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For The Love
Of Live Music
Artists featured - The Driver Era, Harry Styles, Lil Nas X, 5SOS, Phoebe Bridgers, Arctic Monkeys, Conan Gray, Rex Orange County, HAIM and The 1975
Photography by Sara Regan
Long Live The feeling of joy, pain, love and euphoria that can stem from a single song is something that has always influenced my decisions and life events. Furthermore, the art of lyricism and the ability to write a song that connects with listeners on a personal level has always stuck with me.
Growing up in a household constantly playing music by the likes of Springsteen, Rolling Stones, Taylor Swift, Harry Styles, Hall and Oates and so many more incredible artists, I found that music became a coping mechanism and form of expression in my creative work.
Music and the artists behind it dictate so much in our everyday lives that we tend to forge. According to a study taken by Medium, “82% of listeners look into the lyrics and the meaning behind it” (Hearing, L., 2018). Without good lyrics, fans wouldn’t be able to connect to an artist on such a level that they do today, nor would the visual aspects of an artist’s campaign be the same.
All concepts, colour palettes, and graphic and photography inspiration would come from photographs and campaigns of a musician and their music. This is where my love for music photography came to life.
The relationship between music and photography has been existing for longer than most people think. Beginning in the 1800s, music back then was associated with photographs of the artists behind it, illustrating the lyrics into a campaign for the artist. This has been growing ever since, with creative campaigns around musicians being more important than ever in 1920s Hollywood, being intimate with the artist and capturing an honest yet flawless representation of the subject.
Since the age of 6 years old, I would bring my little digital camera to every concert and take photos of the artist - I would imagine myself as one of the photographers in the pit, up close and personal capturing every moment the artist would have with their fans. Now, at 19 years of age, being able to do this is more than a dream come true and more special than ever. Live music is an experience that brings escape to those who live ordinary lives, happiness when they see their favourite artist on the stage and hear that guitar riff to their favourite song. It brings thousands of people with the same love together where they are free to express themselves without judgement. Live Music will always and forever be the most special celebration in life.
Live Music
Creative Direction, Styling and Photography by Sara Regan - HMUA by Jac Trika - Assisted by Austin Gathogleous and Hayley Turner
Forest Claudette
Ever feel like your playlist that’s supposed to cheer you up ends up filling with bland songs that leave a void in your heart? Just me? Well regardless, this new release will ensure this never happens again. Despite not being much of an R&B fan, this carefree project by Forest Claudette offers a collection of music that feels like a surrounding of kaleidoscope colours whilst shimmering underneath the bright sun. The Naarm/Melbourne-based artist released their sophomore record ‘Everything Was Green’ which is quite a step up from their debut release. On the journey to find their rhythm, the EP provides a warmth that absorbs you into this world and seamlessly transitions between each song. Feeling more complete, and amplified whilst highlighting the playfulness and emotional sincerity of Claudette, this is the perfect recipe for an effortless and rather short but sweet EP. Having listened to the EP since its release in June, I can guarantee that the songs will not only ever get old, but never leave your head. ‘Two Years’ and ‘Pool Boy’ are ones in particular that allow you to lose yourself in the funk beat of the track along with the serenading vocals from Claudette themselves. On the other hand, ‘Violence’ is also a slower and more meaningful song, raising the issue of police brutality amongst people of colour. Claudette’s voice whilst beautiful, doesn’t forget to remind us of the dominant lyrics throughout the song “You seen the riots, Stuck to your guns, Your grass still green, So why are we crying”. Now nominated for 2x ARIA awards, ‘Everything Was Green’ is a notable mark in Claudette’s career that will only go upwards from here.
Mackenzie Porter Live at Rod Laver Arena
Photography by Sara Regan
Introducing
Heleina Zara Sometimes it can be overwhelming to figure out the next artist you should be adding to your playlist, but I’m going to make it a little easier for you. Introducing Heleina Zara, the fresh-faced Australian-Filipina artist who landed on the music scene this year and recently signed to Island Records Australia. It’s hard to make a break as an artist but Heleina has nailed it already making appearances on tours with some of the world’s biggest up-and-coming artists including Peach PRC, Gretta Ray, Wallice and Carla Wehbe. This year, Zara has released four hit singles including ‘Alphabet Soup’, ‘Convenience Store’, ‘Cardboard’ and ‘Wait’. The honest and intimate lyrics by Zara have grown a global fanbase that appreciates her talent and bubbly personality. Writing music since 7 years of age, the artist has developed quite the skill to articulate her life into meaningful lyrics, moving through countries and finding her true self, Zara has learned to use music as an effective and positive coping mechanism. I was lucky enough to spend the day with her on her supporting leg with international superstar Wallice and her fans are more than correct. The warmth and joy Zara feels when she walks into the room is just amazing. Seeing her do her soundcheck, perfecting her performance in her favourite look - overalls and Converse, hanging out with band members and meeting her friends - it was truly a night to remember. Not to forget her fans as well! The die-hard supporters were all around the block, listening from the outside, travelling hours on a train and lining up to get close to Zara on stage, it just shows the impact of her lyrics and presence on all people - fan or not.
