EMC Play
Image: Yolanda Be Cool
Sydney is set to play host to over 120 artists and 10,000 music fans next month when the Electronic Music Conference (EMC) and its artists showcase EMC Play which will take over Kings Cross for two days.
EMC is an annual event that brings together speakers, artists & delegates for the Asia-Pacific’s premier dance music industry event. This year marks the third year for the event. The organisers have taken inspiration from similar events worldwide to add an artist showcase night to the already existing daily conferences.
“The whole idea of EMC Play is to showcase as much talent as possible,” says EMC founder Neil Ackland. “Artists will play shorter sets and fans have the ability with one wristband to get into all venues and check out all of the different performances. This is similar to the models employed by ADE (Amsterdam Dance Event), Big Sound and South by South-West which we looked to for inspiration.”
The theme for this year’s event is Discovery. “The whole idea is to make EMC an important step in an artist’s development or discovery,” Ackland explains. “We bring together Australian artists with some of the top talent buyers from around the world to potentially discover the next Flume or Will Sparks.”
Throughout the two nights there will be 14 showcases curated by some of Australia’s top record labels, crews and collectives over four venues. Ackland explained that the decision for Kings Cross to host the event was made because, “We really wanted to have all of the venues a stone’s throw away from each other so you bump into people moving about the venues and generate a real buzz.”
Yolanda Be Cool, having recently released their single Sugar Man, will be one of the featured acts performing as part of the Sweat It Out Showcase at World Bar. When asked how it felt to be featured with so many talented artists, Yolanda Be Cool’s Matt Handley says, “It’s really exciting, there are a lot of awesome acts performing so its great to be there alongside them.”
Handley also had some recommendations of other acts for fans. “Indian Summer are doing some awesome things right now and their next single will put them onto another level. Cassian also has a new single that I think will be a bit of a summer anthem and Crooked Colours are playing live and they’re wicked so all of those are definitely worth catching.”
The event presents a great opportunity for aspiring producers to watch and mingle with industry heavyweights which both Ackland and Handley highly encourage people to seize. (JA)
Dec 3-4, King Cross, $49+b.f, electronicmusicconference.com
