APRA AMCOS Announce 2017 Professional Development Awards Winners!
By: A.A. Cristi Jul. 24, 2017
APRA AMCOS has announced the winning Australian songwriters and composers in the 2017 APRA PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT AWARDS (PDAs).
Julia Jacklin - Popular Contemporary
Sophie Payten (Gordi) - Popular Contemporary
Jess Beck - Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander
Julian Day - Classical
Fanny Lumsden - Country
Nick Drabble (Set Mo) - Dance/Electronic
Damien Lane - Film and Television
Andrea Keller - Jazz This year, 60% of the finalists and 66% of the winners are women. The winners were selected from over 1,000 entries from songwriters and composers in the early stages of their careers. Composer and poet, Eric Avery, has been named the recipient of the Indigenous Music and Media Award from the Smugglers of Light, a foundation set up in memory of Eli Westlake aged 21, who was tragically killed in Sydney on 7th June 2008. Eric Avery will receive a grant of $12,000 which was presented today by Australian composer and conductor, Nigel Westlake.
Rina Ferris (02) 9555 5807 | 0418 674 082 | rina@ferrisdaviesprm.com.au APRA AMCOS Communications:
Karen Tinman (02) 9935 7623 | comms@apra.com.au | www.apraamcos.com.au
2017 APRA PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT AWARD WINNERS
The past year has seen her captivating live shows reach new heights, recognised by main stage slots at Falls Festival, NYE on the Hill, Queenscliff Music Festival, WOMADelaide - as well as a Splendour in the Grass appearance with Number One Dads, whose track So Soldier has made her a household name. Julia Jacklin recorded her debut album Don't Let The Kids Win in 2015, fulfilling a life goal to make a record before hitting 25. The album centred on a young woman's reflections of family, love, hopes and anxieties. 2016 came like a bolt of lightning. An invitation to SXSW, praise from the New York Times and Vogue, a debut single picking up radio across the globe, label and agent signings, festivals and ultimately one of the year's most critically acclaimed records, featuring in over a dozen end of year lists including Q Magazine and Rolling Stone. She received nominations for multiple J Awards, an APRA Song of the Year nomination, and was named "Next Big Thing" at FBi's Smack Awards. 2017 has continued in similar fashion with sold out shows around the world, appearances at Glastonbury, Splendour In The Grass, Primavera, FYF Fest and over 15 others, and a genuine international career. Sophie Payten (Gordi) - Hailing from Canowindra, a small town in the central northwest of New South Wales, this medical-student and musician began tinkling away in her hometown on the out-of-tune piano her mother had been given as a wedding present, and then on the acoustic guitar she got for her 12th birthday. She received national and international attention after playing independently across Sydney whilst at university, and releasing tracks online through triple j Unearthed, ahead of her debut EP release last year. Gordi has been nominated for triple j Unearthed Artist of the Year, two FBi Smack Awards and named one of 40 best new artists by Stereogum. With a debut album due next month, recorded in Reykjavik, Helsinki, Bristol, LA, New York, Wisconsin, Sydney and Canowindra, she has developed a sonic palette she can truly call her own. ABORIGINAL AND TORRES STRAIT ISLANDER Jess Beck hails from the beautiful redgum country of Mingbool, near Mt Gambier in South Australia. Her distinctive singing voice is raw, natural and sweet, a product of her rural upbringing and Indigenous heritage as a descendant of the 'Luritja' people. Graduating with a Bachelor in Creative Arts (Honours) from Flinders University Drama Centre in 2005, her reputation as a consummate performer and songwriter continues to grow. Highlights of her career so far include nominations for 'Female Artist of the Year' at the National Deadly Awards in 2010 and 2011. She has released two EPs and this year released her debut album. Constant touring across Australia and overseas with indie pop band, Pirra has developed her strong live performance skills. Key festival performances include AWME and The Sydney Festival among others. CLASSICAL Julian Day is an award-winning artist, composer, writer and broadcaster who has presented work at Whitechapel Gallery, California Pacific Triennial, Prague Quadrennial, Institute of Modern Art and Sydney Opera House amongst many others. His music has featured in such festivals as Bang On A Can Marathon, Huddersfield Contemporary Music Festival, Spitalfields Music, VIVID Sydney and MONA FOMA, as performed by Ensemble Offspring, Australian String Quartet, Synergy Percussion and The Song Company. Additionally, he has presented and produced many programs for ABC and BBC radio, presented papers at Harvard, UCLA, NYU and Goldsmiths, and written for The MIT Press and Cambridge University Press. COUNTRY Fanny Lumsden was recently named QANTAS New Talent of the Year at the CMAA Golden Guitar Awards in Tamworth. She