Acclaimed songwriter and artist Courtney Barnett is guiding an exciting group of music creators as they collaborate on all new songs across four days at ALWAYS LIVE SongHubs, taking place at Fall Back Studios, 28 November – 1 December.
The 2016 APRA Songwriter of the Year and Grammy and BRIT award-nominated artist is in the curator role for the songwriting sessions as part of ALWAYS LIVE, a state-wide celebration of contemporary live music supported by the Victorian Government through Visit Victoria.
Invited to the studio sessions are songwriters and producers Emma Donovan, Jono Ma, Mo'Ju and Warpaint's Stella Mozgawa, who co-produced Barnett’s ARIA-nominated album Things Take Time, Take Time.
A roster of standout talent, selected through an application process, is getting down to the work of writing, producing and recording a song each day, assigned to different groups by curator Barnett.
The musical results will be intriguing with participants including indie-pop artist Alex the Astronaut, lyrical wizard Mallrat, rising star Merpire, Melbourne duo Good Morning, engineer/producer Bonnie Knight, RVG’s Romy Vager, singer-songwriter Ryan Downey, and ones-to-watch FELIVAND, Kinkora and Hollie Col.
“Curating Songhubs has been really inspiring for me. What an amazing group of songwriters, producers and musicians to be working with and learning from. I’m looking forward to seeing what everyone creates!” said Barnett.
Always Live SongHubs comes on the heels of Barnett’s live music curating duties for her ‘Here & There’ touring festival, which made stops at 14 locations across the US in August and September.
Steve Smith, ALWAYS LIVE CEO said, “Partnering with APRA AMCOS has been a priority since the early stages of ALWAYS LIVE and SongHubs is an integral part of our program. It is a celebration of our talented writers and demonstrates our commitment to both what happens on stage and all the elements behind the scenes that bring incredible music moments to audiences.
“We’re honoured to have Courtney Barnett at the helm curating this special edition, the line-up of mentors she has selected is exceptional and this activity provides a vital opportunity for connection and collaboration between a range of extraordinary creatives in our music scene. We wish all participants a career-enhancing experience.”
“We’re so proud to team up with Visit Victoria’s ALWAYS LIVE for this very special SongHubs, led by Courtney Barnett. Courtney’s unique perspective and uniquely Australian songwriting has connected with fans around the world and to have her back home in Melbourne to curate SongHubs is an incredible opportunity for all the writers and producers involved,” said Dean Ormston, CEO, APRA AMCOS.
Since SongHubs launched in 2013, across more than 80 events worldwide, over A$4m in performance royalties for the initiative's collaborators has been earned. SongHubs has produced commercial releases for the likes of Briggs, Troye Sivan, Tayla Parx, Morgan Evans, Peking Duk, Tkay Maidza, Ainslie Wills, The Chainsmokers, Guy Sebastian, Ecca Vandal, Chaii and many more.
Curator
Courtney Barnett
APRA AMCOS Special Guests
Emma Donovan
Jono Ma
Mo’Ju
Stella Mozgawa
APRA AMCOS Participants
Alex the Astronaut
Bonnie Knight
FELIVAND
Good Morning (Stefan Blair and Liam Parsons)
Hollie Col
Kinkora
Mallrat
Merpire
Romy Vager (RVG)
Ryan Downey