a Flume alter ego).

Named on inthemix’s list of producers to watch in 2014, KLP has just released the new single Medicine after signing to EMI, ahead of her second EP scheduled for early 2015.

She is also a sought-after DJ on the Australian festival circuit and has played most of the big ones in the past couple of years.

Just A Gent

Currently on an American tour and signed to a global deal, this 17-year-old producer has been juggling school, a day job in a toy store and making music which is being championed by Skrillez, Diplo and Dillon Francis.

The Newcastle teenager born Jacob Grant sold out 11 shows on her first headlining national tour, while his music is scoring millions of plays on Soundcloud and regularly featured on the influential Hype Machine which aggregates hundreds of music blogs.

His stunning new single Limelight, featuring ROZES, introduces his upcoming Stories To Tell EP which will be released on December 26.

Jones Jnr.

Soul, gospel and hip hop fusion duo Ev and Morgan Jones (no relation) have been steadily building their profile away from day job with Thundamentals and mixtape releases.

The Katoomba pair are one of the more unique live acts doing the rounds, with Ev pulling off old school soul vocals with an oh-so-cool onstage presence.

Rumour has it one of their new tracks has been short-listed for the 50 Shares of Grey soundtrack.

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