With the cancellation of some of the most important showcase festivals this spring, it has become tricky to discover new artists and quickly figure out if they are looking for new business opportunities. Therefore, we have decided to bring the showcase feel to the comfort of your (home) office set up together with our partners at Factory 92. Today’s virtual showcase brings you a group of English-speaking not-to-miss emerging acts, who are open for international collaborations. In the mix this time are Friedberg, Wandl, My Ugly Clementine, Elis Noa, Yakata, Emily Stewart, Oska, Petrol Girls, Elena Shirin and Dramas: Take your headphones and note pad and enjoy the newest sound from Austria!
AUSTRIAN HEARTBEATS PRESENTS…
FRIEDBERG (Pop/Rock)
Friedberg stormed into 2019 with their first 2 singles – BOOM and GO WILD – which have seen them billed as one of the most exciting new bands in Europe by media and music lovers alike. Their unforgettable sound has earned them inclusion on the FIFA 20 soundtrack, TV performances in Germany and Austria and a place in Musikexpress’ Hotlist 2020. Recorded during lockdown 2020 in Hackney, London, here Anna performs a cover version of „Josephine“ by the Faroese artist Teitur for you.
DRAMAS (Art Pop/Electro Pop)
DRAMAS have skillfully mastered the art of the in-between: Between a heavy heart and the knowledge that everything changes, that nothing stands still. Founded in 2016, the Viennese art pop duo presented a big and emotional debut with their album “Nothing Is Permanent”, which was released in October 2018 and landed indie airplay hits across Europe with several single releases from it – among others, the song “Mess” was voted to the top of the official listener charts on Radio Eins in Berlin.
REPRESENTATION: Label (Fabrique Records), Booking (Arcadia live), Management (Michael Martinek / Fabrique)
THE BAND IS CURRENTLY LOOKING FOR: Booking, Promotion, Licensing (Worldwide, except Austria)
ELENA SHIRIN (Neo Soul)
After playing her first tour through the U.S. opening for Moon Hooch, the Viennese artist Elena Shirin finally released her solo album FROM A TO BE in May 2020 via Motor Music, Berlin. Collaborations with Demuja (A), Nathaniel Markman of Edward Sharpe (US), Moon Hooch (US), Oehl (A), Aramboa (A), etc. allowed her to explore the wide range of musical/artistic interests that are interwoven in her album. By age 12 Elena found poetry/music as her personal anchor. She started recording/producing at age 15 and continued treating sound design as part of her compositions. Now cinematic soundscapes & energetic beats, deriving from classical music, jazz, tribal rhythm and hip-hop, oscillate around Elena’s subtle yet profound lyrics.
REPRESENTATION: Label (Motor Music), Booking GSA (FYI Agency)
THE BAND IS CURRENTLY LOOKING FOR: Booking (UK, Norway/Sweden, France, Western Asia (Armenia, Georgia, Turkey, etc), Publishing (UK, US)
WANDL (Electronic / RNB / Alternative)
Wandl´s solo debut album “It´s All Good Tho” (2017) already showed his musical path: Electronic-psychedelic melodies meet organic sound, and sounds are scrambled and obscured: samples, piano recordings, drums and synthesizer. The analog sound aesthetics and Wandl´s characteristic voice act as the connecting element. The Musikexpress magazine ranked the album at number 4 of the “Albums of the Year 2017” chart and Wandl started to perform internationally in France, the Netherlands, and Spain at Primavera Sound in Barcelona, among others. This is followed by an extensive tour with Bilderbuch in Germany (2018) and several artistic projects in 2019. Wandl is currently working on new material which will be released later this year.
REPRESENTATION: Label (Affine Records), Booking DE (RBK Fusion)
THE BAND IS CURRENTLY LOOKING FOR: Publishing and licensing opportunities (WW)
MY UGLY CLEMENTINE (Indie/Alternative/Pop)
This supergroup from Vienna is damn serious about one thing for sure: Having fun! MY UGLY CLEMENTINE brush off the dust from those 90s guitars you liked so much back then. Their post-punk approach is one of blending pop catchiness, mischievous guitar interplays and cheerful hooks, creating a remarkably fresh and elegant strain of indie rock. Their message is strong and serious – yet it always comes with a smile and a hook ready to be sung along to.
REPRESENTATION: Label & Management (Ink Music)
THE BAND IS CURRENTLY LOOKING FOR: Live opportunities for 2021ff (WW), Label partners (outside GSA)
ELIS NOA (New Soul/Pop/Electronic)
ELIS NOA from Vienna push the boundaries of electronic pop. Their musical framework ranges from pop to contemporary R&B, all the way to future soul. With their second single release “Still Nothing (Goddamn)” ELIS NOA (Elisa Godino and Aaron Hader) once again create a distinct sound woven together by Godino’s extraordinary voice — relinquishing pop music from its conventional structures without losing its accessibility. ELIS NOA’s songs give a sense of longevity while still moving with the frontiers of contemporary pop.
