Top of the Class 2025
Ahead of this weekend’s Top of the Class showcase at The LAB at ILA this Thursday 11 September, we spoke with the headliners and finalists about what to expect from the gig.
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Headliner – Pureé
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Purée, one of Adelaide’s hottest indie rock bands right now, are taking to the Top of the Class stage, ready to headline the show with infectious energy, brand new tracks and their signature unapologetic boldness.
Starting from humble beginnings in a COVID-ridden world, Purée formed out of happenstance: a couple of roommates, a band breakup and an Instagram story. Frontman Matt Holland reflects on the happy meeting on a phone call with The Note.
“Out of nowhere, these four dudes that kind of knew each other just immediately became best friends. It was so wild. I still think about it now – that we managed to just all shove ourselves in one room and discovered the best thing in the world”.
In the current climate, Purée are no strangers to each other or success anymore; recently finishing up a Beddy Rays Australian tour, gearing up for their debut at BIGSOUND in September, and dropping indie dance bangers left, right and centre.
Their single ‘Inspired To Do Nothing’, released in June, is one of the latest additions to their wall of trophies, juxtaposing an upbeat boppy sound with lyrics unpacking the bittersweet feeling of lacking motivation. Bringing this new track, their signature all-moustache-look and a couple of shiny unreleased songs to The Lab at ILA – Purée are gracing the Top of the Class stage to show us all how it is done. Hitting the stage following the announcement of the Top of the Class battle of the bands winner, energy is sure to be high and having dancing shoes on is a must. Matt mused that Purée is ready to bear “the same kind of energy that we usually bring… just go nuts, go crazy. We like to say ‘good times in Purée land.’”
It’s not just the give-it-all energy and groovy indie-rock fits that make Purée stand out. Boldness is built into their DNA – not just on stage, but in how they approach songwriting and through the unapologetic way they carry themselves as a band. It’s this kind of authenticity that landed them headlining the Top of the Class, a competition all about finding the boldest, most creative and original young musicians in SA.
It’s a sentiment Matt summed up when discussing Purée’s relationship to boldness and creativity. “Being as authentically us as possible is bold, especially in these kinds of times. I think you’re far more conscious of what people think about [you] through social media. Being authentic is just the biggest form of creativity and the biggest form of being bold.”
This mantra of being undeniably bold and authentic is echoed in the advice the local scene icons have for younger artists looking to navigate the music industry with the same stamina and grace Purée does.
“You just have to do it, you know? Be you and don’t be afraid of what people might think. Don’t apologise for being you. Keep pushing and keep doing everything you possibly can, because no one’s going to do it for you”.
The Finalists
Meet the Top of the Class finalists hitting the stage at The Lab on September 11. These are some of SA’s boldest, brightest, and most original young musicians, showcasing a diverse mix of sounds from across the state. Get to know what each act is bringing – and have a ponder: who will be crowned Top of the Class?
Loose Units
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Bringing a tight and unique blend of punk rock, hip-hop and reggae to the Top of The Class stage, Loose Units are ready to shake it up and lay it all down.
Introduce yourselves – who are you and what kind of music do you make?
Loose Units are southern-based punk rockers who started playing music together in high school. We blend punk rock with reggae and hip hop
How would you describe Loose Units’ energy and personality as a band?
Loose units bring a unique energy to the stage that is captivating to any person that enjoys music – with a versatile sound to tickle everyone’s fancy.
What has been your favourite or most memorable gig so far?
Our favourite gig would be too hard to decide! But a memorable one was playing at the 2023 Beer & BBQ Fest on a big stage in front of probably our biggest crowd to date.
What can audiences expect from your live show?
Something you wouldn’t expect to see in your local pub or venue. Not just a set, but a performance filled with interactive experiences and blends of original sounds that we don’t even know what inspired. [We] can guarantee you’ll leave feeling refreshed, knowing there’s still sick live music that you don’t have to spend $200 for a ticket to see.
Nat Luna
Image Lucinda Corin
With infectious energy, shimmering charm, and irresistibly catchy pop-R&B tunes, Nat Luna sparkles her way to Top of the Class!
Introduce yourself!
