Here are our picks for the absolute best wine bars in Sydney’s CBD, Surry Hills, the inner west and beyond.

Dear Saint Eloise – Potts Point

Four hundred bottles! My god. From Australia and beyond. Dear Saint Eloise is a sultry, sexy and chic wine bar in the Cross. The food is also both interesting and incredible. Highly recommend.

Shop 5 29 Orwell Street Potts Point

Caravin – Potts Point

Another wine bar in the Cross, Caravin boasts only 24 seats and a constantly-changing selection of 50 bottles. It’s French themed, so you know it’s elegant.

Shop 2 9 Ward Avenue Potts Point

Paski Vineria Popolare – Darlinghurst

Buongiorno… Europa! This Italian wine bar holds more than 450 bottles by small-scale producers. Downstairs is a quaint little bottle shop with cured meats and upstairs is the restaurant with a la carte offerings.

239 Oxford Street Darlinghurst

Love, Tilly Devine – Darlinghurst

Tucked down a Darlinghurst laneway, this wine bar may not be easy to find, but it is a classic. The name comes from a beloved brothel madam from the 1920s underworld, so it’s worth going just for that.

91 Crown Ln, Darlinghurst

Cafe Fredas – Darlinghurst

Far North Hope Street Radio… Freda’s is actually quite nice and not too terrible when you can score an al fresco table. The wine list is pretty good but what’s better is the people watching!

191-195 Oxford St, Darlinghurst

The Old Fitzroy Hotel – Woolloomooloo

Yes, it’s a pub, not a wine bar, but we’d be remiss to not include the Old Fitz. It’s got a wonderful wine list and a fabulous menu. All the good things of a good wine bar, but in a pub. Adore!

129 Dowling St, Woolloomooloo

P & V – Paddington

Can we call it a wine bar? Well… yes :) P & V are wine merchants who let you buy your wines at bottle shop prices and sit right there in their cute little courtyard to drink them. Fabulous.

268 Oxford Street Paddington

10 William – Paddington

Tight, cosy, loud. This little Italian-style wine bar has an extensive wine list and a truly fine, seasonally rotating menu to go with. Sit up at the bar for an elegant and/or rambunctious date.

10 William Street Paddington

Chez Crix – Surry Hills

Upstairs at the dingy skater haven pub is a romantic and light-filled wine bar. It’s nice in a  bare and minimalistic way, but their wine selection is pretty damn good. Love the contrast in vibe betwixt upstairs and down.

106 Fitzroy St, Surry Hills

Bar Copains – Surry Hills

Wine bar for wine lovers, the name “copains” is the French word for friends and with its outdoor seating it’s a lovely afternoon stop in summer with your buddies.

67 Albion St, Surry Hills

Poly – Surry Hills

Situated in the chicness that is the Paramount House Hotel, if you’re looking for swank after-work wines then Poly would be the palace for it. They even have a delicious happy hour with discounted food items, cocktails, and what have you else. Very nice.

74-76 Commonwealth Street, Surry Hills

Fontana  – Redfern

This Italian bar and restaurant may not be a “wine bar” per se, but their wine list is exquisite, curated with an emphasis on natural wines from Australia and abroad. The food is delicious, also.

133A Redfern St, Redfern

No 92 – Glebe

More restaurant with great wine than wine bar itself, this European-style locale is the picture of pure millennial elegance (Victorian core, stark white walls, light-filled).

92 Glebe Point Rd, Glebe

Famelia – Newtown

This gorgeous hole-in-the-wall is a bottleshop and wine bar, with bar seating and yummy snacks. Twelve wines are poured each night from female winemakers, the selection curated by owner-sommelier Amelia Birch. Women in STEM!

55 Enmore Road, Newtown

Odd Culture – Newtown

Relatively new, Odd Culture is a swank natural wine bar, its sunny outdoor tables perfect for a quick stop in for an afternoon vini in the summertime. At night, the energy is moody and electric.

