FACE THE MUSIC

Announces

FIRST ROUND OF SPEAKERS for 2017

Stop. Pause, for just a few seconds. Listen. Hear that tadadadadadadadadada. Is that a drumroll? For us? Forget it. Throw out your drums. Chicks On Speed might not play guitars, but we don’t play instruments. Full stop. We play hearts and minds. But we’re still tuning up and you’re here to tune into Face The Music’s first speaker announcement for 2017. Last time, you got the dates. Last time, you got the rates. This time, you get the mates.

So who d’ya want?

Ariel Pink (PICTURED ABOVE), 11 albums deep this year with Dedicated to Bobby Jameson. Who? A 60s near-popstar who shunned the spotlight and spent much of the rest of his life in and on the edge of homelessness and addiction. Hear Pink talk about Jameson’s influence and the record at his very own keynote, proudly co-presented by Melbourne Recital Centre and Melbourne Music Week.

Silke Westera, booking agent for FKP Scorpio. It’s not just a cool name: Westera’s roster at the agency features some of your faves. Warpaint, Wolf Parade, Yeasayer, Twin Shadow, Metz, and local legends like Amy Shark, Alex Lahey, and Middle Kids.

And speaking of hotshot bookers: Rebecca Young heads up Collective Artists, a boutique booking agency looking after unparalleled Aussie talent like GL, Jen Cloher, Jeremy Neale, Rolling Blackouts Coastal Fever, Body Type, and more both locally and abroad.

Anika Mottershaw, heard of her? Maybe you’ve heard of a little record label called Bella Union? Beach House? Father John Misty ringing any bells? Anika works in A&R and project management. And yeah she’ll listen to ya demo.

Chippy Nonstop (PICTURED ABOVE), Torontonian quadruple threat: DJ, rapper, actor, writer. Make that quintuple: she’s a boss too. The pioneer of Intersessions brings the workshop series of artist-run seminars to Face The Music, addressing the significant gender and sexuality imbalance within the music industry.

Marky Ramone, a punk rock historian who was part of punk rock history himself. As drummer for The Ramones over 10 records and thousands of shows, he’s seen it all and been it all. If you’ve got any questions after reading his 2015 memoir Punk Rock Blitzkrieg: My Life as a Ramone, you can ask ‘em at his keynote.

You know what’s bigger than Face The Music? Reeperbahn… at 37,000 attendees annually the Hamburg-based conference and festival is perhaps the finest in all of Europe and we got Bjørn Pfarr (GOT HIM!) For the first time in Australia, the music programmer for Reeperbahn is headed our way.

Amrita Hepi is a dancer, choreographer, activist and foremost a proud Bundulung and Ngapuhi woman. ‘Cause who says you can’t dance at a music summit?

Plus we got Nick Findlay (Music Director – triple j), Mallrat (Artist, PICTURED BELOW), Monica Tan (Writer/Journalist) and Nicole Prutch (Music Supervisor – Lussier).

Bjørn & Silke are the first of six Germans who will be attending Face The Music 2017 as a part of the Victorian Government’s Music Passport program, aimed at bringing change makers and deal breakers from a key market country to Melbourne to connect with the local music industry.

And that’s just the first of it. The very first of it. Agonising, isn’t it? How we draw it out? That’s just the business. Go to a music summit and learn a thing or two. You’ve worked hard this year. Greased your elbows to reflection, pressed your nose so tight against the grindstone you can smell with the back of your tongue. File it in your calendar under: “I Deserve This.” You do.

Besides which, it’s not all about you. Did we mention we’re turning 10? Double digits. It’s a milestone. What happens when you slide into your tweens? You get rough. You get rowdy. You get downright rebellious. And trust us when we say there’ll be red cordial a-flowin’.

Face The Music is back again. The game-changers, rule-breakers, dream-makers and earth-shakers descend on the yet to be announced Melbourne Music Week Hub, November 23 & 24. Don’t miss your chance. Face The Music and dance. (Amrita will help).