Where are you based?
Quandamooka country.
Where do you work? What do you do?
For the past year and a half I was working as Promotions Manager at [PIAS] / Inertia, I’m continuing to work on campaigns for the label via contract and am back running my indie PR business Special Interest, where I’m promoting for multiple indie labels and artists.
What are you listening to?
I just finished Ziggy Ramo’s album Sugar Coated Lies, he is a truly outstanding talent. I’m also loving albums from Black Dresses, Julia Jacklin, Ari Lennox, the Mountain Goats, Sampa the Great, NoSo and Tobe Nwigwe.
How do you discover new music?
I love going on deep dives both online and in a record store/thrift store, I also find new artists via other artists, community radio here, college/alternative radio in the US, BBC Radio 6 Music, and keep a close eye on upcoming release schedules & sites like The Fader, Wonderland, Mixmag, WAEVZ AU and more.
What formats do you usually listen to? LP, CD, Cassette, Digital, Streaming Services? Why?
I used to be 4ZZZ FM’s Music Coordinator so I have a pretty extensive digital collection, I purchase music from Bandcamp, stream, and absolutely love putting a record on the player to get lost in.
“I definitely get frustrated with premium models that require subscription to filter out ads, as well as the quality of some files.”
Where do you do most of your music listening?
I’m pretty much never not listening to music. It helps fuel me while I’m working, is a great backdrop to home projects like a Spring clean or making an elaborate meal, and if I’m walking or on public transport then I’m absolutely listening too. My favourite thing to do is put an album on I’ve been meaning to get to and going for a long walk through nature.
How do you find and listen to pre-release music?
I definitely try to stay across premieres for exciting new artists – mostly via blogs and radio. In my work, I always pitch ahead of release and line up a first play and/or online premiere.
What are your frustrations with listening to music digitally? Any benefits?
The streaming model puts almost nothing back into the artists’ pocket, that needs to change. I tend to download new music I get sent / have bought a download code for and pop it into iTunes wherever possible, but I definitely get frustrated with premium models that require subscription to filter out ads, as well as the quality of some files.
How do you keep track of everything you are listening to?
I’ve got a ridiculous spreadsheet of new and forthcoming albums that I constantly add to and refer to, with colour coding that tells me whether I’ve listened or not and what my thoughts were about any given record.
Do you tip other people off to new music? How?
Yes! Gatekeeping is silly. My love language is creating playlists for my friends and family.
Anything you want to “promote”?
I’ve been working with [PIAS] on the incredible Noongar artist Bumpy’s debut EP, Morning Sun, which landed in late January and features some seriously show-stopping vocals over gorgeous neo-soul instrumentation and production.
Last year I worked on Jesswar’s mammoth debut mixtape LIFE’S SHORT, LIVE BIG out now via [PIAS] Australia, highly recommend – such a broad range of beats and bars on display!
I also want to shout out Rachel Maria Cox’s fantastic EP The Day You Left, especially if you’re into both Carly Rae Jepsen and Courtney Barnett.