REPRESENTATION: Label (Las Vegas Records), Flow Agency, Stereopark Agency
THE BAND IS CURRENTLY LOOKING FOR: Booking ROTW (Excluding GSA), Sync, Festivals
YAKATA (Alternative/Psych Pop/Westcoast Rock)
The trio Yakata are the brothers Valentin and Vincenz Eder, and producer and musical companion of the past 15 years, Fabian Wintersteller aka „Mantha”. With their fourth single release “Heat The Sun”, taken from the upcoming debut album “A Boy’s Latin”, Yakata once again make two worlds meet: Brute synthesizer sounds encounter fragile shimmering guitar sounds and a vocal arrangement, emerging from a soft grace and transforming into a confident anthem. Psycho pop made in Austria. “Heat The Sun” was released on May 22 and is about the paradox of love: adjusting and changing your personality for someone results in a broken relationship most of the time. However, sometimes you’re forced to change to keep a relationship alive. It’s like you’re in the most unbearable club of the city because of your crush, listening to even worse music, while building your castle of love on clouds that are already dissolving. Denying your own moral values to make someone else happy will inevitably make you feel miserable. The band’s debut album “A Boy’s Latin” is out 5th June.
REPRESENTATION: Label (Assim Records)
THE BAND IS CURRENTLY LOOKING FOR: Booking (Germany), Live opportunities (GSA), Showcase festivals
EMILY STEWART (Contemporary/Singer-Songwriter/Jazz)
Emily Stewart, born in London & raised in Costa Rica, lives & works in Vienna. She studied classical music as well as jazz and improvisation; her own work weaves these diverse influences into a unified whole. As an instrumentalist, her unique flexibility and sensitivity have made her a sought-after musician, both live and in the studio. She has performed throughout Europe with various pop & jazz ensembles, appearing in such festivals as Summer Nostos Festival Athens, Printemps de Bourges, Jazz Festival Copenhagen, Time in Jazz Sardinia, Jazz Festival Saalfelden, or Les Nuits de Fourvière. An accomplished theatre musician, Emily appears regularly with the American performance group Saint Genet and in several productions at the Vienna Burgtheater. Recent collaborations include: Soap&Skin, Jan Lundgren, Gary Husband, Violetta Parisini, Belle and Sebastian, André Heller, Wolfgang Puschnig, Koehne Quartet, Rambo Rambo Rambo, Neuschnee, Hearts Hearts, Alicia Edelweiss, Velvet Elevator Orchestra, KVIN. (The video for Hidden Kingdom was created in cooperation with: wenn es soweit ist, Jacqueline Kornmüller, Kunsthistorisches Museum Wien.)
REPRESENTATION: Label (col legno music)
THE BAND IS CURRENTLY LOOKING FOR: Booking, Publishing (WW), Live opportunities (WW)
OSKA (Singer-Songwriter/Indie/Pop)
Growing up in a small village in Lower Austria, OSKA moved to Vienna at 18 to study her first love: music. Born into a family of singers and musicians she discovered her voice at a young age. Her work in the studios and writing rooms of Vienna, drafting and crafting her imminent debut, has honed that voice to say exactly what she wants it to. After years in the background, supporting and featuring for different artists, OSKA released Distant Universe, the first single from her upcoming EP, in January 2020, which caught the interest of international labels and publishers as well as the Austrian media. In autumn OSKA is joining Haevn on tour in the Netherlands after her song „Come Home“ was used for the national end of year TV campaign of ANWB in the Netherlands.
REPRESENTATION: Label & Management (PARRAMATTA)
THE BAND IS CURRENTLY LOOKING FOR: Booking (GSA, North America, UK, Ireland, Scandinavia, Australia / New Zealand), Publishing (WW), Live Opportunities, Showcase Festivals, Sync Agencies
PETROL GIRLS (Feminist Post-Hardcore)
Petrol Girls are a feminist post-hardcore punk band, originally formed in London, with members from Austria, Lithuania and the UK. Now based in Austria, and touring incessantly, the band are strong advocates of freedom of movement, anti capitalism and intersectional feminism. With a wide range of musical influences, and having had the pleasure to support bands such as Strike Anywhere, The Dead Kennedys, Propagandhi, RVIVR, War on Women and Refused, the band are constantly developing musically as well as politically.
REPRESENTATION: Booking UK (ITB), Label UK (Hassle Records), PR UK (Major Transmission)
THE BAND IS CURRENTLY LOOKING FOR: Booking (US, Can, Mex), Brand partnerships (cymbals, strings, guitars)