Amy Shark, Gang of Youths, AIR, Skinnyfish among 32 latest recipients of Australia Council grants

Amy Shark, Gang of Youths, the Australian Independent Record Labels Association (AIR), and Darwin-based record label and event management Skinnyfish Music are among 32 contemporary music acts and associations to pick up Australia Council grants  in the latest rounds.

They include the regular project categories and the outcomes of the Contemporary Music Touring Program.

The $6.8 million funding in the latest core grants round will support 222 projects by 133 individual artists, 30 groups, and 59 arts organisations.

The Council was pleased to report that of the 1,336 applications, 29% were first timers.

Aside from contemporary music, the grants covered Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander arts, community arts and cultural development, dance, emerging and experimental Arts, literature, multi-art form, theatre and visual arts.

The music recipients were:

Amy Shark $46,000 to get to the United States, and Canada to play a series of summer festivals and headline show and attend radio conferences.

Gang of Youths $50,000 to play significant international festival and headline shows.

Skinnyfish Music $50,000 towards presentation of 2018 Barunga Festival.

AIR $10,000 towards this year’s Indie Con conference in Adelaide.

David Leha aka Radical Son $50,000 to create a new touring show with five Indigenous male singers.

EDM composer and producer Paul Mac $15,000 to create a new musical theatre work.

Country music husband and wife team Adam Eckersley and Brooke McClymont $15,000 for a 23 date tour across WA, SA, NSW and QLD.

Kite String Tangle $19,000 for major UK and European tour.

City Calm Down $24,000 for their imminent UK / European tour.

Leah Flanagan $25,000 to record a new album.

Melbourne rock band RVG $34,000 for an extensive European and UK tour.

Darwin based Caiti Baker $18,000 to attend Great Escape and undertake UK promotional activity, returning there after six years.

Tiwi Islands seven piece B2M $39,000 to create a new touring show incorporating dance, multimedia & comedy.

Having won the Toyota Starmaker and multiple WA country music awards, singer Karen Wolski $19,000 to record a new album.

Lucie Thorne $20,000 to record a new long player.

Joel Ma aka Joelistics $19,000 for The Hanafuda Extension, a collaboration led by Aaron Chouli with a series of Japanese artists that will result in a new album.

Bashka $19,000 to market their latest release which will be a combination of new compositions and arrangements of traditional Turkish music.

Jazz bassist Ross McHenry $21,000 to record a new album in New York with Eric Harland and Matthew Sheens.

Singer songwriter Heath Cullen $20,000 to a record a new album in LA with Grammy winning producer Joe Henry and drummer Jim Keltner.

The LDD, new group of internationally based Australian electronic music producers, Dan Whitford (Cut Copy), Mike Gamwell (Knightlife) and Mirko Vogelto, $14,000to record a new album for release on Cutters Records worldwide in late 2018/2019.

Johannes Luebbers $14,000 for a new recording for the Johannes Luebbers Dectet and filming of a performance.

Laura Jean $10,000 to create two music videos for tracks from her June-due album Devotion through Chapter Music.

Gold Coast artist Stacie Peterson aka “Old Sault” $18,000 to record a debut album with producer Govinda Doyle.

WA jazz singer Elizabeth Hoyt $10,000 record an album of 12 new compositions by Australian women composers.

Maaike Lebbing $22,000 to relocate from Perth to Los Angeles to undertake a 12 month mentorship program with a range of producers including Hudson Mohawke, MNDR and Lauren Christie.

MESS aka the Melbourne Electronic Sound Studio $75,000 to support the operation of their fully functioning sound workshop housing a historically significant publicly accessible collections of electronic instruments in the world.

Jessie Lloyd $15,000 to tour her Mission Songs project feat Emma Donovan, Deline Briscoe and Jessica Hitchcock, to NT and NSW in August.

Brisbane’s Ethnic and Multicultural Arts Centre $15,000 to tour three artists from refugee backgrounds, being Tenzin Choegyal (from Tibet), Kween G (from Uganda) and Yasmin Ibrahim Mohamed (from South Sudan) to Qld and NSW.

The 15 piece Sirens Big Band $14,000 to tour NSW and Victoria presenting Ellen Kirkwood’s 60 minute suite A]part with guests Andrea Keller, Gian Slater and Sandy Evans and support from the Young Women’s Jazz Orchestra.

Karl Williams $14,000 to tour NSW, TAS, VIC, QLD, WA.

Jackie Marshall $12,000 to tour VIC, ACT, NSW & QLD.

Melbourne pop folk outfit Perch Creek will support their new album with a 17 date tour of WA, SA, VIC, ACT, NSW & QLD.

Over 20 peers participated in the assessment of the music categories including Helen Marcou, Kris Keogh, Luke Peacock, Emily Collins, Nardi Simpson, Jeremy Rose, Anna Laverty, Johannes Mulder, Janne Scott, Phil Eaton, Laura Harper and Charlotte Thorne.

Full details can be found at https://online.australiacouncil.gov.au/ords/GrantsList