If you're not across the musical wonderland that is BIGSOUND yet, let us give you the rundown: taking place across 17 venues in Brisbane's Fortitude Valley every September, 150 bands from all walks of life play countless showcases and parties for everyone in the music industry over four days, giving us the chance to discover the next big thing before they really blow up.
From edgy pop to sleek hip hop to grungy rock and more, it's hard not to stumble upon a handful of acts that just excite you for what's to come, so after catching them perform live as well as play Cool Artcidents with us (check out the teaser clip of that below), here are 10 acts you can expect big things from.
CLYPSO
The Sydney-based producer jams out hard with tropo-house/pop james with Afrobeat-esque percussions, glitchy video game flourishes and a killer delivery. We caught her playing a showcase where she brought out fellow Sydneysider Kwame for her song, Middle Ground, and the whole venue was just heaving.
EILISH GILLIGAN
Inspired by the glossy, romantic sounds of the '80s and artists like Jack Antonoff who bring that to the modern day, Eilish Gilligan brought her slightly avant-garde but powerhouse voice front and centre during her BIGSOUND showcases. With her iconic twin buns atop her head, Eilish slayed songs like S.M.F.Y. and Patterns with impressive vocal control - and we loved her stage presence too!
TURQUOISE PRINCE
One of Australia's brightest hip hop stars on the horizon, Turquoise Prince brought his cheeky attitude, saucy tunes and honeyed voice to a couple of showcases at BIGSOUND. Hardly seen in anything but sports jerseys, songs like Sunday Sesh and Lighter understandably went off. TP showed us that the future is bright for Australian hip hop and reminded us that we don't always have to look to the US for amazing hip hop!
SAN MEI
Dream pop act San Mei really caught our attention at BIGSOUND for her stunning vocals, guitar prowess and rock-chick attitude. Having worked with producers like Oscar Dawson on her newest singles, songs like Wonder really shone when played live with her backing band. It's not all swoony dream pop though - the band adds a bit of distorted grunge to the mix too that reminds us a little of St Vincent.
KOTA BANKS
One of the ladies leading the Australian pop revolution lately, Kota Banks brought her pounding dance-pop to BIGSOUND with soaring vocals and killer beats. She's already billed to play Falls Festival this New Year's so her star is already rising, but if you're looking for songs to get into, her new mixtape Prize is where it's at.
CXLOE
Popping up onto everyone's lips seemingly out of nowhere, young Sydney pop star CXLOE (and yes, it's just pronounced 'Chloe') turned heads with her new single Show You, released just a month ago. The song's euphoric chorus and gritty verses reminded us of Lorde (who she calls an influence), but her live performance solidified that she's not just Lorde 2.0. She had the MOZA boys along to play in her band and it really elevated the show to the next level.
KWAME
The Sydney rapper that wowed us with his single, WOW, was a busy bee this BIGSOUND, jumping up on stage with Clypso as well as playing his own showcases. With boundless energy, Kwame's raps come so naturally that he looks like he's been rapping since birth. Speaking of, it was his 21st birthday on Thursday night so the dude was given a cake on stage and the crowd sang him Happy Birthday too! He's on the road with Tkay Maidza now - expect to hear Kwame's name a LOT over the next while.
SAMSARUH
20-year-old Melbourne singer/songwriter Samsaruh has the massive, powerful vocals of Florence + The Machine and the edgy indie pop beats and honest storytelling of Lorde. With such a confident and commanding stage presence, we're surprised she's only 20 years old. Props to her awesome band too - her guitarist was sawing away at his guitar with a violin bow at one point!
SLOWLY SLOWLY
Emo rock is back and it's here to stay. Slowly Slowly have been steadily building a fanbase over the last year and the release of their new album, St Leonards, was met with heaps of acclaim and seeing their live show at a tiny basement bar at BIGSOUND showed us why. Kids were already singing along at the top of their lungs, while singer Ben's introspective lyrics were getting us all straight in the feels. Slowly Slowly might be the next Jimmy Eat World.
G FLIP
By now we've all heard of drummer/singer/songwriter G Flip and her two singles About You and Killing My Time basically breaking the internet. Well, we're here to tell you that the hype is real - G Flip had packed out the triple j Unearthed stage at BIGSOUND and she didn't disappointed. Her vocals are flawless, she adds harmonies and key changes to her songs seamlessly and she's a damn good drummer too.
