Music Chats: Music Careers in Canberra

As a young city, there is an unspoken hunger and passion within the Canberra scene for building foundations and infrastructure needed to grow sustainable music careers. This month, we speak to a selection of prolific homegrown professionals who are working & running businesses full-time in the music industry and living in the ACT. We will discuss their journey, day-to-day work and how they made it happen, as well as picking their brains about what kind of careers are available within the music industry, not only as artists but also as industry workers.

PRESENTING:

Bryn Evans

Bryn Evans is a songwriter, producer and composer whose music has been featured in NFL,
NBA, College Football and Major League Baseball broadcasts and has been used in shows on
CBS, NBC, ABC, MTV, Bravo, CNN, Vice, History Chanel, E!, VH1, TLC, ABC Family and CMT.
He music can also be heard in numerous ads including for Go-Daddy and The Bronx Zoo. He
works out of studio at the Ainslie and Gorman Arts Centre and has collaborated with songwriters
and composers from around the world, as well as composed music for Enlighten Festival.

Sia Ahmad

With a rich and extensive background in Australian music, Sia Ahmad has been creating idiosyncratic sounds over the last decade and more. Using guitar, keyboard, voice and electronics, she works both as singer/composer and improviser, when performing solo as Shoeb Ahmad, as well as collaborative projects.⁠ Once of acclaimed electronic jazz outfit Tangents, a APRA AMCOS Art Music Award winner and Peggy Glanville-Hicks Address lecturer, Sia has performed and released a diverse range of original music around the globe while also working on sound design for dance/theatre, installation pieces and contemporary chamber composition. In 2023, Sia performed at Mona Foma, travelled to SXSW in Austin, Texas with the support of artsACT and released "double checks against the corner", her newest record as Shoeb Ahmad.

Kojo Ansah

Born in Ghana, raised in Canberra, Australia, Kojo is an ARIA nominated artist (Citizen Kay), and audio engineer. Beginning his professional music career in 2014, he had been recording, producing and mixing his own songs which quickly turned into doing the same for other artists and creatives. In 2018, Kojo established his own business as a freelance mix engineer & producer under Kay Ansah.

Bec Taylor

Bec spent a decade working professionally as a songwriter, singer, drummer and pianist and has toured extensively in pop, folk and punk bands. She has recorded 10 studio albums, and has received critical acclaim for her songwriting, performing and recordings. 

After completing a Masters of Teaching through Teach For Australia at Deakin University and teaching music in Canberra schools, Bec developed a unique music community of like-minded teachers and musicians that combines cutting-edge teaching practices and real-life music industry experience with the Bec Taylor School of Music.

Bec spearheaded punk band Glitoris in 2014, which went on to win the Best Artist (ACT) at the National Live Music Awards 2016, and has been nominated for the Best Hard Rock Act (national category) for 2017. Glitoris has since toured as main support for Regurgitator on their national tour, released an EP and full-length album, toured with Japanese greats Shonen Knife and has travelled to New Zealand with the Wellington Fringe Festival. She was also key song-writing and performing member of Canberra’s Fun Machine which grew to great heights, releasing three CDs and winning four Music ACT Music Industry Awards (MAMAs), including Best Artist, and Best Song for a Taylor-written track, ‘Ready for the Fight’.

Bec has been showcased at renowned national Big Sound Conference, as well as supported industry heavyweights such as Gotye, The Cat Empire, Frenzal Rhomb, Architecture In Helsinki and The Darkness. She has performed nationally at music venues and festivals around the country including Groovin’ The Moo, Woodford Folk Festival, Thrashville and the National Folk Festival and has performed in New York City as part of the CMJ festival. She is currently working on her second album with alt-folk band Bec Taylor and the Lyrebirds.