BIGSOUND, Australia’s response to the gargantuan SXSW, is underway yet again in Brisbane. It’s the only time of year you’ll find Courtney Barnett casually chatting on one street corner and DZ Deathrays only a few metres further up the road, followed by a quick succession of other premium Aussie export acts in transit between venues.

Boasting a lineup far bigger than years prior, it was clear that BIGSOUND 2016 was going to offer an endless amount of incredible performances over two nights.

From Unearthed darlings Lastlings to the hype-loaded Mosquito Coast, our roving reporter Kyle Butcher caught as many acts as he could manage on night one of BIGSOUND 2016.

Buoy

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Let’s get something clear now. Seeing Buoy unleash her sonic talents on stage is something else entirely when compared to listening to the Sydney artist’s studio recordings. The minimal, intricate sounds you love about Buoy’s music are thickened live, rich with electronic tones and delicate vocal ambivalence.

That’s not to say her return to Bigsound was perfect, however. Buoy’s new single “Exit” was abruptly cut down the middle by jarring tech issues, which fortunately was the only hitch of the night. After a few moments, the track restarted, and Buoy took off, vocals in full flight, leaving the few awkward moments of silence in the dust.

Mallrat

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Cruising around The Elephant Hotel’s stage, you couldn’t help but feel that Mallrat had climbed the Aussie hip-hop ladder years before, explaining her collective cool live. Mallrat is so fresh, in fact, that she only released her debut EP, Uninvited, just over two months ago.

While the first cut of her EP “Tokyo Drift” elicited emphatic cries of support, it was set opener “For Real” that captured the crowd’s mind. Did we mention she’s still in high school? Yep, expect big things from this artist.

Mosquito Coast

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Synth wails announced the buzz band’s entry onto the triple J Unearthed stage. The packed Oh Hello floor seemed too apprehensive to engage at first, but by the time “Call My Name” rolled around, all of the chattering and background noise gave way to a sing-a-long of anthemic proportions, reminding the crowd just why they crammed into the sweaty club in the first place.

Lastlings

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Partly thanks to supporting Glass Animals as the start of their live career, and partly due to their immediate success with their early singles, Lastlings scored a key slot at Bigsound 2016.

The brother-sister duo layered lush soundscapes upon one another, drawing passerby delegates into The Flying Cock, creating one of the biggest crowds of the night. Their short set closed with “You”, offering the mostly meek 16 year-old singer Amy a chance to groove on stage.

Vera Blue

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Following on from Lastling’s stellar performance, Vera Blue had to bring her A-game to match their presence. Luckily, for the packed bar, she did.

Striding on stage as her backing band laid down the dark “Fingertips”, Vera Blue’s pitch-perfect vocals soared over rolling tom fills and jagged guitar cuts, providing an ominous approach to the title track of her debut EP.

Vera Blue managed to squeeze every ounce of energy out of her songs, lashing her auburn hair around the stage as the silent crowd danced along.

Habits

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Dark and enthralling for all who saw, Habits stole the first night of Bigsound from the heavy hitters on later in the night. Habit’s monumental performance went down at Heya Bar amidst a wafting aroma of mouth-watering Japanese tapas, tucked into the corner of the venue.

Harsh lights flashed upwards at the duo, transforming their stunning androgynous faces into intense canvasses of extreme emotion as their goth electronica buzzed and seethed throughout the dive bar. Erratic dancing offset by sharp lighting shifts topped off the immaculate performance that captured the crowd’s minds, temporarily altering reality in the process.

Tkay Maidza

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Stomping around as always in her platform boots, knee-high socks and basketball jersey, Tkay Maidza had an extra length of hair splaying about her as she dominated the stage. Dropping rapid-fire verses to her new single “Carry On”, Tkay still found the time to flash fleeting smiles at the crowd, pumping them up in the process.

A few sneaky cuts from her upcoming debut album Tkay were offered between set staple “M.O.B.” and recent hit “Do It Right”, making the October release all the more tantalising. After watching so many new bands tentatively take the stage throughout the night, Tkay stood out as being an artist that has had the time to hone her live presence, opting for ecstatic energy to take her show to the next level.

Now, with her debut album on the not-so-distant horizon, it felt right to see Tkay Maidza closing a stage after her humble 2013 Bigsound beginnings with “Brontosaurus”, and boy did she kill it.

But Wait, There’s More

Of course, Kyle wasn’t able to be everywhere at once, and we were able to witness some amazing sets all across the valley. Harts tore the stage apart with his searing guitar work, and Columbus shook the venue to its foundations with a brilliant set.

Rainbow Chan’s unique brand of pop translated amazingly well to the live stage, while Ecca Vandal had the crowd in the palms of their hands. Finally, Fortunes absolutely shone in front of a heaving audience.

There were no doubt countless other killer sets we missed on day one, and we’re already exhausted looking at the schedule for day two – but also absolutely pumped.

We’ve got more shots of all the day one acts below.

Full Day One Gallery

Buoy-2 Buoy-3 HABITS-1 HABITS-2 HABITS-3 HABITS-4 HABITS-5 HABITS-6 HABITS-7 HABITS-8 HABITS-9 HABITS-10 HABITS-11 HABITS-12 HABITS-13 HABITS-14 Lastlings-1 Lastlings-2 Lastlings-3 Lastlings-4 Lastlings-5 Lastlings-6 Lastlings-7 Lastlings-8 Mallrat-1 Mallrat-2 Mallrat-3 Mallrat-4 Mallrat-5 Mallrat-6 Mallrat-7 Mallrat-8 Mallrat-9 Mosquito Coast-1 Mosquito Coast-2 Mosquito Coast-3 Mosquito Coast-4 Mosquito Coast-5 Mosquito Coast-6 Tkay Maidza-1 Tkay Maidza-2 Tkay Maidza-3 Tkay Maidza-4 Tkay Maidza-5 Tkay Maidza-6 Tkay Maidza-7 Tkay Maidza-8 Tkay Maidza-9 Tkay Maidza-10 Vera Blue-1 Vera Blue-2 Vera Blue-3 Vera Blue-4 Vera Blue-5 Vera Blue-6 Vera Blue-7 Vera Blue-8 Vera Blue-9 Vera Blue-10

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