Warner Music Australia Partners With Purple Phase (EXCLUSIVE)
Warner Music Australia strikes a global alliance with Purple Phase, the label launched by the Margin brothers and their managers, TMN can exclusively reveal.
Through the new arrangement, Purple Phase will “unearth, sign and showcase some of the best emerging talent within the Australian music community,” a statement reads, while WMA will support and push those acts through its international network.
To celebrate the deal, set to be announced today (July 14), Purple Phase releases “Crash,” the new single from its first signing, Stevan.
Purple Phase is the creation of the three Margin brothers (Zaac, Sam and Elliott) from Australian indie-rock outfit The Rubens and their managers Greg Carey and Michael Ridgewell.
“We are thrilled to welcome the Purple Phase label into the Warner Music Australia family,” WMA president Dan Rosen tells TMN. “I’ve been an admirer of Greg Carey’s work as a manager and the positive impact he has had on his artists and the local industry. I’m also a long-term fan of The Rubens.”
The “wealth of experience” that comes with this team of Carey, Ridgewell and the Margins “is a huge asset to WMA,” Rosen continues.
“We know that they are going to be bringing some of the best new Australian talent into the fold, the first being the incredible Stevan. Can’t wait to take the music of Stevan and future Purple Phase artists to the world.”
The new cut features an assist from Virginia-based indie artist Tommy Richman, and is accompanied with a self-directed video alongside Stevan’s buddy Christopher Kidallpark.
“Crash” is the first taste off Stevan’s forthcoming EP, and it’s “probably the most excited I’ve ever been for a release,” he comments. “I feel like it reflects my personality 100%, and artistically it’s the most free I’ve felt too. It’s a great start to my partnership with Purple Phase.”
A self-taught producer, multi-instrumentalist and songwriter, Stevan was introduced to music through his dad’s collection of Bob Marley, Al Green and Stevie Wonder cassettes.
He picked up drumming and then guitar by watching live videos of John Mayer on YouTube, fell for hip-hop through underground mixtapes, and dipped into production.
By 2019, he emerged fully-formed as an artist and landed several international deals and a slot to open for Winston Surfshirt on a national tour.
Raised in Wollongong, Stevan will get the chance to show off his talents next Saturday (July 23) when he performs at Splendour In The Grass, and again for a national run of dates, kicking off Aug. 28 at North Wollongong Hotel.