I am not adventurous when listening to music. I have my staples, much like a diet, and listen to these consistently. Perhaps I find this safe, comforting, a way to control my obsessive tendency to purchase every track ever recorded by my favourite artists. This last 12 months, largely through my role as Media and PR Co-ordinator for Hope Movement, I have come across many musicians who I either never knew existed, or had simply once ignored.
I decided that it was only fair to share these amazing artists with you, hence forth I give you…
“The Best Music You’ve Never Heard”
*Otherwise known as ‘What you’ve been listening to for years and I just discovered’
New Empire
After seeing these guys perform at Forest Edge and actually meeting them, I was obliged to purchase their album ‘Symmetry’.
Best music decision ever.
I had the album playing non-stop in my car the following two months and never grew sick of it. The musicality of NE is phenomenal, match it with Jeremy Fowler’s vocals and the beautifully written lyrics and the first track made me a fan for life. Love, life, relationships, global justice; yep just a normal album from the NE boys. I cannot wait to hear their new music due this September!
Evermore
How has this band been around so long without me actually listening to them? Admittedly I had downloaded ‘Light Surrounding You’ years ago, but after hearing that they were at Youth Alive Victoria and seeing them live I became obsessed. I progressively downloaded their albums from iTunes and was stunned at the amount of songs I had heard over the TV or radio played by them. Evermore are so well established and pure professionals, yet they also play with a sincerity, humility and purity so rare in the music industry. Their music reflects their heart, and that is why I love it.
Jake Nauta
By some weird turn of events, I found out that someone I knew, knew someone who was related to Jake Nauta. I checked out his Facebook page to see if I could post his music on the Hope Movement page and voila, a fan was made. A Triple J Feature artist, think acoustic, folk, singer song writer; and Jake’s actually a really nice guy!
Brittany Cairns
I am a reality TV junkie, and I’m not afraid to admit it. When I saw Brittany Cairns on the Australian season of ‘The Voice’ 2012 I followed her journey as I knew she belonged to the church circles in Sydney. What I didn’t count on was her being so good. Britt’s vocals are pure and strong, they tell a story which is why her cover of Jes Hudak’s ‘Different Worlds’ went to #1 on iTunes. Having just released her debut EP Britt is only going to get better!
Michael Paynter
When I heard that Michael Paynter was on the ‘The Voice’ 2013 I was confused; wasn’t this guy already a recording artist? More to the point, I was sure I had heard him on the radio that same week! Apparently Michael Paynter had begun to make a name for himself five or so years ago; he was recognised commercially and even sang and toured with The Veronica’s. Yet like so many artists, his career didn’t pan out. Michael returned in 2013 and is now more popular than ever; and me? Well I’m rocking out to ‘Love the Fall’ while I wait for new music from Paynter!
One Republic
I can’t believe I only just discovered this band. They wrote and sang ‘Apologise’ for goodness sake! Yet here I am in 2013 only learning who Ryan Tedder was after he composed a song with Delta Goodrem. I did some quick Wiki research (don’t worry, I don’t use it as a source), brought their debut album for a whole $7 from JB and stuck it in my car. After six years, I can finally say that I am on the Tedder bandwagon.