Finalists announced for
2018 GRANT MCLENNAN FELLOWSHIP
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QMusic is pleased to announce the top four finalists of the 2018 Grant McLennan Fellowship. Congratulations to the Queensland-based songwriters who are now one step closer to receiving a $25,000 fellowship to travel to New York, London or Berlin.
Established in 2007 by the Queensland Government, in honour of Grant McLennan’s enduring influence on contemporary music and songwriting, the fellowship is designed to expose recipients to the full cultural life of one of these cities as a source of inspiration and creativity. As a founding member of the Brisbane band, The Go-Betweens, Grant created an outstanding musical legacy, which has paved the way for many great artists in Queensland. His lyrics captured a unique Queensland spirit and the band was fundamental in bringing Australian music to a global audience.
The 2018 winner will be announced at a ceremony to held in Brisbane on December 5. Having recently returned from New York, 2017 fellowship recipient Jeremy Neale, will present his legacy item at the ceremony for inclusion in the Grant McLennan Memorial Archive, a dedicated collection of contemporary music material including the legacy items from recipients of the fellowship.
The 2018 judging panel are: Sean Sennett, Sally McLennan, Danny Widdicombe, and Adele Pickvance.
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ABOUT THE FINALISTS
Spencer White
Spencer White is a Brisbane based musician and producer who has spearheaded various musical projects including Morning Harvey for which he is lead songwriter and vocalist. Spencer has written and recorded numerous highly praised works including standout single ‘Smith Street Swap Meet’ which earned KEXP’s coveted “Song Of The Day” and led to their debut EP storming the CMJ Radio 200 Charts for 3 weeks. With Morning Harvey, Spencer has performed countless headline tours and festival appearances, supporting numerous internationally renowned bands including The Dandy Warhols, Royal Blood, The Charlatans, Hoodoo Gurus, Steve Malkmus, and Band of Skulls.
Danny Harley
Triple threat electronic producer, vocalist and songwriter, Danny Harley creates under his production moniker of The Kite String Tangle. Harley originally broke out with critically and commercially adored singles ‘Arcadia’ which was voted at #15 on the 2014 triple j Hottest 100 and Gold certified ‘Given The Chance’ taken from his debut ARIA Nominated EP ‘Vessel’. Releasing his highly anticipated debut album in 2017, the now ARIA nominated album hit #1 on the iTunes electronic Album Chart and debuted in the top 10 of the iTunes Album Chart. Singles ‘Selfish’, ‘The Prize’ (feat. Bridgette Amofah of Rudimental) and ‘This Thing We Got’ have all been triple j and fan favourites, with his music recently surpassing 50 million streams worldwide. Harley has sold out headline shows across the UK, US and Australia and has showcased at SXSW, Primavera Sound and The Great Escape. 2017 also saw his South American debut, with shows across Brazil, Argentina and Chile (where his album debuted at #5 on the iTunes Album Chart).
Gabriella Cohen
Gabriella Cohen writes music that is emotionally raw, aching with nostalgia and painted with melodies that recall a languid lovesickness. Co-producing and recording her debut album in Gympie, Queensland, ‘Full Closure and No Details’ received critical acclaim and was shortlisted for the Australian Music Prize. Following a debut US & UK tour in 2016, Cohen signed internationally with Captured Tracks (Mac DeMarco, DIIV) for her new record ‘Pink Is The Colour Of Unconditional Love’ (2018), and has received high praise and support from NPR. Pitchfork hailed her as ‘a clever and wise cracking songwriter’, while The Australian, Sydney Morning Herald and The Music praised the album with four star reviews. Cohen has shared stages with Brian Jones Town Massacre, HINDS, Rodrigo Amarante and WARPAINT. Showcasing at BIGSOUND and many Australian festivals, Cohen has also toured extensively, including performances at SXSW (USA) and Vida Festival (SPAIN).
The Ironing Maidens
Award-winning electronic duo, The Ironing Maidens place domestic labour, technology and the history of women in electronic music centre stage with their powerful new take on house music – electro housewife. Ingeniously adapting real irons and ironing boards into electronic instruments to create breakthrough beats, The Ironing Maidens have toured Europe, playing Germany’s famous Fusion Festival and Byron Bay’s Falls Festival back home. The duos’ live show which has developed into a site specific (laundromat) performance piece and accompanying community workshop, toured 16 regional towns in NSW and QLD in 2018.
The 2018 Grant McLennan Fellowship is joint-funded by the Queensland Government and APRA AMCOS and administered by QMusic
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Follow THE FINALISTS
Spencer White (Morning Harvey)
Gabriella Cohen
Danny Harley (The Kite String Tangle)
The Ironing Maidens (Melanie Stevens & Patricia Preece)
