triple j Unearthed have revealed the recipients of their inaugural Level Up grants, with each artist receiving up to $7,000 in a bid to help “level up” their career.
Having spent the last 25 years as a tool to help shine a light on emerging and unsigned talent, triple j’s Unearthed initiative have announced these grants as part of the ABC’s Fresh Start Fund, which is designed to help foster Australian talent while supporting the local industry.
Announced earlier today, the grants have been distributed amongst a total of 16 artists, with each recipient falling into either the regional, Indigenous, and genre categories.
The genre grant recipients see Egoism take home the Band sub-category, while Jesswar receives the Hip-Hop grant. Nick Ward serves as a Solo artist, while Nerve Damage fly the flag for the Heavy genre, and Oh Boy represents the Producer/Electronic category.
While Tasman Keith and Sycco take home Indigenous grants, Kid Pharoah, Teen Jesus and the Jean Teasers, the Spaghetti Stains, Serina Pech, Colie, Brayden Sibbald, Carl Renshaw, and Jemma Nicole all serve as recipients of the regional grants.
An additional grant was also awarded to Perth pop outfit Alter Boy, who look ahead to creating an “accessible music video featuring Auslan performances from the band’s three deaf/hard-of-hearing members”.
Speaking to triple j Breakfast this morning, Alter Boy outlined how accessibility needs are often an afterthought for most musical projects, but will use this grant in order to “create a music video made for Deaf people, by Deaf people, and that supports wider exposure to Deaf language, community and culture”.
For more information regarding the recipients of triple j Unearthed’s Level Up grants, be sure to check out the recent announcement on the station’s website.
