If hanging out on a huge lawn surrounded by natural bushland, overlooking a lake and watching some of Australia’s most talented musicians including Remi, GL, The RAah Project, and Bombay Royale sounds like a good way to bring in the summer, you’re in luck because one-day festival Soundvision might just be your bag.
Soundvision is a celebration of Latrobe University’s 50th birthday, programmed by The RAah Project’s Tamil Rogeon and Ryan Ritchie, in conjunction with the student union.
A composer and musician who spent several years in noughties hip hop band True Live, Rogeon was invited to curate the event by programmer Christian Wagstaff, whose most recent project was the wildly popular House of Mirrors installation outside Melbourne’s Arts Centre.
“We wanted to create a program that would have something for everybody, and that can be a tricky brief to fulfil because I think we have actually managed to do that,” says a proud Rogeon.
The event will be hosted by comedian Tim Ross, and the afternoon starts off with interactive kids comedy show The Listies, before progressing to soul/funk/jazz offering Emma Donovan and the Putbacks.
After that comes Rogeon’s own The RAah Project, which continues building on the jazz and soul elements, but adds a contemporary feel, with the band joined on stage by the 35-piece Australian Youth Orchestra. Rogeon describes Raah Project’s work as “orchestral fusion.”
“By fusion, I don’t mean jazz-rock fusion,” he says. “I mean third-string classical jazz-type music that involves electronics or traditional rhythm section instruments.”
Next up is an art piece, the premiere of a new work by Rogeon, to be set to pictures by Paul Rankin, a video artist from Brisbane whose work is inspired by Latrobe’s Leonard French stained glass artwork (he’s also known for creating the stained glass ceiling of the National Gallery of Victoria’s Great Hall).
Melbourne favourite Bombay Royale follow with their unique, disco/funk Bollywood grooves, then Melbourne duo Ella Thompson and Graeme Pogson in GL, an ‘80s-sounding electro pop act. Yeo follows with some more contemporary pop before hip hop artist Remi takes the stage, fresh off his Aria award nomination for best urban album for Divas & Demons.
DJs MzRizk and Joey Lightbulb will play records into the night to keep the dancefloor moving, and with no neighbours nearby to annoy, the party promises to kick on into the wee hours.
“We’ve been able to establish a bit of a through-line across the program that takes us from soul through to hip hop,” explains Rogeon.
Aware that Melbourne is a competitive landscape for music festivals and events as summer kicks into gear, he has clear reasoning as to why this is one no-one should miss, because there really is something for everyone.
Kicking off at 4pm with some kid-friendly acts and progressing into more contemporary pop offerings, the event is looking to engage a diverse audience of families with kids, students, alumni and anyone who has an interest in music or the university.
“Kids of all ages are encouraged to come and there’s a distinct turn in the program after Bombay Royale where the acts become more pop and electro as the night sets in after sunset,” Rogeon says.
“Plus it’s only $20 a ticket and there’s going to be a 30-piece orchestra featured. It’s a very eclectic lineup in that it touches on many different genres and styles and it’s also an art event, given that there’s going to be a ten-minute piece of contemporary classical music in the middle of it which is quite unusual for a program like this.”