266 King St, Newtown

Ante – Newtown

Not technically a wine bar but we love it. This restaurant and sake bar is beautifully designed. The open kitchen ensures the ambiance is a ten, but it’s also sultry, dimly lit, sexy. Walk-ins only!

146 King St, Newtown

Bar Louise – Enmore

This Spanish-inspired wine bar boasts delicious wine, as well as cosy outdoor seating for people-watching, or romantic peach-hued light indoors for intimate occasions. In addition to great wine and cocktails, Bar Louise has wonderful and fun food. Bread, gildas, olives… what more could you ask for?

135 Enmore Rd, Enmore

Where’s Nick? – Marrickville

Marrickville’s favourite natural wine bar with more than 150 bottles selected on the basis of how natural they truly are!

236 Marrickville Road Marrickville 2204

AG Bar & Restaurant – Penrith

We even have you covered out west. This boutique wine bar is decked out in plush upholstery, decor just as exquisite as their wine and food options.

14-16 Woodriff Street, Penrith

Monopole – Sydney CBD

If you’re looking for city spots, this Italian bistro has a curated wine selection featuring Italy and France’s finest, with a few Australian makers in for good measure.

16-20 Curtin Place Sydney

Arielle Richards is the multimedia reporter at VICE Australia, follow her on Instagram and TikTok.

The post The VICE Guide to the Best Wine Bars in Sydney appeared first on VICE.

Here are VICE’s picks for the best Filipino food in Sydney

1. Mama Lor Restaurant & Bakery – Rooty Hill

Mama Lor prides itself on inviting customers into “the warmth of a Filipino home”, and that’s exactly what you get when you walk in. Cosy greetings and the smell of BBQ pork in the air. Try the lechon kawali with rice, snack on a bowl of chicken skin in between and wash it all down with calamansi juice.

Check out their front-of-house bakery if you’re on the go. The Spanish bread is a staple.

Shop 5/39-45 Rooty Hill Rd N, Rooty Hill NSW 2766

2. Smoky Cravings – Parramatta, Tempe & Campsie

Smoky Cravings is the cheap, authentic Filipino eatery of your dreams.

You can get pork, chicken or lamb BBQ skewers for $4 each, or in a combo with chips or adobo rice, plain soup and a drink for $21. They also have an authentic Filipino street food menu, where you can try dishes like atay (bbq pork liver), bituka (BBQ pork intestine) or balut (fertilised duck egg) for $4 each.

The menu tells you that their food is “addictive” and they’ve never i gopt itbeen more right.

Parramatta: Shop 1/20 Victoria Rd, Parramatta NSW 2150
Tempe: 884 Princes Hwy, Tempe NSW 2044
Campsie: 325 Beamish St, Campsie NSW 2194

3. Sydney Cebu Lechon – Blacktown

Sydney Cebu Lechon carries that restaurant name for a reason. Operating for around 30 years, this family-owned Pinoy restaurant prides itself on a Filipino delicacy: whole roasted suckling pig. Paired with rice and mang tomas sauce, you’ll 100% be leaving with one or two buttons undone on your pants.

4 Kerry Rd, Blacktown NSW 2148

4. Mrs Ube Cakes – Marayong

It’s not a Pinoy food list without hitting a sweet spot. And nothing says sweet more than ube.

Mrs Ube Cakes is the one-stop shop for sugary and indulgent Filipino desserts, including pandan, ube, mango, yema (sweet custard)- flavoured cakes, and leche flan donuts. It’s almost criminal how good this place is.

If a bite-sized takeaway piece isn’t enough to satiate your cravings, they take orders for bigger cakes and might even deliver to you (at an added cost).

Shop 1/44 Railway Road, Marayong 2148

5. Starlight Bakery, Doonside

You know how random towns always have a bakery that declares itself as the “world’s best”? Well, here’s a Filipino bakery that actually deserves that title.

The Starlight Bakery’s speciality is pandesal, a soft and fluffy Filipino bread roll that can be used in sweet or savoury dishes. You’ll also find rows of ensaymada, both traditional and ube-infused, Spanish bread, bicho-bicho (Filipino donuts), egg pie, mud cakes, and so much more.

