High Score SongHubs kicks off in Melbourne

Media Published Thursday 6 June 2024

Front row (L-R): Belinda Coomes, Dean Elliott, Pru Montin, Morgan Ainsley, Jenna Pratt, Mira Dawson, Morgan Read Back row (L-R): Leon Rodgers, John Oestmann, Michael Allen, Kwamena Brace, Louis Stevens, Zayd Thring (Photo by Lucinda Goodwin)

Nine hand-picked participants work with curator Morgan Read and special guests

Takes place 5-7 June at Melbourne's Small Time Studios

Presented in partnership with Creative Victoria

High Score SongHubs 2024 is underway, with 9 hand-picked composers and sound designers crafting music and audio for an interactive game. The sessions are led by curator Morgan Read (Conan Chop Chop, Gabby’s Dollhouse) – an Australian games music veteran with a career of 16 years in the industry. The event runs 5-7 June at Brunswick’s world-class Small Time Studios in Melbourne.

The High Score SongHubs participants are: Kwamena Brace (Playside Studios), 2019 APRA Professional Development Award recipient Pru Montin, Leon Rodgers (Bangarra Dance Theatre), Morgan Ridley-Smith (Bento Bumble, City of Shadows), Zayd Thring (Rehab Cabin, Three Poems), electronic music producer Dean Elliott, Jenna Pratt (Magnetic, Toyboy), Mira Dawson (The Witness, Under An Arctic Sky) and Louis Stevens (A Desert is an Ocean, Literally Me). Eight participants hail from Victoria, with another from interstate.

Participants work alongside a team of games music specialists, including Melbourne-based Belinda Coomes (As We Descend, Winnie’s Hole, Mistmoon Falls), Things of Stone and Wood’s Michael Allen (Redesign My Brain, Last Dance, How to Train Your Dragon) and video game composer and electronic music producer John Oestmann (Rooftop Renegade, Fox and Shadow). These special guests lead teams of participants to create their own take on the demo project under Read’s guidance. Using FMOD, a software tool for adding adaptive audio, the projects will cover music, sound effects and foley all in four days.

Morgan Read: “This will be my second SongHubs and I'm really glad I've been given the opportunity to return. Being part of a program where composers ideate, collaborate, share knowledge, and create amazing work at such a fast pace, is rewarding and inspiring. The applications this year were all really strong, and I'm looking forward to hearing what those selected can produce.”

Since SongHubs launched in 2013, across 90 events worldwide, over $5m 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.

High Score SongHubs is presented by APRA AMCOS, in partnership with the Victorian Government through Creative Victoria.