SOUNDS FROM THE SOUTH: TYLER JENKE ON THE SOUTH AUSTRALIA MUSIC AWARDS 2020
The South Australian Music Awards (SAMs) are set to go ahead in November, celebrating another incredible year of both up-and-coming and established South Australian musicians. Amongst the judges of the SAMs, ex-Adelaide local and Editor of Rolling Stone Australia, Tyler Jenke has a personal conn…
The South Australian Music Awards (SAMs) are set to go ahead in November, celebrating another incredible year of both up-and-coming and established South Australian musicians.
The ceremony will be in line with COVID-19 restrictions, with the winners being announced on 3 November 2020.
In 2019, the SAMs made waves as they encountered a record-breaking number of votes in the lead up to the event.
Amongst the judges of the SAMs, ex-Adelaide local and Editor of Rolling Stone Australia, Tyler Jenke has a personal connection to the sounds which are emerging from South Australia.
“I’m originally from Adelaide, so I’ve always had that really close experience and relationship with South Australian musicians,” he said.
“I think from a personal point of view that’s the big thing that really appeals to me, it’s just giving back to the music scene that gave so much to me.”
Adelaide, a city which at times was overlooked on tour schedules by bigger artists, has been coined as the first and only UNESCO City of Music in Australia. Jenke found this to be a great step in the right direction for Adelaide musicians and fans.
“As an Adelaide music fan, you would always miss out a little bit,” he said. “To have this sort of distinction like a UNESCO City of Music I feel that would really help for putting Adelaide on the map as more of a music city… it’ll mean that a lot more bands and artists have much more of a platform to show their stuff and end up as huge Australian names in the future.”
Something which draws Jenke to the South Australian music scene is a sense of realness and vulnerability, with artists such as Wing Defence and Triple J Unearthed High Winners, Teenage Joans developing and distinguishing the South Australian sound. Jenke found the songwriting abilities of South Australian’s to be something which draws him to that scene.
“And that shines true in their storytelling – they don’t necessarily sort of want to better all the other states or anything like that, they’re just sort of blazing their own trail,” he said.
“It’s something to really be proud of, I feel.”
Artists such as TOWNS, Horror My Friend, and Stellie are amongst the nominees for this year's SAMs. Jenke has a feeling that the bar will be raised yet again at the SAMs.
“Every year it’s always such an amazing example of everything that artists have done off of their own back, there’s always so much creativity and innovation that comes out from these artists,” he said.
“So I think if anything I’m still just expecting more of the same - just expecting the next level to be reached once again as they do every year.”
In regards to COVID-19’s impact on the South Australian music scene, Jenke said 2020 will serve as a reminder of South Australia’s sheer determination to revive the scene.
“I really feel it’ll highlight the tenacity of the South Australian music scene and hopefully a lot of outside states will be looking over and saying, ‘Wow, Adelaide have really got it,’” he said.
“South Australian musicians really know how to survive under pressure.”
2020 SOUTH AUSTRALIAN MUSIC AWARDS
Tuesday, November 3rd, 2020
Further details to come
The SAM Awards is looking ahead to the future in continuing their commitment to celebrating the thriving community of musicians that really make SA Great.
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INTERVIEW: SYDNEY RAPPER TUKA PERSONIFIES HIS SOUNDSCAPE WITH HIS NEW ALBUM ‘NOTHING IN COMMON BUT US’
In the last five years, Tuka had a semi-hiatus from his solo career, making two albums with Thundamentals and subsequently touring those albums. Sel chats to Tuka about all things…well, Tuka!
Pictured: Sydney rapper Tuka breaks genre boundaries with his new album, Nothing In Common But Us
Image: Supplied
For those who are accustomed to the Australian hip-hop scene, the name Tuka would almost be synonymous with Blue Mountains hip-hop trio, Thundamentals. Iconic moments for the hip-hop group like their 2012 cover of Brother by Matt Corby for Triple J’s Like a Version segment (amassing over 4.9 million views) may also spring to mind, as well as their popular light-hearted tune Sally. Tuka is one third of that trio, and is hoping to define himself as a solo artist with his new album, Nothing In Common But Us.
In the last five years, Tuka had a semi-hiatus from his solo career, making two albums with Thundamentals and subsequently touring those albums. A major defining moment in that five year period for Tuka was a relationship which influenced a large part of his work.
“Nothing In Common But Us is from my perspective, it’s about personifying a relationship into the one character,” he said.
“I definitely got the idea for the album from spending a lot of time with someone and them uprooting a lot of things that I didn’t know about myself.”
Listeners are greeted by tracks such as the first single from the album, Wish I Knew, which was co-written with The Presets’ Julian Hamilton, and premiered on Triple J’s Good Nights. Tuka is renowned for his warmth when it comes to hip-hop songwriting, however this track finds him experimenting with deep house influences and breaking down the barriers of conventional genres.
“I guess the sonic soundscape was a victim to whatever I found exciting, that didn’t put me in the box of being a hip hop artist - I wanted to be an artist in general for this one,” he said.
“Dropping a genre or trying to create my own genre was the objective, there really weren't any rules.”