I’m Nat Luna, a pop-R&B independent artist born and raised in Adelaide (Kaurna). I play with a lot of different worlds in my music, from confidence boosters to lovergirl anthems and everything in between. As a child, I was singing before I was talking, and I know that this is what I’m born to do.
How would you describe your music to someone who has never heard it before?
It’s kind of like if a fairy had big feelings and a big attitude! It’s super fierce but shimmery at the same time, and it dances around a lot of alt-R&B genres. Sometimes you’re gonna wanna dance, sometimes you’re gonna wanna cry, and sometimes you’re gonna wanna text that man who hasn’t replied for three days.
How do you find boldness and creativity manifest within your project and the music you create?
Whatever I’m experiencing in my life bleeds into my music, like in my song ‘too pretty’. It was [written] when I realised that I was worth more than the bad experience someone was offering me. When I go through something, I feel a burning passion to write about it.
Pearly Stars
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Blending softness with grit and structure with experimentation, Pearly Stars are set to rock the Top of the Class stage with their genre-bending indie sound
Introduce yourselves! Tell us why you started this band.
Pearly Stars are made up of Felix, Claudia and Cormac, a young indie rock trio unafraid to bend musical structure and conventions. We have a quietly confident stage presence, a distinctly unique sound, and are constantly evolving our songwriting for live performance.
How would you describe your sound to someone who’s never heard your music?
While [we] would immediately say words like indie, bedroom pop, experimental – there is just so much more going on and we experiment as much as possible with our music and reach as many audiences and genres as possible. In a word, maybe “pretty”, as that can encompass both grit and softness, which [we] feel is something we’re aiming to try and blend.
How do you find boldness and creativity manifest within your project and the music you create?
Thorough community and collaboration! The best thing about being creative is being able to do it with other people, and [we’re] lucky to be able to be with people who work well together and really get along. [We] try to be bold in [our] songwriting by making choices other people wouldn’t necessarily make, as aiming for something intentionally different can often yield the most unique result.
Pennies
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Reminding us that best mates make the best music, Pennies are gearing up to introduce their laid-back indie rock sound to the Top of the Class battle of the bands.
Introduce yourselves – who are you and what kind of music do you make?
We’re Pennies: Will, Darcy, Sam, and Gianni. Indie rock band from Adelaide.
How do you find boldness and creativity manifest within your project and the music you create?
We bounce off each other a lot. One person will bring an idea, and the rest will build a world around that core idea. Coming up with [our] songs is a matter of trial and error; writing tonnes of stuff over and over until something worth something comes out. That’s usually how the best songs come around.
Who have been some of the biggest musical influences on your sound as a band?
We’re all into pretty different things to be honest. Starting out we were going for an indie/surf rock sound that you get from bands like Hockey Dad and Ocean Alley. Now we’re experimenting more with blending post-punk and folk stuff, like The Cure, Fontaines D.C., and Bob Dylan. I think our friends and people close to us end up influencing our sound as well just by telling us what they like and what they don’t like, it definitely plays a role in our band.
What should audiences expect from a live Pennies set?
Mistakes.
xGemmini
Image Nash Blight
Armed with face-melting riffs and an unexpectedly funky edge, metal trio xGemmini are delivering some chaotic energy to Top of the Class.
Introduce yourselves!
xGemmini is a metal trio consisting of Ren on guitar and vocals, Mischa on drums and Felix on bass.
How would you describe xGemmini’s energy and personality as a band?
xGemmini shows are always high energy and usually feature moshing, circle pits and crowd surfing. Our music evokes a dark but epic sound and the songs can go from zero to one hundred in a second. We also have a very light-hearted attitude musically that contributes to the energy and fun of our shows.
For audiences who have never heard of you, how would you describe your sound?
xGemmini mixes the sounds of many ‘80s and ‘90s metal subgenres with elements of progressive and jazz fusion. Our songs change constantly between different sections that sound dark, epic, heavy and funky.
How do you find boldness and creativity manifest within your project and the music you create?
We strive to be unconventional and intentionally try to surprise the audience in every song. Our sound emerged from combining our diverse range of influences, leading to a sound that is uniquely our own. We keep true to ourselves and make the music we want to make.
Top of the Class 2025 takes place at The LAB at ILA on Thursday 11 September. Tickets on sale now via eventbrite.com.au.
