International Women’s Day (IWD) celebrates the economic, political and social achievements of women past, present and future. To celebrate International Women’s Day, we’re chatting with a bunch of talented, local, female musicians, singers, songwriters, and performers about their inspiration, music and life in the music industry in 2022. #BreakTheBias #IWD2022
Oceanique
There is some kind of warmth that surrounds Oceanique, an indie folk twin sister duo from Perth. Angelic harmonies with emotive lyrics and nostalgia will paint vivid pictures in your mind, of their world and their hometown, Walpole WA. https://oceaniquemusic.com/
Mia Dyson
Mia Dyson is an acclaimed Australian singer, songwriter, and guitarist. She has released six studio albums. Her second, Parking Lots won the ARIA Award for Best Blues and Roots Album at the ARIA Music Awards of 2005. Off the back of the 15-year anniversary reissue of her ARIA Award-winning 2005 album Parking Lots, Australian icon Mia Dyson was penned to perform a run of Australian dates this November. Due to COVID restrictions, Mia has had to postpone all of her upcoming shows but is thrilled to return home in April/May 2022 to celebrate the milestone with her east coast fans, albeit a little further down the road, at her newly rescheduled dates. In addition to releasing the Parking Lots album on vinyl for the first time, Mia has also released the Mia’s Parking Lots (Revisited) EP, shedding new light on a selection of her favourite cuts from the record.
https://www.miadyson.com/
Anita Quayle
Anita Quayle is a contemporary cellist and composer with a flair for the unconventional. She began her training at the Victorian College of the Arts (VCA) to pursue artistic excellence. Since then, Amita has performed with numerous other artists such as Chris Wilson’s Crown of Thorns, Eddie Perfect, Shauntai Batzke, Russell Morris, Ainslie Wills, Nat Bartsch, and Zimbabwean RnB songstress Thando; dancer Alya Manzart from Chunky Move and playwriter Adam Cass, to name a few. Anita also has her own projects such as Melbourne Amplified Strings, The Knowing Project, and her current outfit Beyond the Lake, an ambient duo with her partner Nick Delaney. Beyond The Lake release their second album ‘Coming Home’ with a launch gig at The Toff In Town on April 28
https://www.anitaquayle.com/
Harper Bloom
Singer-songwriter Harper Bloom is a Perth-born, Melbourne-based artist, who writes acoustic-electro-pop vignettes of vulnerability, same-sex love, and self-acceptance. Her highly acclaimed debut EP “Faith, Sex and Skin” is the result of her team-up with prolific Australian producer Benjamin McCarthy (Gordi, Alex the Astronaut, G-Flip), who has enhanced Bloom’s pared-back acoustic songs with electro-pop flourishes. Harper Bloom releases a new single ‘Red Rocket’ on March 24.
https://harperbloom.com/
Helen Shanahan
HELEN Shanahan is a folk singer/songwriter from Perth, Western Australia. Helen’s songs ride the joys and sorrows of love and life and draw the listener into an articulate and heartfelt world of story, melody and guitar, through her eyes. Helen’s thoughtful observations and introverted reflections of everyday situations are beautifully captured in her music, which can best be described as contemporary folk/pop with a strong acoustic feel. helen has just released her sophomore album ‘Canvas’
https://www.helenshanahan.com/
Loren Kate
Loren Kate is now an award-winning artist and has earned the reputation as an utterly captivating performer and brilliant storyteller. Loren has played countless sell-out shows and festivals all over the country. Loren’s new record, titled ‘Nobody Knows’, is set for release in May 2022. ‘Nobody Knows’ was recorded and produced by Shane Nicholson, at the Sound Hole, NSW. The album is a timeless collection of stunning new songs. With raw emotion at the forefront, wearing her stories and life experiences on her sleeve, Loren Kate once again bares her heart and soul for us to hear. Loren Kate’s songwriting is undeniably beautiful, she writes with a depth and passion that is rare and inspiring.
https://lorenkate.com.au/
Velvet Bloom
Velvet Bloom is a neo-soul, alternative-pop and jazz-rock music project with ballad style vocals. The project is fronted and founded by Maddy Herbert, she performs solo and with different variations of her live band “The Vito Collective”. Some notable acts that they have performed with are Josh Cashman, Great Gable, Dulcie, Death By Denim, The Mamas, The Grogans, Zoe Fox And The Rocket Clocks, Teenage Dads, Kim Churchill etc … In 2019, Velvet Bloom’s song ‘Teach Ya’ won Listen Up Music Org’s national competition for ‘Songs That Heal’. Maddy is now a part of the MIME mentoring program through Box Hill Institute and she is lucky enough to have Kylie Auldist as her mentor for Velvet Bloom. On April 8, Velvet Bloom release a new EP Glimmer
https://msha.ke/velvetbloom.music