Involved in almost every aspect of our local scene, Unified are a powerhouse of Australian music, and today they’ve announced the winners of their newest initiative The Unified Grant, a $25,000 award divided amongst five deserving creatives also working tirelessly to change things for the better.
Announced earlier this year by Unified founder and CEO Jaddan Comerford during his keynote speech at BIGSOUND 2016, the grant is specifically for people working in music not on the stage, but in a background role, and intends “to foster the next generation of driven creatives who want to work in music but don’t play an instrument.”
In its first year, The Unified Grant had close to 200 applicants from around the world putting together a wide array of impressive creative initiatives, and it took a dedicated panel to select the five talented and incredibly worthy winners:
- Georgia Beach – Office Gossip Design
- Neal Walters – Neal Walters Photography
- Aaron Dobos – Producer/Engineer/Mixer
- Ashleigh Hills – Tram Sessions
- Michelle Grace Hunder & Claudia Sangiorgi Dalimore – Her Sound, Her Story
“It’s with great pleasure we announce the winners of The Unified Grant. Reading close to two hundred applications gave me so much inspiration and excitement,” says Comerford. “It’s great to see so many amazing people out there with ideas that are contributing to Australian culture.
“We are very proud to support the industry and the future growth and health of it. Choosing five winners was near impossible, but we got there, and I couldn’t be more proud to be awarding The Unified Grant to these extraordinary individuals.”
If you have some similarly impressive ideas, The Unified Grant will be open to applications again in 2017, to people from all areas behind the scenes of the music industry, from photographers and designers to journalists and app builders, so start getting your application together to get your initiative off the ground.
For some inspiration about exactly what can be achieved by people in this industry when they set their minds to it, we’ve chatted to each of the winners about what lead them to this point in their careers, what winning The Unified Grant means for them, and what comes next.
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Unified CEO Jaddan Comerford announces The Unified Grant winners
Neal Walters – Neal Walters Photography
Neal Walters is a professional music photographer who captures musicians at their most candid. He is currently working on a photography book that will feature portraits of people in the music industry alongside photos of the subject in their happy place.
How did you find your way to photography, and specifically music photography?
My camera was never intended to find its way into live music. I started out in a completely different field, but over time a few friends within the music industry asked me to come down and shoot their shows. I developed those relationships over time, and started shooting bigger bands and bigger shows. Which has lead me to this.
What do you hope to achieve through your work?
I’m probably the most critical person of my work that there is. It’s always hard for me to set goals and really see a road to the next stage. All I have ever intended to do with my photos are make people feel an emotion when looking at them; which can be anything from happiness to feeling uneasy looking at something they haven’t seen before.
What inspired you to put this book together?
This book has been top of the list for a very long time. Being able to leave behind a physical copy of something when I’m gone is a must for me. I’ve worked in the music industry for quite a while now, and I’m lucky enough to get an insight into these musicians lives that most people never see. So now that I’ve built some solid relationships with a lot of people, I feel that it’s time to put that into print.
What’s your happy place?
My favourite café, with my camera, my friends, and a coffee in hand.
What does The Unified Grant mean for the project?
It means it exists. Without this grant, realistically, the book would have just been yet another idea that I write down in my pocketbook and doesn’t get any legs. It will mean our travel, marketing, graphic design, and everything is able to happen.
Neal Walters’ amazing photography will finally be preserved in hard copy
Georgia Beach – Office Gossip Design
Office Gossip Design bridges the gap between creators and their community through graphic design. Located in Darwin, Office Gossip Design works out of the Skinnyfish creative hub and travels to remote parts of the Territory to help indigenous and Northern Territory creatives share their work with a broader audience.
What is Office Gossip’s goal, and how do you go about achieving it?
I am really excited to see territory artists represented in the national scene so my goal is to present the work of all these incredible musicians in a way that is more on par with the national level as that’s something it has been lacking.
There is not a great deal of access particularly in remote areas and in indigenous communities to professional services such as graphic design. I strive to provide that and to see these artists put their music out in a way that allows them to expand their audience.
What’s it like working as a creative in Darwin – is it a creative hub?
