Happy 40th Triple J: Tassie’s great artists share stories of how the broadcaster shaped their career
Maddy Jane, Luca Brasi, Asta and Holy Holy are among the great local artists whose careers were kick started by Triple J. The youth broadcaster turns 40 this weekend. Read how the station has helped Tassie and its musicians >>
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YOU may have heard of Tasmanian pop queen and singer songwriter Asta, melodic punk rockers Luca Brasi and indie pop artist Maddy Jane.
That is at least in part because they were given their leg-up onto the national stage by Australia’s youth broadcaster, Triple J.
MADDY JANE
Bruny Island export Maddy Jane had her first ever song release, People, picked up by the national youth broadcaster in 2015.
But, she will never forget getting the Unearthed spot on the Falls Festival stage after her 2016 track Drown It Out earned her the title of Triple J feature artist.
“That just literally started things off for me ..... from that moment on, I was pretty much touring non stop,” she said.
“Getting that exposure from Triple J brings you into the community as well and I’m so thankful to feel a part of the Australian music scene.
“They’ve done so well in the programs over the years supporting local musicians and getting those people from rural areas out there.”
Maddy Jane’s debut album Not All Bad or Good was featured by the station for a week in May with the poignant issues it raised, such as on the song Femme, discussed in depth.
“[Triple J is] always at the forefront of amazing political stances that I admire.”
She covered Natasha Bedingfield’s Unwritten when she was selected for the station’s popular Like a Version segment in June.
LUCA BRASI’S TYLER RICHARDSON
Hobart-based melodic punk group Luca Brasi were about to release their second album By a Thread in 2014 when Triple J gave one of their tracks a spin.
A public relations company had been pushing hard to get one of their songs on radio, but the band didn’t quite understand the impact it would have.
“I remember getting this phone call from the agent saying ‘this song’s been picked up on the radio’ and we were like ‘cool, I don’t know what that means’,” front man Tyler Richardson said.
“Basically, it was exposure that we’d never experienced before and you can’t really get elsewhere.
“We were getting out there to people we never could [reach].”
The band was already touring when new fans began flocking to shows, which Richardson largely attributes to the radio play.
“Since then we’ve had a whole bunch of songs on there, we’ve played every festival under the sun in Australia and we’ve done things like Like a Version (Triple J’s covers segment). “That’s just been so massive for us and we do have a lot to be grateful for from that station and I know a lot of our peers and mates also do as well.”
After having their 2016 album If This Is All We’re Going To Be featured on Triple J for a week, the band performed the songs live for the first time in places they had never been to crowds who already knew all the words.
“It’s a pretty crazy feeling.”
ONE NIGHT STAND, ST HELENS
In 2018, Richardson’s home town on Tasmania’s East Coast played host to a Triple J event that would “go down in history”.
Triple J’s One Night Stand saw more than 20,000 music lovers flock to St Helens – a town with a population of just more than 2000 people.
It featured a line-up of artists who would typically fill arenas and headline the nations biggest festivals like Vance Joy and Peking Duk.
“That will go down in living history as the biggest thing that ever happened in St Helens,” Richardsons said.
Break O’Day mayor Mick Tucker said One Night Stand “came out of left field” and was something completely different for the council.
“Economically it gave us a shot in the arm, but the exposure, nobody could ever pay for that type of exposure,” he said.
“As far as I know, we still hold the record for the biggest ever One Night Stand held anywhere in Australia.
“Without having that radio station … allow little regional places like our community in Australia the opportunity to step on the world stage, in a lot of cases, it would never happen.
“It’s actually highlighted that small councils who Think Big can really do well.”
Mr Tucker said the impact the event had on the community could not be measured in dollars.
“It’s about mental health, good will, exposure and the sense of pride that came to our community.”
HOLY HOLY’S TIMOTHY CARROLL
Launceston’s award-winning singer songwriter Timothy Carroll of indie rock band Holy Holy said Triple J’s impact on the local music scene could not be overstated.
The band had just released its third album and was “riding high” and building momentum of its back, filling out their biggest venues to date on some “amazing tours” before COVID-19 entered and “pulled the rug out from the whole industry”.
But Carroll said Holy Holy would never have made it to that point without the support of Triple J.
“On one of our last tours we went to Queensland for the first time and we played Mackay, Townsville and Cannes,” he said.
“In all those cities, the shows were sold out and everyone knew all the words and were singing along.
“That’s really powerful and humbling for us and I think that’s a result of having been played on the radio for the past five years.”
Carroll also works in other areas in the music industry, including as a festival organiser.
“I think Australia punches above its weight in terms of its output of critically acclaimed musicians and I think Triple J is at the core of why that is.
“There’s something in the fact that it isn’t a commercial entity and is guided by a charter that really gives it a lot of power to provide opportunities for artists in Australia.
“I think it’s really well managed – the way that they have an eye to ensuring that they give opportunities to a breadth of genres and ensure they are representative of people from all over the country and gender diversity and all that.”
ASTA
Asta was launched into the limelight as a teenager when she won Triple J Radio’s Unearthed High competition with her song My Heart is on Fire in 2012.
Since then she had released hits like Dynamite in 2015 featuring rapper Allday and collaborated and toured with popular electronic groups like brother duo, Cosmo’s Midnight.
She featured on electronic disco and dance duo Lonely Disco’s new single Dust It Off last months and if now gearing up to release a single of her own and compile her debut album.
“It’s just weird to think where I would be if [Unearthed High] didn’t happen,” she said.
“[Triple J] is a huge part of where I am now and their support has been super fundamental to my career.”
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