has also received accolades for CMC New Talent of the Year & AU Review Country Artist of the Year in 2016. Her first, crowd-funded album Small Town Big Shot, debuted at number 6 on the ARIA Country Album Charts and went on to be nominated for Best Country Album at the 2016 ARIA Awards. All three singles from the record went to number 1 on Country Music Channel, with her single Land of Gold reaching number 3 on the CMC top 100 for 2016 and gaining the highest Australian placed music video for the year. Independent, self-managed, with three Golden Guitar nominations & three CMC Award nominations under her belt, Fanny is no stranger to the road, tirelessly traversing thousands of kilometres with her band to reach thousands of people deprived of live music. DANCE/ELECTRONIC Nick Drabble is also known as one half of Set Mo, along with his writing and production partner Stu Turner. His start in music began at school where he played the saxophone for 8 years. By his late teens, he had progressed to DJ'ing and by his early 20s, he was performing professionally on the Sydney circuit. Through this time he began to write and produce original music inspired by the music he'd been exposed to as a DJ. Over the last few years, writing and composition has become his maIn Focus and his achievements during that time are a testament to his development as a songwriter and composer. Set Mo's hit song White Dress has had 11 million+ spins on Spotify alone, received a high rotation addition on triple j and was licensed to 11 countries. This breakout release commenced a steady trajectory for the duo which currently sees them selling out their own headlining shows, signing with international agents, and fielding numerous exciting international co-writing opportunities. FILM AND TELEVISION Damien Lane is an award-winning composer, songwriter, musician and graduate of the Australian Film, Television and Radio School. In 2015 he won the award for 'Best Music for a Short Film' at the Screen Music Awards for the film '1919', broadcast on ABC2 that year. He was also nominated in the same category for the dance film 'Emergence'. In 2016 he orchestrated the score for director/composer Ivan Sen's feature 'Goldstone', which opened the 2016 Sydney Film Festival and went on to win numerous awards, including Best Film and Best Music at the FCCA Awards. His work has spanned features, several award-winning shorts, trailers, documentaries, live theatre, children's animation and more. In 2016 he was an artist in residence at Bundanoon Trust on the South Coast of New South Wales. Damien has a background as a songwriter, multi-instrumentalist, recording artist and touring musician, most notably with acts Dropping Honey, The Shipwrecked and Tim Ireland. JAZZ Andrea Keller is a contemporary improvising pianist and composer, dedicated to the performance and creation of contemporary jazz and improvised music. Since the release of her first album in 2000 she has created a considerable body of work, which traverses styles, and ranges from solo to big band settings, including cross-cultural collaborations, cross-genre collaborations, and the use of electronics. The diversity of her approach has seen her collaborate with, and compose for, artists and ensembles such as: Eddie Perfect, Genevieve Lacey, John Surman, the Song Company, the Black Arm Band, the Australian Art Orchestra, Bernie McGann, Sydney Women's Jazz Collective, and more. Lauded for her music, she has received three ARIA Awards, four Australian Jazz Bell Awards, an Art Music Award, and fellowships from the MCA/Freedman Foundation and the Australia Council. She has also a dual finalist at the upcoming Art Music Awards. INDIGENOUS MUSIC AND MEDIA AWARDEric Avery is from the Ngiyampaa, Yuin, Gumbangirri and Bundjalung people of NSW. Eric's practice as an Indigenous Interdisciplinary Artist is based in his Dance and Music.
Eric has an ancestry of strong, resilient creative people. Believing in the strength of his people's art Eric aims to revitalise aboriginal language in his practice. To speak his ancestors tongue is what Eric describes as being a transformative experience - to hear the different intonations is an inspiration musically and to engage with his language is a continuance of culture. To share this is Eric's goal.
APRA AMCOS is Australasia's leading music rights management organisation. We have more than 90,000 members who are songwriters, composers and music publishers. We license organisations to play, perform, copy or record our members' music, and we distribute the royalties to our members. As a world-leading organisation invested in the future of music, APRA AMCOS enables music creators and customers to maximise the value music brings to business and life. We achieve this through a simple and effective licensing framework, and by providing holistic industry support - from education, to live music, export, creators' rights advocacy and recognition through our high profile awards and events program. apraamcos.com.au.
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