There are challenges working in an area like Darwin, as there are so few doing what I do that sometimes it feels like I’m in a silo, but I am really lucky as I work out of Skinnyfish music so we have created our own little hub.
In there we have Skinnyfish, Perambulator Records and sometimes [record label] Bad Apples and Baronga festival. We also have a lot of creatives and musicians coming in and out of there so it’s great to be surrounded by all that creative energy.
Is it becoming easier or more achievable for Indigenous artists to reach wider audiences with their work? If so, why?
I think that is. It’s a bit of a double edged sword. The internet has made it easier for people to get their music out but it has also meant that it’s in a much bigger pool and its really easy to get lost in the noise. Without proper support its so expensive to tour so reaching new audiences and finding new audiences is really challenging as its really difficult to find the funding to go on tour.
It’s a tricky one. There aren’t enough services that provide what an artist needs and so a lot of the time the work isn’t perceived as professional. That’s what I’m really trying to change with skinnyfish who are really trying to help the artists and the community and help them to produce work on a national level.
What else still needs to be done to provide Indigenous creatives with greater exposure, and provide greater opportunities?
Definitely there needs to be more funding in the area of providing and allowing access to touring. Also, expecting artists to go down south to record, which is often not a viable option for most indigenous artists – they cannot leave their communities for cultural reasons.
You can expect people to just move down to Melbourne to pursue their music career, so access to all kinds of professional services from developing musicianship and producing and recording [needs to be improved]. People need to go out to the regional communities instead of assuming they can come to them.
What does winning the Unified Grant mean for you and your work?
It’s very exciting. I work off this dinosaur of a laptop that has to be tied to a dock at all times as the charger doesn’t work. I can’t go out to community and work with artists as I don’t have a computer that allows me to do that.
So it will actually allow me to go out and do work with the Lonely Boys, and actually work with these artist to develop the artwork and communications strategies that actually work for them. It will allow me to be mobile which is tricky when mobility means eight hours away.
Ashleigh Hills – Tram Sessions
Tram Sessions is a Melbourne initiative that takes the joy of live music and seats it next to unsuspecting commuters. Since launching in 2010, Tram sessions has hosted over 100 artists including Paul Kelly, Josh Pyke, Paul Dempsey and Hands Like Houses and recently pulled into Adelaide.
How did Tram Sessions come about?
I actually didn’t start Tram Sessions, it was a guy named Nick from Sweden who started it around the time they were trying to close The Tote. He wanted to bring music to the people, so he decided to put it on a tram. It took about six months to get approved, and then about three and a half years ago he moved back to Sweden and gave it to me to look after.
What have you hoped to achieve with the gigs?
Really just to get the clips out to as many people as possible and to give emerging artists a platform to reach more people, rather than just doing a radio interview or a Q&A – this is in front of an audience, an unsuspecting audience on a tram.
Did you ever expect it to reach the level that it has?
I think so, but I think it’s certainly just now starting to grow a lot more. We have just signed on a sponsor for the next 12 months and are talking to a bunch of cool people and artists at the moment, so I think its just now starting to get a bit bigger.
What have been some of the highlights of tram sessions so far?
Vance Joy, Hands Like Houses, The Smith Street Band… The Pierce Brothers were amazing, and we recently got Gavin James, a UK artist touring who’s just recently just started getting play on commercial radio in Australia. He has toured with Ed Sheeran and everyone, so that was pretty awesome.
What will the Unified Grant mean for you and the project?
It just really helps us to continue to grow, and hopefully get some new audio equipment because we’re still using the same stuff that we were using five years ago when it started.
Tram Sessions has seen great success presenting music in a different way
Aaron Dobos – Producer/Engineer/Mixer
Aaron Dobos has been working in studios around Melbourne for over seven years and has set up his own space which will allow him to work with up and coming Australian bands with limited budgets to produce a world-class sound that previously may have been out of reach.
How did you get involved in studio work, and what’s your experience been?
I played in bands in high school and then realised I wasn’t that great at playing in bands so I thought I’d get into the technical side of it. I guess experience wise I’ve worked at sing sing recording studio for the last seven to eight years, and through that have been able to work with all sorts of bands and musicians for all over the world.
What prompted you to get involved with helping emerging acts?