Photography by Sara Regan
Creative Direction, Styling and Photography by Sara Regan - HMUA by Jac Trika - Assisted by Austin Gathogleous
A Night With
DACY A Thursday night in Fitzroy is always a good time, but the night of October 12 was something even more special for DACY and their fans. Having released their debut EP just under a week ago, they then held their biggest headline show at the Workers Club. Entering the venue, a wave of infectious energy took over me, as the excitement leading up to DACY’s performance grew. Jack and Ruby were mingling but I couldn’t help but see a glow in their presence with the pure joy happening this evening. There wasn’t a moment of silence in the room, full of laughter, screams and chatter, the family, friends and fans of DACY couldn’t be prouder of the musos. As they graced the stage, the crowd roars and you couldn’t wipe the smile off Jack and Ruby’s face, it was so special. Delivering a set of their incredible new releases like ‘Don’t You Think It’s Funny’ and ‘Paper Planes’ alongside ‘Zoe’. Throughout their performances you couldn’t help but notice the collective awe the audience felt watching DACY perform. Just like Ed Sheeran, building every song instrument by instrument and giving it their all, you knew that DACY weren’t mucking around. Alongside their incredible discography, the duo got the crowd pumping with their flawless mashups. Including the hits ‘Candy Shop’, ‘Gold Digger’ and ‘Maria Maria’. One special moment neared the end of the set when Jack mentions that he used to close his eyes during sets and imagine that the crowd would sing along with him, tonight that dream came true. The ‘Workers Choir’ delivered with a truly special moment for Jack and Ruby that I was truly honoured to be apart of.
Mackenzie Porter Live at Rod Laver Arena
GFlip Live at The Forum
Photography by Sara Regan
Caisha Sprout The fierce songwriter based in Melbourne, Australia celebrates her Indian Heritage in combination with her love for nature and creativity. The musician deeply rooted in blues, soul and funk, Sprout adopts the use of guitar, piano and vocals throughout her music to connect with her soul-searching lyrics. Recently, the singer/songwriter released her latest single ‘Shake!’ - “Inspired by a dream she had; turning that dream into a soundscape where she felt her soul leave her body and fly through the universe and land in a different place. A song about change and new beginnings and mindsets and seeing your surroundings from a completely new perspective” says Caisha Sprout. “Rich in tone and warmth, Sprout’s natural voice dynamics shine” (ibid). Supporting the breathtaking vocals are powerful instrumentals with a rich and warm production that truly shows Sprout’s incredible sound. With over 60,000 streams on previous singles ‘WHEN I GET OLDER’ and ‘Settled On My Eyes’, Caisha definitely knows how to make a hit song. ‘Shake!’ in particular is a project she is truly excited about, coming together as naturally as the dream itself, Sprout explains how “Shake! came together as naturally as the creative chemistry between myself, Muiños and the band in the studio” as soon as they started writing “on the guitar, I knew that it was something I wanted to record” with a “strong drum groove” and a vibrant heartbeat, the band and Caisha could feel the song coming to life.
Creative Direction, Styling and Photography by Sara Regan - HMUA by Jac Trika - Assisted by Austin Gathogleous and Hayley Turner
Creative Direction, Styling and Photography by Sara Regan - HMUA by Jac Trika - Assisted by Austin Gathogleous
Pop’s New
Powerhouse Charlotte was only 15 when she began her songwriting journey. After having made a pact with herself that she would “release her first song” by then ‘Dramatic’ came out in 2019 - a little experiment to see how her close peers would receive the single but little did she know it would transform into her career. Now at 19 years of age, Dirckze reflected on how she spent her time during lockdowns writing and churning out music. Like most of us during the pandemic, Charlotte fell into the rabbit hole of DracoTok which inspired her biggest single ‘Broken Boys’. The overnight sensation spiked her Spotify listens from 14 listeners to 20k streams within the first 24 hours of release, leading to over 400k streams overall on the song. Shortly after, she released her debut EP ‘Facade’ which was very “close and meaningful to (her) as the collection of songs tells my story of growth and selfdiscovery as an artist” she reflects. Recently, Dirckze released her single ‘Strawberries’. As someone who values authenticity, Charlotte shares how she’s always an “open book” but when she came across a certain “someone (she) grew really strong feelings for” she blames her inner Capricorn for “being slow” at processing strong feelings, especially ones she’s never felt before. “Pushing away the inevitable” wasn’t an option for Dirckze as she churned out the song “Start to finish within an hour”. The song is rather “divinely guided”, “which brought this song to life” she reflects. ‘Strawberries’ has a rather interesting visual story that I was asked to be a part of with Creative Director and Stylist Elleni Yates. “I met Elleni on the shoot for ‘Chaos’ and I could trust her to take in my sporadic verbal bursts of ideas and execute them into a visual story” she laughs “Usually I tend to take over the creative direction aspect of my campaigns, but it was really enjoyable watching Elleni and (myself) bring this to life”.
Creative Direction, Styling and Photography by Sara Regan