New Music
New For '19
New Music: Kian
We're shining a spotlight on the best new Australian artists set to dominate 2019. Our handpicked BREAK THROUGH artists are the future headliners you should get on your radar. Welcome Victorian soul-pop wunderkind Kian.
Ticketmaster New Music is your one-stop destination to discover the best emerging live acts before they explode. These are the artists we’re expecting to make waves in the live music scene, and we want you to know about them first.
Music has been a part of 16-year-old soul-pop singer-songwriter Kian‘s life for longer than he can remember. Hailing from the goldfield town of Castlemaine in Victoria, he’s been travelling with his dad to remote Indigenous communities since he was 2, making music as part of the Indigenous Hip Hop Projects.
It was on one of these trips, to Beswick Community in Northern Territory, that Kian met rapper Baker Boy. Aged 13 at the time, the pair’s connection was instant and Kian ended up singing the killer chorus on Baker Boy’s debut track (and instant hit) Cloud 9. Suddenly, Kian had the country’s attention.
From there –determined to be more than just a feature artist – he started working on music for himself. After releasing single Too Far Gone with Vince The Kid in January 2018, it was his second single Waiting that shot Kian to international attention. After spending the last year touring the country with Baker Boy, he performed his first solo show at Castlemaine’s Royal Theatre, before taking his hit single to Bigsound in Brisbane.
Waiting saw Kian crowned the 2018 triple j Unearthed High winner, peaking at #4 on the ARIA singles chart, and coming in at #20 in the Hottest 100 of 2018. With a full-length album set for arrival later this year, the spotlight is firmly on Kian – so it’s time to officially meet him.
The Story
From the beginning
“I first started making music when I was 14, but have been surrounded by a creative community my whole life. I’ve travelled with my dad to Indigenous communities around Australia and do dance and music workshops, that was how I met Baker Boy. I think that featuring on his single Cloud 9 gave me the confidence to start writing my own songs and it’s what sparked this whole thing.”
What you’ll hear
“My sound is alt-pop with solid R&B vibes and hip hop influences. It’s something that I’m still working to define and is constantly evolving.”
Influences & inspiration
“Frank Ocean is my main musical/lyrical influence, but I have a huge hip hop influence in my writing – often most of my songs will start as raps. I also love Earl Sweatshirt, Rex Orange County, Travis Scott and Joji.”
For the love of music
“For me, music is an exit, it takes me to a place outside of the pressures of my life and helps me to release emotions. I also love the creative freedom it gives you, to be able to take something like an emotion or story and translate that into music through every detail is beautiful.”
Kicking goals
“There’s been so many good things happening, but definitely one of my biggest achievements was being the triple j Unearthed High Winner. The most recent thing though was having Waiting reach #20 in the Hottest 100 this year.”
The hard yards
“My biggest challenge has been trying to keep balance around constant change. It can become hard to maintain friendships and keep up with my social life while touring around.”
The year ahead
“In 2019, after just releasing my latest single Childism, I have an EP coming out soon, playing loads of gigs and festivals, writing and working up loads of new songs in LA and working hard on my debut album. Hopefully it will be finished by end of the year.”
Essential Listening
Kian- Waiting
“I wrote it when I was 14. Dad wouldn’t let me release it until over a year after it was recorded. He let me release it after I performed over 70 live shows with Baker Boy.”
Kian – Childism
His latest single is as super smooth and shimmering as we’ve come to expect. It’s a tune about the frustrations of having your voice and opinion dismisses based on your age or inexperience.
Check out the rest of our New For ’19 feature artists here.
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