It’s really fun to help emerging acts. You can see how they grow in the studio and how the song writing gets better and how the band gets better and grow.
Tell us about the space, and what you’re hoping to achieve there?
My space is set up for mixing and overdubs, so there I’m hoping to achieve being able to put out really good mixes as if they were mixed in a mega studio. The space is at sing sing in South Yarra.
What are some of the key factors in keeping the cost down for emerging bands?
Emerging bands don’t really have a lot of money, lots are working in retail or hospitality and so it’s really important to be able to put out really good sounding music at a good price, because no one is really going to listen to it if it sounds like crap. I try and tailor all my rates to each project and as it’s my space the studio hire fee is a lot less, which helps a lot to work within a band’s budget.
What does winning The Unified Grant mean for your work?
It means that I can upgrade a lot of things, take the space to the next level, and make it similar to what it would be in a big studio.
Unified CEO Jaddan Comerford announced the Unified Grant during his BIGSOUND 2016 keynote
Michelle Grace Hunder & Claudia Sangiorgi Dalimore – Her Sound, Her Story
Her Sound, Her Story is a collaborative art project that contributes to the very important narrative about women in the Australian Music Industry through photography and film. Her Sound, Her Story documents the experiences of women of all ages, genres, sexuality and ethnicity within the industry with the hope to challenge stereotypes and break down stigmas.
What prompted you to begin work on Her Sound, Her Story?
Michelle: The project came about because I did a previous project on the Australian hip hop scene, a photo documentary. I got to the end of that process and realised I had worked with over 150 artists and only about 10 of them were female.
So when I was deciding what my next project was going to be I was a: really wanting to work with women and kind of add to the conversation that I kept hearing about the gender disparity but instead of, I guess there was so much talk but not really any kind of action so from an artistic point of view I wanted to add to that conversation but actually talk to the women and get their views and thoughts and let me them tell their stories.
So that’s when I brought Claudia on board because I thought a photo series is great, but it’s not going to do what I’m trying to do justice. I think we really needed to add the film element to actually put a voice to all these incredible women.
Claudia: And I guess from a documentary point of view we feel that we want to stamp this moment in time that’s happening, because there’s a lot going on and it’s really shifting – the music industry is shifting, the women coming through are shifting. It’s a real historical moment, so it felt like the right time to kind of bring this conversation to the forefront.
Have you ever felt unsupported or marginalised in the industry due to your gender?
Michelle: Yeah, I think we have. I mean, we have spoken about it even happening in this process. Personally from a music photographer point of view you definitely notice it. If you’re in the pit it’s rare that there are any other women.
I’ve definitely noticed a change in the past couple of years but its even just attitudes with security guards or comments that you’ll get if your shooting for an artist and your back stage there is an assumption sometimes that you’re a groupie or a girlfriend. Certainly when I first started that was the assumption, which is just frustrating really. I’ve had commetns from security guards and yeah, it can be annoying.
I’m a little bit older, so it’s kind of like water off a duck’s back at this stage – I just get on with it. What is really encouraging is that in the last two years I’ve really started noticing a change, so going from being the only woman in the pit to now sometimes there being three or four.
Although it’s still there, I still feel like all it takes is young aspiring photographers to see that its possible and I’ve tried to be really visible as well and really outspoken – so it is possible. I’ve felt a lot of support within the scene in terms of artists, it’s been incredible so that’s encouraging.
Claudia: I would say definitely. I don’t dabble in the world of mainstream filmmaking that much, and I feel like it’s a whole other beast, it’s totally male dominated and even in my own small experiences of making music video clips or within any creative project often the people I’m trying to employ or engage are men and they are older than me.
I’ve sort of been doing this for a good decade now, and when I was very young it was really tough. Lots of men, perhaps not even being aware of it, going ‘who are you and what do you think you know?’
Michelle: That’s even when you’re directing video clips, I’ve seen that.
Claudia: Yeah, in the role of me being the director, still getting questioned.
Michelle: I’m assistant directing a lot, so I see it a bit.
Claudia: Yeah, and I think you just have to kind of put your boots on and get your tough skin and get really articulate. That’s what I’ve learnt over the years, how to not get scared or stunted in those moments and go okay, I see whats happening, I’m just going to address this really calmly and articulately.
