Spanning everything from Latin American music to hip hop to indie folk, 'FLIGHT' features some incredible emerging, culturally diverse musicians.
Some of Naarm’s best young up and coming musicians are set to perform at FLIGHT, a showcase for emerging culturally diverse artists at The Music Market in Collingwood Yards.
Taking place over two huge nights of October 6 and 7, the showcase represents the incredible culmination of The Boîte’s inaugural Portfolio Project, featuring the talented artists who have been participating in the program over the past four months.
What you need to know
- A part of The Boîte’s inaugural Portfolio Project, FLIGHT will showcase the best in emerging, culturally diverse musicians
- The lineup includes Pratik Sauray, Desmond Mase, VÉR, Pal Mar, Vikaye, Yi-Lynn, Carlos Rojas, Stefan Nocevski, Pomaa and Misagh Zamani
- Catch it at The Music Market in Collingwood Yards this week – on October 6 and 7
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With a love for soul and RnB, Vikaye is one of the ten artists set to take over the Collingwood Yards with a full band supporting her. Born and raised in Zimbabwe, she grew up inspired by the rich sounds of blues, jazz and gospel music. “Just a simple hum , “ooh” or “aaah” from the likes of Miriam Makeba and Nina Simon left a long lasting impression on me as a young girl,” she tells us. “The richness in their tone and voice could command a room.”
“They taught me that music has the power to connect with people beyond words, when I sing I want people to feel something.”
“The Boite Portfolio Project has played a big part in challenging me to grow through the connections I’ve built with other artists,” she says. “In the last few months I have been taking bold steps to find my voice as an artist and asking ‘who am I and what do I want to share with the world?'”
FLIGHT will be the debut performance that features Vikaye’s soulful voice supported by a full band. “It has been such a fun experience practicing with the band over the last 6 weeks,” she says. “I’ve learned how to work in a team and explore the different options of sound and rhythm. This experience has opened up my eyes to have an idea of what I want my sound to be. Week after week we kept on improving and sharing ideas, challenging each other in a good way.”
“We’ve worked hard and hope you enjoy the set like we did each time we rehearsed!” Vikaye says. “The songs are very groovy, bring your dancing shoes and join us as we groove along!”
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Reflective dream pop artist Pomaa will also take to the stage at Collingwood Yards, bringing her signature blend of driving alternative rock and waltz-like dream pop to FLIGHT.
“I consider myself to be a lyrics person and love to read and understand the meaning behind songs,” she says. “It’s really important to me that the songs I write explore aspects of human connection either internally or with other people. So as a whole my lyrics can get quite introspective and emotional.”
With the release of her debut EP Bridge to Somewhere on the horizon, Pomaa applied for The Boîte’s Portfolio Project looking for guidance through a turbulent industry. “The music industry is so vast and ever changing; I feel like there is still so much to learn about the business side of things,” Pomaa reflects.
“We’ve had workshops with industry personnel during the program which have been extremely valuable. It’s also wonderful to be part of a new community of emerging artists who understand the additional struggles of being from a culturally diverse background and wanting to pursue a creative career.”
Much like Vikaye, she’s making the leap into performing with a full band for the first time. “I’ve been playing solo for the last few years and it has been fulfilling in other ways but I’m ready now for my voice to be backed by a bit more sound. There are so many more ways to express the songs when there are more instruments involved so it’s going to be a fun night.”
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Spearheaded by lead guitarist of Moaning Lisa Ellen Chan, FLIGHT is the culmination of The Boîte’s huge Portfolio project. “I’m so thrilled to present the 10 talented artists that I’ve been working with over the past 4 months over the 2 nights at the Music Market,” says Ellen Chan. “It’s going to be awesome and I can’t wait.”
“The showcase is called Flight because some of these artists have gone from playing solo for their music project to now playing in bands/ensembles, like Pomaa and VÉR,” continues Ellen. “We also have Vikaye; who is an amazing singer/songwriter who, with the help of Melbourne Polytechnic Music Department was able to collaborate and will also perform as a band for the showcase with her original music – a huge feat.”
“Through the program, with the help of Music Victoria and Open Studio we were able to help bring performance opportunities, networking opportunities and workshops to support our cohort of artists. We’ve also taken studio quality photography and have some live session videography to come that will form the artists’ Electronic Press Kit.”
“It’s been such an amazing program to have the opportunity to project manage and we’ve built this amazing community of musicians who have been connecting and supporting each other throughout and will continue to do so.”
Don’t miss out – grab your tickets by heading here.
Made in partnership with The Boîte
