Review - Big Backyard “Midem
2000”
Sampler two
The Big Backyard is
famous the world over for bringing Australian music to people who would not
otherwise even know where Australia is! It is a radio program broadcast to
millions of listeners every week, as well as a backer of initiatives like this
CDs and attender of international swap-meets such as Midem. Their new “Midem Cannes 2000 sampler two” has
brought together 12 new, unsigned and/or unknown artists from Sydney,
Melbourne, Canberra and Brisbane with styles as varying as those available
today on the music market.
Names like Linda Hansen,
Vocabularinist,
Dog
Trumpet and Iliad appear here, as
they have done on records and in venues across the country for many years, in
amongst solo artists, bands and other names as-yet-unknown, who have taken the
opportunity to have BBY
take them to the world as they have done for many other artists over the years.
Opening with David McLeod’s
gospel-styled love song You And Me Always, “Midem Cannes 2000 sampler two” moves through country-blues, upbeat pop, eclectic alternative, and
various modes of alterna-rock, with an interesting emphasis on keyboard
(especially Hammond/organ) sounds throughout. This sampler was a little slow on
the uptake for mine, taking off at about David Westmore and then again from Susan Cotch/Iliad to Eureka; Susan’s Drugless Hope Addict, Idiad’s Division and George’s Spawn being the stand-out
tracks on the record.
BBY are deserving of
many kudos for the work they do to promote Australian music. Sure: some people
don’t really care where their music comes from – they just like what they hear.
But those who do care know that BBY highlights the
entire spectrum on their show, from unsigned unknowns to the biggest and
brightest stars we have, as well as on their samplers, with the hope that a
shining light here in Oz will grow just as well elsewhere in the world, given
the right exposure to the right people.