Michelle: It’s definitely a micro-aggression thing sometimes, and I don’t even think they are aware of it that often, it’s just once you’ve had it a few times it can get boring.
Claudia: Absolutely, and through the process of this project, having that happen again while we were actually doing a project about women in the forefront within industry or creative industries, there were so many moments when I went ‘wow I am one of those women right now, one of these very women that I’m trying to talk about?’ I thought that I wasn’t, but you end up in those positions so quickly that you don’t even know how you got there.
Michelle: I guess this particular project was about celebrating the women that have gotten through all that adversity, and speaking to them about how they have got that innate confidence, or they have gained it over the years.
I think it’s really inspiring to know that even those women that are total powerhouses and are just so full of confidence, they have gone through these moments of just debilitating lack of confidence, or moments where they just want to quit, or all of those things.
So its just really important to know that you’re definitely not alone and that you just kind of get on with it like you just put your head down and say ‘it happens to everybody’. And so, it’s shit, but yeah, let’s work through it.
Claudia: I think it’s also about people learning the language. I had someone say the same thing – a manager of a band, and she wasn’t even allowed in the media pit because they were like ‘you’re the girlfriend’. And she was like ‘I have the correct accreditation around my neck, if you don’t let me in I’m going to call the festival organisers’, and security would let her in.
It was such a moment that he grabbed the lanyard and ripped it off her, and she felt so debilitated and didn’t have the words. Later on it made her really angry, but it’s about training women what to do when these instances happen, because you’re caught off-guard and you don’t really know what to say or do.
Michelle: That has happened to me so many times.
Tell us a bit about your experience with MMW this year. How did each of the elements go, how was the reaction, and did you achieve what you hoped to?
Claudia: Yeah! I would say doing a concert for us and having the opportunity to bring female artists together was a huge priority and essential to the outcome of the project. It was really lucky in terms of how it came about with MMW. We put the application in the night before it closed, not even thinking what would happen and thought ‘may as well, it’s a beautiful concept’. They were really excited about it, and they said we they’d like to give us the opening night in the beautiful Queens Hall, which was really such a perfect backdrop.
The energy in the room was electrifying and for the women particularly – I think we had about 15 of the artists down there on Friday night for the concert – and that experience alone was worth all the work for us. To have the bonds that they have formed and these new connections and friendships, yeah, it’s very hard to speak about because it phenomenal.
Michelle: The collaborations that came out of that night were so beautiful because there were women that were covering each other, and then there were duets that happened. It was really special.
Claudia: And that thing, of bringing it back to music, bringing it back to that thing you have when you hear a piece of music or a song – it’s essentially why we are doing this. There are so many women making incredible music that for many of us it’s a really integral part of our life and how we exist, and get on with it and what inspires us. It was bringing it back to that simple essence and the real fundamental reason of why we are doing this.
Michelle: Yeah, I just wanted to touch on the photographic and audio installation that’s at Emporium that we launched last Wednesday – even that night, there were about 20 industry people as well, which made it feel so supported by the industry. The writeups that came from that have been phenomenal and so beautiful, and show that people are actually getting it, which is so great.
It is such a big project and there are so many elements that it took a while for people to get their head around it but now people are finally getting their head around it and do understand what Her Sound, Her Story is about.
What are the plans for the future of HSHS?
Michelle: It does feel like it’s just the beginning, and everyone kind of consents that there will definitely be more to it. We have been asked to tour it.
Claudia: It depends what Michelle lets me do!
Michelle: There have been suggestions on touring the photographic installation and the concert, so we’re just working out how to do that. Also the documentary was always the first thing we wanted to do, so getting it together is really exciting, and this grant is going to go so far to help us do that as we have been so under-funded up until this point.
Claudia: For me, it’s really the sense of community that we want to keep going – bringing these amazing women together, because that’s that intangible strength in numbers to just give everyone that spirit to just keep going, and it’s so exciting.
What does winning The Unified Grant mean for you and the project?
Claudia: Funds to get this project to reach broader audiences.
Michelle: Getting this documentary element together and not having to ask people ridiculous favours. Actually paying people to do the stuff that we really need done to get it over the line is so important to us.