Trust us when we say you won’t find a Filipino bakery like this anywhere in Sydney.

15 Hill End Rd, Doonside NSW 2767

6. Sizzling Fillo – Lidcombe

Just an arms-length away from Lidcombe Station, you can be treated to one of many Filipino restaurants offering boodle fights and karaoke in the same place.

Boodle fights are valued at $35pp here, which is more than generous given the servings, staff service and restaurant atmosphere. Many people have said that stepping into Sizzling Fillo feels like stepping into a local, discrete, family-owned restaurant in the Philippines – vibrant, homely and filled with the aroma of sizzling sisig.

36 Railway St, Lidcombe NSW 2141

7. Mate Burger – Mount Druitt

The Double Ensaymada Burger. That’s all I will say. Succulent beef patty, sriracha maple bacon, rocket and kraft cheese are all sandwiched between a Filipino cheese bun and topped with even more grated cheese. It’s the real fucking deal.

If loaded fries are more your speed, the Chicken Adobo loaded fries are insane. Finish your meal with some biscoff halo-halo, and you’ll probably be ready for a nap.

1 Mount Druitt Rd, Mount Druitt NSW 2770

8. Kasalo Filipino Cuisine –  Lidcombe

Kasalo’s restaurant slogan is “paradise on your plate”, and for very, very good reason.

This Filipino eatery is another option for your boodle fight-karaoke experience. But, if you’re after a hearty feed, the classic crispy pata (pork leg), deep-fried pork knuckle, or chicken adobo are delicious staples to gravitate towards.

42 Railway Parade, Granville NSW 2142

9. Fiesta Avenue – Blacktown

If you’re after the best bowl of kare kare in the city, trust and believe it exists within the four walls of the Fiesta Avenue kitchen.

The oxtail and peanut sauce mix feels like a warm hug. It’s hot, full of flavour, and perfectly balances sweet and savoury. Get in when they have live music for the authentic Filipino eatery experience.

14 Main St, Blacktown NSW 2148

10. Tita’s Cakes – Rooty Hill

Tita’s Cakes describes their varied collection of Filipino desserts as “sweet pillows of delight”, which couldn’t be more accurate.

The list of decadent Filipino goodies on offer here seems almost endless – you’re definitely going to struggle to pick just one. But if you’re too indecisive, and would rather try them all, you actually can. Get yourself a variety box and pick from an assortment of flan, cheesecakes, floats, and cupcakes.

The Banana Turon Cupcake, Halo Halo Cheesecake and Mango Float are a must-try.

6/2 Rooty Hill Rd S, Rooty Hill NSW 2766

The post The VICE Guide to The Best Filipino Restaurants in Sydney appeared first on VICE.

Members of different ballroom houses across Australasia glue down lashes, tighten corsets, and wipe the sweat off the brow of their siblings before they grace the stage at The Grand Silky Ball to walk, vogue, or sell realness, body or face to the judges.

Over the muffled mics of the MCs and the sound of the iconic ballroom cymbal crash over the speakers, mothers pep talk their children, boosting their spirits if they were chopped or giving them their flowers if they got their 10s. Siblings laugh and celebrate, relishing in a beautiful, formative moment, in a space that feels safe, nourishes them, and allows them to be themselves. Others look down from the Walkers Room balcony, in awe as they watch the scene that birthed them come to life.

“Love is chosen family,” Julai, the father of the House of Diesel, told VICE.

It’s a sentiment that stuck with me the whole night as I watched house members passionately and belligerently holler from the crowd whenever someone in their house took to the stage. House chants and screams translate into words of support and deep-rooted love that lets their sibling or child know “I got you”.

This is chosen family. This is ballroom.

Celebrating 5 years of one of Australia’s most prominent houses, The House of Silky, as part of Vivid Sydney, multidisciplinary artist and photographer Puti Violet captured some of the awe-inspiring moments of the night.

Adele is the Junior Writer & Producer for VICE AU/NZ. Follow her on Instagram and Twitter.

