Top of the Class Finalists
Meet the Top of the Class finalists hitting the stage at Flinders Open Day on July 27. 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?
Words Millah Hansberry
Image supplied
Loose Units
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 and 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.
Image: Lucinda Corin
Nat LUNA
With infectious energy, shimmering charm, and irresistibly catchy pop-R&B tunes, Nat Luna sparkles her way to the Top of the Class battle of the bands.
Introduce yourself!
I’m Nat Luna, I’m 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! As I grew, so did my love for singing and writing, and I knew that this is what I was 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 manifests 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 inspired by a time in my life when I realised [that] I was worth more than the bad experience someone was offering me. When I go through something, I’ll feel a burning passion to write about it.
Image supplied
Pearly stars
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 manifests within your project and the music you create?
Through 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.
Image supplied
Pennies
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 manifests 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 tons 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 DC, 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.
Image: Nat Blight
xGemmini
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 manifests 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 never write anything to please a specific audience and instead keep true to ourselves and make the music we want to make.
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