WAAX signs with UNIFIED Artist Management
WAAX slides into the UNIFIED Artist Management roster, TIO can confirm.
At UNIFIED, the Brisbane rock outfit is guided by Sarah McMillan, who also manages the likes of Slowly Slowly, Congrats and Mo’Ju.
“We’re super excited to be working with Sarah and the team at UNIFIED,” says WAAX’s incendiary vocalist Maz DeVita, in a statement unveiling the new arrangement.
“Our label introduced us to Sarah during the height of the COVID lockdown and I knew straight away that she would be the best fit for us, guiding us through such an extremely rough time for the music industry,” she continues. “We’re super excited for the next chapter with Sarah by our side.”
With new management on side, expect to hear fresh tunes from WAAX before year’s end.
The four-piece will get the chance to road test their new stuff when they embark on a national tour this July in support of UNIFIED stablemates The Amity Affliction.
WAAX and Sarah McMillan
With a penchant for melodic pop and meaty hooks, WAAX got tongues wagging with their EPs Holy Sick (from 2015) and Wild & Weak (2017), and their debut full-length album Big Grief (via Dew Process/Universal).
Co-produced by Bernard Fanning and Grammy Award-winner Nick DiDia, Big Grief dropped in at No. 11 on the ARIA Albums Chart in August 2019.
Critics were smitten. Triple j were on board, noting Big Grief shows a band who were “pushed to their max potential during recording and came out the other side with a blistering punk rock album.”
Watch WAAX’s ‘Labrador’:
The LP was shortlisted for the Australian Music Prize, earned a nomination for Album of the Year at the 2020 Queensland Music Awards and scored hattrick of nods at the 2020 National Live Music Awards.
“Starting this relationship with WAAX was one of my biggest personal highlights of 2020,” comments McMillan on her new signing.
“I have been a big fan since their ‘Wild & Week’ EP was released. I attended shows and festivals to see this band and they never disappointed. Maz DeVita is also a bloody Aussie icon for woman in music. I am stoked to be on the team and I hope to serve their already growing community with new music and magical moments like I felt when I was in the audience.”
UNIFIED has added a raft of artists to its management roster over the past year, including iconic New Zealand rockers Shihad, Australian pop-punk trio Short Stack, Mornington Peninsula-born teenage pop talent Matilda Pearl, and podcast duo Funny Business.
This article originally appeared on The Industry Observer, which is now part of The Music Network.