Follow Puti Violet on Instagram for more of her work.

The post Photos of Celebration and Community at The Grand Silky Ball appeared first on VICE.

Where to get lunch in Sydney CBD, Haymarket and Surry Hills

1. Yok Yor – Haymarket

This tiny central Thai restaurant has easily the best lunch in Sydney in the area and it is their signature boat noodles. The chef used to have a roadside stall in Thailand making the classic Bangkok street food and he is clearly a master. The flavour is indescribable – smokey, sweet and rich with sliced beef or pork, beef or pork balls, morning glory, and lots of white pepper. Not spicy like Northern Thai food. One of Sydney’s best lunch restaurants.

Entrance from Campbell Street side, Shop G06/323 Castlereagh St, Haymarket

2. Enjoy Mie – Sydney CBD

The best Indonesian bakmi in Sydney (a dish of wheat noodles, originally brought to Java by immigrants from Southern China) and there for one of the best lunch spots in Sydney CBD. The noodles themselves are chewy, glossy and wavy, and come with a range of pork toppings – unusual, given Java’s mostly muslim population, but a hark back to the noodles place of origin. My favourite is the mie (noodle) babi (pork) matah (a delicious onion and lime leaf sambal). You get both red BBQ pork AND crispy roast pork belly.

375 Sussex St, Sydney (they have a second outpost – a smaller food court stall – in Chatswood.)

3. Garam Merica Sydney Original Warteg Nasi Bungkus Australia – Sydney CBD

The name is a mouthful, for sure. A delicious one. Nasi bungkus translates to ‘rice wrapped’ and said rice comes with a billion curry and stir fry options that are already ready in front of you, making it a perfect lunch break lunch place in Sydney.

Pick your meat and veg from the bain marie display and they’ll parcel it up to take away or eat in. Either way, you want it wrapped to so the flavours al melt together. this chain is especially known for its black baby squid curry. Order it. Find it hidden on the ground floor of an office building behind an Indonesian church outpost.

Wesley Mission Building, 220 Pitt St, Sydney

4. Medan Ciak Indonesian Restaurant – Sydney CBD

Similar deal: an epic bain marie selection, but they have an a la carte menu too. Nasi goreng, mie goreng, fried and grilled meats – all the hits.

10/339 Sussex St, Sydney

5. YOD – Haymarket

This all-day restaurant is a great place for lunch in Sydney if you’re hungover and a raw seafood cleanse. YOD does Isaan Thai cuisine from the north as well as central Thai seafood-heavy food. If you want a treat, get a blood cockles (named for the colour) with dipping sauce – one of the best shellfish to ever come out of the ocean – and their speciality: steamed squid stuffed with squid eggs. It is amazing.

462/40-54 Campbell St, Haymarket

6. Mother Chu’s Taiwanese Gourmet – Haymarket

A Sydney Chinatown staple, Mother Chu’s has been around for more than 20 years and still has some of the best Taiwanese breakfast and lunch menus and one of the best, freshest you tiao (doughnut stick) in Sydney.

1/86-88 Dixon St, Haymarket

7. Caysorn Thai Restaurant – Haymarket

Up an escalator in the heart of Haymarket is one of Australia’s only Southern Thai restaurants.

All the food at Caysorn is mindblowing but you have to come here for the kanom jeen – they have a whole menu of them. Kanom jeen is an iconic Southern Thai dish of rice noodles – traditionally the rice flour mixture was fermented to turn slightly sour before being boiled then extruded into noodles – with some sort of curry gravy. It can be with or without coconut, and the protein varies from fish to crab to prawns to chicken, blended with aromatics to create a thick, slippery, luscious sauce. All are $16.90 (or $18.90 if you opt for crab) and come with unlimited toppings including cucumber, bean sprouts, carrot, cabbage, green beans and pickled mustard leaves – just like in Thailand.

