Hot Queensland talent ready to take on world

Queensland bands The Red Paintings, The Gin Club and Small Mercies will build on Brisbane’s solid reputation as one of the world’s top cities for new music talent when they travel to Los Angeles in April for MUSEXPO 2008.

Queensland Minister for Trade John Mickel said MUSEXPO, now in its fourth year, had become a pre-eminent platform for artists to launch an international career.

Mr Mickel said the Government, through Trade Queensland and Arts Queensland, coordinated Queensland’s participation in this year’s event, to be held from April 27-30, with help from the State’s peak industry body, Q Music.

“We’ve been committed to raising the profile of Queensland’s music business industry and talent through MUSEXPO since it began,” Mr Mickel said.

“MUSEXPO is a conference unlike any other. It brings together the global leaders in the music, media and technology industries and provides participating companies and showcasing artists an opportunity to interact with these great minds and do business,” Mr Mickel said.

Arts Minister Rod Welford said attending MUSEXPO was an invaluable experience for Queensland artists as the event attracted influential music industry representatives from around the world.

“There is a real sense of excitement about our artists and the outcomes to date have been very positive - this year should be no different,” Mr Welford said.

The event is run by A&R Worldwide – one of the leading artist discovery and development agencies in the world – and is attended by industry heavyweights from more than 30 countries.

A&R has played a leading role in the early discovery and development of the careers of a long list of artists, including Dido, Fatboy Slim, Missy Higgins and Evermore.

Mr Mickel said MUSEXPO had already helped to boost the careers of Queensland artists including Pete Murray, Transport and Intercooler.

“The results speak for themselves,” Mr Mickel said.

“Pete Murray’s performance at MUSEXPO last year has led to the uptake of two of his tracks for US TV series, while Transport, also a 2007 participant, entered into deals with US booking agency TKO, Kindling Music/Sony BMG in Canada and secured representation for film, TV and advertising with Sugaroo.”

Transport’s manager Leanne de Souza highly recommends MUSEXPO for anybody serious about making contacts broadly across the music industry.

“I’ve established key connections for my artists – Transport and Kate Miller-Heidke – not only in the US but also in the UK market,” Ms de Souza said.

ABOUT THE ARTISTS

The Gin Club, formed in Brisbane in 2003, has quickly built a reputation across Australia as a powerful live act. Their sound is an eclectic mix of traditional folk, blues and country styles – with a dash of rock ‘n’ roll - and is inspired by The Band, Bob Dylan, Crowded House, and Neil Young. With up to nine members on stage at any given time, what threatens to be madly chaotic is in fact a beautifully-measured group performance.

Visually extravagant art-rock combo from Brisbane, The Red Paintings is a group well-known for its unique and confronting live performances, which incorporate everything from backdrops of Roswell autopsies and elaborate costumes to blank canvasses for audiences to paint on during the show. Songwriter Trash McSweeney creates a sound which evokes everything from sprawling, child-like innocence to tearing, biting, alternative rock.

Small Mercies, a melodic rock band for the modern era, is on the cusp of something big. The band is gearing up for the release of its debut album Beautiful Hum which was recorded with US music producer Matt Wallace (Faith No More, Maroon 5). The album will feature the band’s current hit single Sorry and ARIA-nominated first single Innocent.

ABOUT MUSEXPO 2008 - MUSEXPO will run in Los Angeles from 27 to 30 April 2008.

For more information on MUSEXPO visit www.musexpo.net

Contacts:

A&R Worldwide – Sat Bisla – Tel: +1 (323) 782 0770

The Gin Club – Simon Homer – Tel: +61 (0422) 174 999

The Red Paintings – Jamie Barrett +61 (0438) 643 640

Small Mercies – Keith Welsh – Tel: +61 (0418) 400 921

Joe Berman Sumomusic – Tel: +1 213 9991496

Ministerial contacts: Chris Brown 3237 1944 or Shannon Mackay 3237 1125

January 16, 2008