Left image by Lissyelle // Right image by Danny Draxx 

Falls Festival returns after a couple of years in abeyance with New Year’s events in the Melbourne CBD and Byron Bay and a two-day stay in Fremantle Park in early January. In partnership with Smirnoff—who’re rolling out their new Seltzer Cocktail range in time for summer—Life Without Andy has taken a close look at the Falls lineup and nominated a number of must-see emerging artists.

Smirnoff is introducing two flavours to its Seltzer Cocktail range. There’s Spicy Margarita, which combines margarita flavours and a dash of chilli with Smirnoff vodka and sparkling water, and Watermelon Margarita, tastes sweet and fruity as its name implies.

Although headlined by international acts such as Arctic Monkeys, Jamie xx and Lil Nas X, as well as locals G Flip, DMA’S and Ocean Alley, the Falls lineup contains many artists who are either on the rise or making their debut on Australian soil.

Smirnoff’s classic range of seltzers, including the likes of Natural Lime, Mixed Berries, Passionfruit and Mango flavours, will be available at the 2022/23 Falls Festivals. In anticipation of Falls Festival’s return, it’s time to get acquainted with the lineup’s emerging highlights. 

Elkka

Elkka is a London-based DJ and producer who’s signed to Technicolour, a subsidiary of the taste-making UK label Ninja Tune (Floating Points, Black Country, New Road). Elkka is the moniker of Emma Kirby, who started out as a more conventional singer-songwriter, but deviated into electronic music half a decade ago. 

Elkka’s productions merge elements of percussive house music and pop-oriented electronica, while her vocals are at once dreamlike and melodically astute. In front of a festival crowd, if Elkka’s beats don’t get you, her injections of melody will.

Magdalena Bay

US duo Magdalena Bay make pop music for people who dig harmonic complexity but can’t say no to a compelling groove and finely sculpted chorus hook. The band’s founders, Mica Tenenbaum and Matthew Lewin, previously played in a prog rock group called Tabula Rasa.

Their debut full-length as Magdalena Bay, last year’s Mercurial World, is content with its synthpop orientation, but Tenenbaum and Lewin haven’t forsaken their penchant for key changes and sudden tempo jolts. In short, this pair can really play, but they don’t let that get in the way of their music’s root playfulness.

1300 

If you believe the official PR, Korean-Australian rap outfit 1300 “broke the internet” when their debut mixtape, Foreign Language, came out in April 2022. It’s a bold claim, but the fact the five-person collective had already sold out a show at Sydney’s Vivid LIVE and landed a slot on the Splendour in the Grass lineup prior to the tape’s release indicates they’d already bagged a captive audience. 

1300 (pronounced one three-hundred) is made up of producers Nerdie and pokari.sweat, rappers rako, goyo and DALI HART and melodic vocalist Nerdie. Be it hip hop, punk, pop or dance floor electronic music, anything goes in the 1300 universe, making them a uniquely satisfying addition to a festival lineup.

MAY-A 

It’s perfectly plausible for someone to regard themself a fan of MAY-A’s work without having heard any of the Sydney artist’s solo material. MAY-A rose to international attention in early 2022 courtesy of her lead vocal performance on ‘Say Nothing’, the lead single from Flume’s third album, Palaces. The 21-year-old MAY-A previously made an impression on listeners with her guest vocal appearance on Budjerah’s 2021 single ‘Talk’. 

But one month prior to the release of ‘Talk’, in August 2021, MAY-A released her debut EP, Don’t Kiss Ur Friends, via Sony Music Australia. Rather than the bassy electronic sounds of ‘Say Nothing’ or the soul/R&B pop of ‘Talk’, MAY-A’s own work hews closer to conventional singer-songwriter territory, baring her heart over guitars, bass and drums.

Moktar 

In a triple j feature article posted 12 months ago, Sydney DJ and producer Moktar was labelled “one of the most talked about names in Australia’s underground.” 12 months later, the statement remains true, but Moktar’s name is not just recognised on this side of the equator. 

The Egyptian-Australian artist contributed a track to a recent HeForShe edition of the ongoing femme culture compilation series, curated by Elkka. The song in question, ‘PEAR’, displays Moktar’s sample-heavy club and techno hybrid. The artist’s latest single ‘Immigrant’ makes a conspicuous nod to his Egyptian background, bringing Arabic instrumentation into the mix. Introduce your friends to Moktar at Falls. They’ll owe you big time.

RONA. 

Closure, Rona Glynn-McDonald’s debut EP under the stage name RONA., is one of the year’s standout local electronic releases. Across three songs and fourteen minutes, Glynn-McDonald, a Kaytetye woman and advocate for First Nations justice, displays a knack for melodic and often ebullient electronic music that sounds akin to the Avalanches camping out at Karlu Karlu. 

RONA.’s influences span Arnhem Land electronic act Waak Waak Djungi and dub techno Brainfeeder signee Ross From Friends. Meanwhile, along with Dameeeela, DJ pgz, and Soju Gang, RONA.’s rise is representative of an era of Blak excellence in contemporary electronic music. Catch RONA. at Falls Festival before she blows up.

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