Prince Centre Building, Level 1/8 Quay St, Haymarket

8. Ikhwan Café – Pyrmont

Malaysian food in Sydney once meant mostly mamak and hawker classics like roti canai and char kuey teow, but Ikhwan Café does Malay-Muslim cuisines with an all-halal menu and an endless variety of nasi goreng (fried rice), nasi lemak, mee or noodles fried, in soups or coated in shrimp paste, plus the classic rotis, curries and sambal dishes.

But the real winner in the best Sydney lunch comp is the ‘pay as you wish’ Sunday buffet from 11am-8pm. Perhaps the best Sunday lunch place in Sydney.

Shop 2/1/27 Murray St, Pyrmont

9. Don Don City – Sydney CBD

Go into the weird alcove and up the elevator, don’t be scared. Cold noodles, DIY rice balls, bossam (pork belly) and jokbal (pork jowl) await. Banchan selection is lit too. So fun.

1/636-638 George St, Sydney

10. Otogo – Ultimo

One of Sydney’s best cheap eats in the area. First, there are their dozen or so signature onigiris with a few specials on rotation starting from $3. Then there’s soba noodles in a cup – the 63-degree egg version will set you back $10 while the most expensive, topped with prawn tempura, comes in at $13.

Portions are sensible and filling and there’s a variety of self-serve sauces and toppings to make it your own, as well as soft serves, karaage and drinks from $3.30.

40 Bay Street, Ultimo 2007

11. Rose Borek – Roseberry

The best and cutest Turkish breakfast and lunch spot in the area. The owners are honeys and the breakfast sets (served all day) are beautiful. Big silver platters with a borek of your choice, an egg option (for example, scrambled with sujuk sausage), some cucumber and tomato, sliced cheese and a pot of cream with honey and soft, sweet bread to dip in, plus a coffee or tea. Sit in the window and watch the world pass, or, they also have a chess set, so go with a friend and hang out.

399 Gardeners Rd, Rosebery

12. Prempree Grocery – Haymarket

Not a Sydney lunch restaurant, a grocery! With a huge selection of readymade, prepacked lunches and treats delivered daily. Seriously the selection is insane, half the dishes you won’t find at most Thai restaurants in Australia. And everything is maximum $14 for a full meal.

640/40 Campbell St, Haymarket

13. AP Bakery – Surry Hills

I know I know, but hear me out. The fancy touristy rooftop bakery is always crazy busy and crazy expensive, but a $8 perfect sesame bagel with butter AND cream cheese is a pretty ideal quick lunch. They have pretty good $14 pies too, if you can afford it.

L2/80 Commonwealth St, Surry Hills

14. South Dowling Sandwiches – Darlinghurst

Another one that literally everyone knows about but those mega schnitzel sandwiches smothered in herb mayo and packed with literally every vegetable known to man are one of the only sandwiches I’ll ever pay for – other than banh mi. They have two other locations around the city now too.

377 S Dowling St, Darlinghurst

15. Una’s – Darlinghurst

While we’re on the topic of schnitzel and Darlinghurst, come to this Sydney institution for the biggest schnitzel of your life with rich, creamy mushroom jager sauce and a tall, frothy wheat beer. Sit outside in the sun. Heaven.

340 Victoria St, Darlinghurst

16. Juan Bowl and Tea – Redfern

Bowl and tea. They mean it. They tiny kitchen serves beautifully crafted rice bowls – there are only four or five on the menu – and premium Japanese teas. They do rice bowls topped with steamed chicken, unagi, beef tataki, pork tonkatsu and usually a raw seafood special. But this is serious, cheffy business, yet still super affordable. Such a treat, a gorgeous dining experience, perfect for a birthday lunch or special occasion.

94A Pitt St, Redfern

17. Pondok Bunyung – Kensington

More epic Indonesian bain marie food, specifically padang cuisine from West Java. The smoky, tender rendang is off the charts delicious. As is the chilli chicken and jackfruit curry.

