The music of Australia has an extensive history made of music societies. Indigenous Australian music forms a significant part of the unique heritage of a 40,000- to 60,000-year history which produced the iconic didgeridoo. Contemporary fusions of indigenous and Western styles are exemplified in the works of Yothu Yindi, No Fixed Address, Geoffrey Gurrumul Yunupingu and Christine Anu, and mark distinctly Australian contributions to world music.
Midnight Oil are an Australian rock band composed of Peter Garrett, Rob Hirst (drums), Jim Moginie and Martin Rotsey (guitar). The group was formed in Sydney in 1972 by Hirst, Moginie and original bassist Andrew James as Farm: they enlisted Garrett the following year, changed their name in 1976, and hired Rotsey a year later. Peter Gifford served as bass player from 1980 to 1987, with Bones Hillman then assuming the role until his death in 2020. Midnight Oil have sold over 20 million albums worldwide as of 2021.
Magic Dirt is an Australian rock band, which formed in 1991 in Geelong, Victoria, with Daniel Herring on guitar, Adam Robertson on drums, Adalita Srsen on vocals and guitar, and Dean Turner on bass guitar. Initially forming an alternative underground band called Deer Bubbles which split and formed into the much heavier, rock based group called The Jim Jims, they were renamed as Magic Dirt. Their top 40 releases on the ARIA Albums Chart are Friends in Danger (1996), What Are Rock Stars Doing Today (2000), Tough Love (2003) and Snow White (2005). They have received nine ARIA Music Award nominations including four at the ARIA Music Awards of 1995 for Life Was Better – their second extended play. Turner died in August 2009 of dermatofibrosarcoma protuberans. From 2010 to November 2018, the band were on hiatus.
Melissha Martinez, better known by her stage name Maya Jupiter, is a Mexican-born Australian rapper, songwriter, MC and radio personality. She released her debut album, Today, in 2003. She was a member of hip-hop group, Foreign Heights, with MC Trey and DJ Nick Toth, which released a self-titled album in 2007. At the ARIA Music Awards of 2007 the trio was nominated for 'Best Urban Release' for "Get Yours (Remix)". From 2004 to 2008, Jupiter hosted the national radio station, Triple J's weekly Hip-Hop Show. Thereafter she pursued her solo career based in Los Angeles and released her second album, Maya Jupiter, in December 2010.
Hilltop Hoods is an Australian hip hop group that formed in 1996 in Blackwood, Adelaide, South Australia. They are regarded as pioneers of the "larrikin-like" style of Australian hip hop. The group was founded by Suffa and Pressure, who were joined by DJ Debris after fellow founder, DJ Next, left in 1999. The group released its first extended play, Back Once Again, in 1997 and have subsequently released eight studio albums, two "restrung" albums and three DVDs.
The 17th Annual Australian Recording Industry Association Music Awards were held on 21 October 2003 at the Sydney Superdome. The ceremony aired on Network Ten.
Joel Turner is an Australian beatboxer, singer, songwriter, instrumentalist and record producer best known for the Australian hit song "These Kids". As a beatboxer, he is recognised for his trademark sounds such as his "third voice", cowbell, teeth beats and bass guitar. He was the victor at the Beatbox Battle World Championship in 2005 and retained the title until 2009.
Archibald William Roach was an Australian singer-songwriter and Aboriginal activist. Often referred to as "Uncle Archie", Roach was a Gunditjmara and Bundjalung elder who campaigned for the rights of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people. His wife and musical partner was the singer Ruby Hunter (1955–2010).
The Dynamic Hepnotics were an Australian soul, blues and funk band which formed in 1979 and disbanded in 1986. Mainstay, lead vocalist and front man, "Continental" Robert Susz formed the group in Sydney. They had chart success on the Australian Kent Music Report Singles Chart with a top 5 single, "Soul Kind of Feeling" in 1984. It was followed by "Gotta Be Wrong " which reached the top 20 in 1985. Their album, Take You Higher, reached the top 20 on the related Albums Chart in June. In 1986, "Soul Kind of Feeling" won the APRA Music Award for 'Most Performed Australasian Popular Work'.
James Oswald Little, AO was an Australian Aboriginal musician, actor and teacher, who was a member of the Yorta Yorta tribe and was raised on the Cummeragunja Reserve, New South Wales.
The Presets are an Australian electronic music duo of Julian Hamilton and Kim Moyes. Formed in 2003 and signed to Modular Records, The Presets released two EPs in advance of their debut album, Beams, released in 2005 to positive critical response. After two years of touring, including as the Australian support for Daft Punk, the band's 2008 release, Apocalypso, debuted at number one on the ARIA Albums Chart, and went on to win six awards at ARIA Awards 2008, including Album of the Year.
Dave Graney is an Australian rock musician, singer-songwriter and author. Since 1978, Graney has collaborated with drummer-multi instrumentalist Clare Moore. The pair have fronted or been involved with numerous bands including The Moodists, Dave Graney and The White Buffaloes, Dave Graney and The Coral Snakes, The Dave Graney Show, Dave Graney and Clare Moore featuring The Lurid Yellow Mist or Dave Graney and The Lurid Yellow Mist and Dave Graney and The mistLY. Many albums since LETS GET TIGHT in 2017 have been credited to Dave Graney and Clare Moore.
Kevin Daniel Carmody, better known by his stage name Kev Carmody, is an Aboriginal Australian singer-songwriter and musician, a Murri man from northern Queensland. He is best known for the song "From Little Things Big Things Grow", which was recorded with co-writer Paul Kelly for their 1993 single. It was covered by the Get Up Mob in 2008 and peaked at number four on the Australian Recording Industry Association (ARIA) singles charts.
Something with Numbers is a rock band based in Australia. The band was formed on the New South Wales Central Coast, in Australia, in 2001. They have released an EP and four studio albums in their 7-year career. Something with Numbers found success in 2006, with the release of "Apple of the Eye ", which peaked at No. 34 on the ARIA Singles Chart, and placed No. 64 on the Triple J Hottest 100, 2006.
Expatriate is an Australian indie rock band from Sydney, Australia, formed in 2005. The band comprises vocalist Ben King, drummer Cristo, keyboardist Damian Press and bassist David Molland.
The Bamboos are an Australian funk and soul band from Melbourne.
Frank Yamma is a singer and songwriter from Central Australia. He is a Pitjantjatjara man who speaks five languages and sings in both Pitjantjatjara and English. Yamma is the son of Isaac Yamma, an early artist who pioneered singing Western style songs in traditional language. He is Regarded as one of Australia's most important indigenous songwriters.
The 14th Australian Recording Industry Association Music Awards was held on 24 October 2000 at the Sydney Entertainment Centre. Presenters distributed 28 awards with the big winners for the year being Killing Heidi and Madison Avenue, each with four trophies. In addition to the annually presented awards, a "Special Achievement Award" was given to Daryl Somers; an "Outstanding Achievement Award" was received by Slim Dusty and another presented to Tina Arena. There were no ARIA Hall of Fame inductees.
Talk is the debut studio album by Australian artist Daniel Johns. It was his first full-length musical project since the hiatus of Silverchair and was announced in May 2011, but the album was not released until 22 May 2015 by record label Eleven, and it debuted at No. 2 on the Australian ARIA Albums Chart. The tracks "Aerial Love", "Cool on Fire" and "Going on 16" were released as singles.
Vincent Goodyer, known professionally as 18yoman, is an Australian singer, songwriter, and record producer based in Sydney. He is an ARIA Award recipient and co-produced Lil Nas X's album Montero (2021), which received a Grammy Award nomination for Album of the Year.
