New Weird Australia is designed to challenge our understanding of what music can and should be. We support new, eclectic and experimental Australian music in a variety of ways.
We began in 2009 with the release of a free compilation, and since then we’ve released over thirty similar collections. Our releases are distributed through Bandcamp, Nina and Metalabel, with selected releases available on streaming platforms.
Individual artists' EPs and albums are released under the sublabel New Editions. A further series of artists' releases are available in our now-defunct Wood And Wire sub-label.
Our podcast series runs to over 100 episodes and includes interviews with, and performances by, artists such as The Necks, Penelope Trappes, Laurence Pike, Ela Stiles, Fia Fiell, Lawrence English, Rites Wild, Severed Heads and more. Although currently resting, you can listen to the New Weird Australia podcast archive on Apple Podcasts.
This Substack is the most direct way for us to share what New Weird Australia has been up to. We are also on Facebook, Instagram, Bluesky and YouTube.
If you’re making music, email links to info at newweirdaustralia dot com dot au for consideration. Please bear in mind that we’re a small operation, so whilst we may not be able to respond quickly, be assured that we listen to and consider all music submitted.
New Weird Australia is curated by Stu Buchanan.
New Weird Australia is produced on the sacred land of the Darug People. We acknowledge the Traditional Owners and Custodians of the lands on which we work and pay our respects to Indigenous Elders past and present. Sovereignty has never been ceded. It always was and always will be, Aboriginal land.
--
“The word weird has its root in the Anglo Saxon word, wyrd, which roughly boils down to the action of controlling one’s fate. To be weird, is to control one’s fate, rather than let society determine your place and fate. To be weird, is to be outside the normal aspects of society, yes, but to also collectively decide who you would like to be, not based on societal pressure.”
Wyrding the Self, Jonaya Kemper