140 Anzac Parade, Kensington

18. Ria Sari Padang Take Away – Randwick

Aaaaaaand another. This one is more about the vibes, the incredible, untouched vintage decor, sky blue walls and lace curtains. Owned and run by a husband and wife opposite the hospital, it’s a quick in-and-out sort of place but I implore you to sit down with your plate of rice and curries and one of their famous corn fritters. One of the best people-watching experiences you can have in the area.

142 Barker St, Randwick

19. Nua Lao Thai – Haymarket

This Laos restaurant has some of Sydney’s spiciest food but also the best lunch in Sydney. When I brought my boyfriend there for the first time he said their signature crispy rice and fermented pork salad was the “most delicious thing he’s ever eaten”. Facts. But do not skip the larb menu. They have every variety with “original” or “bitter” sauce. My favourite is the raw beef with tripe. If you’re boring you can also order pad Thai.

203/209 Thomas St, Haymarket

20. Cairo Takeaway – Newtown

An institution, a cult classic, where all the cool inner-west cuties hang out. Everyone looooves to say “have you heard of Cairo? You gotta go!” but it is no longer a hidden gem, if it ever was, those Egyptian pitas are popular – and rightly so.

81 Enmore Rd, Newtown

21. Azuki Bakery – Newtown

An adorable Japanese bakery with real Japanese-European lunch and snack options. No sushi or rice bowls, but yaki udon buns, and my favourite, their legendary mentaiko baguette. Literally just mentaiko (pollock roe) mixed with Japanese mayo and smeared all over the innards of a fresh baguette. The best Sydney lunch ever.

3/63/71 Enmore Rd, Newtown

22. Malibu – Surry Hills

The shop may be tiny, a mere hole in the wall dwarfed by the surrounding skyscrapers, but the sandwiches are fucking enormous. As are the personalities. I won’t tell you any more, you just have to come and experience it for yourself.

62 Foster St, Surry Hills

23. Khao Soi – Sydney CBD

My friend who’s a food writer and knows Sydney dining better than anyone (no seriously) sent me a voice note about this place that went something like this: “The owner is Thai [the the northern part where khao soi curry noodle soups are from] but he wanted to open a restaurant that was like the restaurants you get at the bottom of Japanese office buildings, but only serve khao soi and call it ‘Khao Soi’”.

The result is a modern Japanese kinda vibe…???? But exclusively khao soi on the menu with a variety of protein toppings including traditional grilled chicken or prawns, as well as Japanese-inspired tonkatsu and grilled mackerel. Fucking amazing.

Level 2/73-75 Liverpool St, Sydney

24. Gumshara Ramen – Haymarket

This is Sydney’s most famous ramen restaurant that was reborn from the ashes after a devastating closure to everyone’s relief. There is literally always a line, day or night, so I recommend coming at 11:30 right when they open for lunch service.

9 Kimber Ln, Haymarket

25. Spicy Joint Chinatown – Haymarket

This Sichuan chain has restaurants in four Sydney locations but this one is probably the most popular and busy and it’s no surprise because it has some of the best Sichaun food in the country. It’s my second favourite cuisine of all time so trust me. I simply don’t know how they make everything taste so fucking good. Do not go if you’re not gonna order the cold noodles with chicken and egg. Their signature fish hot pots and cold jellyfish salads are also must-orders.

Level 4/25-29 Dixon St, Haymarket

26. Pastizzi Cafe – Newtown

A Maltese-Italian institution that has been on King Street for decades. Come for the pastizzi, obviously, the flakey Maltese pastries with a huge array of filling from spinach and ricotta to beef and ale. Iconic.

109 King St, Newtown

27. Great Aunty Three – Enmore

A short trot down the road and you’ll reach one of the most gorgeous Vietnamese spots in the area with colourful plates of food and some of the biggest banh mi you’ve ever seen. Made aunty happy and finish all your food.

115 Enmore Rd, Enmore

28. Kabul Social – Sydney CBD

Amazing Afghan food in the city!!!!! Opened by a group of women refugees from Afghanistan, this place has taken off. They have other outlets around the city but this is probably the best Afghan lunch in Sydney CBD. It runs in collaboration with Plate It Forward so for every meal sold at Kabul Social we donate two meals to those in need. One in Sydney and one in Afghanistan.

