Unearthed

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Meet your

Unearthed High finalists

for 2019…

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It’s been a record-breaking year for triple j’s Unearthed High competition with over 1,500 entries from high school students around the country.

We’ve spent the past month listening to every one of them and we’ve loved every moment of it. With this new cohort of songwriters, the Australian music glow up continues. Surf-rock is sounding better than ever, hip-hop is huge, and sincerity isn’t scary… it’s cool.

Dave Ruby Howe, triple j Unearthed Music Director, says “In a year that more young artists than ever entered Unearthed High it makes sense that selecting five finalists from a huge pool of talent would be harder than ever. But this quintet of artists from all corners of Australia stood out with songs that show personality, talent and the kind of forward-thinking approach to making music that assures us that the next wave of Australian music is going to be special.”

Here are your Unearthed High finalists for 2019…

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Debbies

‘What Do I Know’ (St. John The Evangelist Catholic High School, NSW)
Thundering into Unearthed High with a trio of high-quality uploads to their name, this Jervis Bay duo is barrel rolling between the surf and the garage and doing so with exhilarating recklessness.

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George Alice

‘Circles’ (Faith Lutheran College, SA)
Although ‘Circles’ is the debut release for solo artist George Alice, it shows the impressive depth and talent that the 16 year old has developed performing and busking since the age of ten, sharing stripped back covers of artists like Stella Donnelly, Billie Eilish and Matt Corby.

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MALi JO$E

‘Mistakes’ (John Curtin College Of The Arts, WA)
Working closely with his schoolmate and producer OJC43, 17 year old rapper/songwriter MALi JO$E has the kind of dexterous flow and laidback charisma that comes from a heavy intake of influences both old school and new.

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Nick Ward

‘Skin’ (The Scots College, NSW)
Proving himself to be a legit quadruple-threat, year 12 student Nick Ward writes, produces, mixes and masters all his own work from his bedroom setup. He’s brought a sense of intimacy to the remarkable ‘Skin’ – a track that balances crushingly relatable lyrics about identity with dreamy electronic layers.

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Tulliah

‘Company’ (Dromana College, VIC)
Since falling in love with song writing at age 15, Tulliah has been working ambitiously towards a career in music from her family’s farm on the Mornington Peninsula. Debut track ‘Company’ introduces us to this powerful new voice that is full of heart and soul. 

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In addition to our Unearthed High finalists, we are proud to announce this year’s Indigenous Initiative winner Aodhan. His prize includes ongoing mentoring from the Association of Artist Managers(AAM), as well as a song writing workshop at his school with the APRA AMCOS Songmakers program, who last year sent Ocean Alley to mentor River and Isles.

In the truest spirit of Unearthed, Aodhan quietly uploaded a couple of tracks this year and without any other online presence won us over completely. The talented NSW South Coast teenager writes, records and produces himself and harkens to coastal folk heroes like Hein Cooper and Angus & Julia Stone.

Discovering Aodhan’s music in this year’s Unearthed High competition gave the whole team collective goosebumps so it only seems right that we share them with you.

Tune in to triple j over the next week as Ben & Liam reveal 2019’s Unearthed High winner!

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triple j Unearthed – discovering new Australian music