Nothing In Common But Us expands upon hip-hop more broadly and invites the listener to sit with a wide spectrum of emotions, with Tuka including spoken word poet Anne Casey to explore these feelings and as an ode to his relationship with poetry. “When I saw Anne perform it just hit me right in the head because it’s what I was writing about, and she actually coined the phrase ‘Nothing In Common But Us’, within that poem,” he said.
“...and so afterwards I talked to her on the side of the stage and we had big chats, and I asked her if I could use that line and she was so cool about everything I asked her.” Oftentimes, you can catch Tuka heading to Glebe in Sydney to share wine with friends and listen in adoration to poets who grace the stage.
“You just watch all of these people come out of the woodwork, they’ve had this whole life of experience, and they’ve put a lot of effort into writing a piece of poetry about their perspective and a lot of the time it’s just so beautiful,” he said.
Tuka also collaborated with rising Brisbane indie-pop star Sycco (the brainchild of Sasha McLeod), who features on his track Click Bang.
“Oh my god, she’s a genius! When I sent it to her I didn’t send her any harmonies or anything, but I just sent her a lead,” he said.
“She got it first try, I didn’t even give her any notes. She just came back with her own take on it and I loved everything about it.”
It’s hard to tell what’s in store for the rest of the year for Tuka, as the live music scene is on halt due to COVID-19, but Tuka assured us that it’ll be full of the thing he loves most: writing music.
“All I have to do is write music, and if I told myself that when I was a 17-year-old kid when I started this, I would have been elated! And I am, I am very happy - I’m in a super privileged position where I can wake up and I write a song and that’s my responsibility for the day – and that’s absurd.”
“I’m using COVID to just do a proper reset and hopefully write some of the best music of my life that will be relevant when I go to play it live, whenever that is.”
A GENTLE REMINDER IN THE FORM OF MUSIC FROM PEAK PARK’S NEW SINGLE: PLEASE DON’T BE SO HARD ON YOURSELF
Enter Melbourne three-piece project Peak Park, who have released their new single, Please Don’t Be So Hard On Yourself, and you’ve got yourself a seasonal remedy which is sure to provide a sense of comfort amidst the uncertainty.
Pictured: Callum Lausberg, Mitchell Summers, and Thomas Hoeft from indie-rock band Peak Park.
Image: Todd Riley
As July begins, 2020 is half way through and the winter months are in full-force. Winter, along with a second wave of COVID-19 in Victoria, presents a somewhat difficult time, especially for those who are confined to the safety of their own homes. Enter Melbourne three-piece project Peak Park, who have released their new single, Please Don’t Be So Hard On Yourself, and you’ve got yourself a seasonal remedy which is sure to provide a sense of comfort amidst the uncertainty.
Please Don’t Be So Hard On Yourself, released on 25 May, touches on feelings of shame surrounding mental health struggles, and is an attempt to bring relief in the form of a four-minute track.
Multi-instrumentalist, producer and mixer of Peak Park, Thomas Hoeft, spoke of the source of inspiration which led to Please Don’t Be So Hard On Yourself.
“The complete process of writing, recording, producing and releasing this song in and of itself ended up being an enlightening journey for us to realise how important song writing is for our own mental health,” he said.
“It wasn’t till we started recording and finishing the mixing process that we began to critically discuss what the song was about and why we’d written it.”
This process allowed the three-piece to really tap into vulnerable moments people may encounter when facing troubling thoughts.
“The themes explored in the song can be quite intimidating and confronting but the challenge for us (or anyone for that matter) is to find your own way of expressing these emotions,” he said.
“You should also never feel ashamed for talking about them. It’s a nice notion to be reminded that sometimes you need to cut yourself some slack.”
Pictured: Peak Park helped each other with their mental health during isolation periods of COVID-19.
Image: Todd Riley
Hoeft added that during COVID-19 the band collectively helped each other to maintain a healthy mindset.
“We’ve been fortunate enough that through the band the three of us have become quite close and have created an open forum to discuss our emotions and to rely on one another,” he said.
“Talking to friends and family and admitting when things are rough has really helped me get through iso, and working on music when I’m stressed is also a big thing for me.”
The song itself encompasses a whirlpool of genres: the beginning starting as what seems to be a lofi-bedroom sound, which quickly transcends into a synth driven indie-electronic mood, and then eventually culminates in an alt-rock breakdown (my favourite kind!) reminiscent of English alt-rock band Foals.
All of these components blend and build upon one another, ultimately creating an incredibly unique sound for Peak Park.
Hoeft said if Please Don’t Be So Hard On Yourself reaches even one person, the band would be “incredibly stoked”.
“The hope is this song speaks to at least one person and they feel a sense of comfort or reassurance through the music and lyrics,” he said.
Please Don’t Be So Hard On Yourself is a gentle reminder from Peak Park to take it easy, and whilst doing so, absorb all of the swirling sounds they’ve so wonderfully produced.
If you, or someone you know needs help:
Lifeline on 13 11 14
Kids Helpline on 1800 551 800
Beyond Blue on 1300 224 636
Headspace on 1800 650 890
MensLine Australia on 1300 789 978
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