Shop J15/60 Margaret St, Sydney

29. Brazilian Flame – Zetland

Meat. On. Swords. Huge portions for men. Men love it. Go here if you’re a man (or just really love luscious, smokey, tender grilled meats).

565 Botany Rd, Zetland

30. Makoto Sushi Train – Sydney CBD

It couldn’t be a list of 30 Sydney lunch restaurants without a sushi train. This one in World Square is so fun and fresh, I highly recommend taking yourself on a date there.

119 Liverpool St, Sydney

Aleksandra Bliszczyk is the Deputy Editor of VICE Australia. Follow her on Instagram.

The post The VICE Guide to the Best Lunch Spots in Sydney appeared first on VICE.

Headlined by Ecco2k and Yung Lean [performing under his side project, jonatonleandoer96] and supported by Japanese pop-star Aya Gloomy, Swedish DJ duo oqboqo and Scandinavian Star, and Frederik Valentin, who backed Leandoer’s crooning ballads – the all-star esoteric lineup was conjured by the collective dreams of every drainer, emo, hype beast, sad boy and fashion girl across the eastern seaboard.

The show was touching. Surrounded by stinky boys seemingly brought to tears by Ecco2k’s emotive pixie singing, there was howling, impassioned chorus from all sides, an adorable emo couple in front of us with their arms thrown about one another’s shoulders, swaying and jumping, kids in their finest Bape and suits with ties and shaggy, long hair.

But who are Sydney’s drainers? VICE was there to meet them, photograph them, and ask them the important questions: what’s your name and occupation?

NAME: @oxiiboi

OCCUPATION: “Prostitute and I sell clothes”

NAME: @wwabisabi01

OCCUPATION: “Studying finance and I’m about to launch ‘trashgal’”

NAME: @carousel.iii

OCCUPATION: “I work at a banh mi shop”

NAME: @ecilaeel, @prettyappa

OCCUPATION: “graphic designer/mum”, “web dev”

NAME: @jemi.gale, @sugarmamaxoxoxo

OCCUPATION: “popstar”, “food science… biggest blueberry inventor”

NAME: @ennar1a, @zacm00r3

OCCUPATION: “musician”, “boyfriend/ girlfriend’s manager”

NAME: j.starr.io

OCCUPATION: “opshop/ artist”

NAME: @kiren.cameron

OCCUPATION: “computer science student”

NAME: @timsfantasyworld, @cheriej

OCCUPATION: “software engineer”, “lawyer”

NAME: @xmuchuan

OCCUPATION: “marketing”

NAME: @sh4nnych

OCCUPATION: “student”

NAME: @oundsayoybay

OCCUPATION: “music student :’(“

NAME: @_augustin

OCCUPATION: “skate shop employee/ I produce music”

NAME: @g0thangelgirl, @a.person.called.caitlyn

OCCUPATION: “retired body piercer”, “body piercer”

NAME: @kurt____johnson, @gabrealmarial

OCCUPATION: “part-time fgg*”, “???”

NAME: @rari.ferrarri, @kindergartendj

OCCUPATION: rari FERRARRI <3, kindergarten DJ

Arielle Richards is the multimedia reporter at VICE Australia, follow her on Instagram and TikTok.

The post All the Best Outfits at Ecco2k and Yung Lean’s Sydney Show appeared first on VICE.

So when I came across the thrashing 80s pop-rock song “You’re Not The One” by an enigma (was it a band? Was it a person?) only known to me as Sky Ferreira, my world shifted. Underneath the dirt and rubble was a girl with bleached blonde hair, an iconic pout, and a sound that was full of angst, rage, desire and heartache.

Sky Ferreira’s Night Time, My Time is easily one of the most iconic pop albums to come out of the 2010s. Its anthemic hooks and distorted, synth-heavy instrumentals blurred the lines of what pop music was at the time. But more than 10 years later, most of the fans who found her at the peak of her career are in their early to mid-20s with bills to pay. The thoughtless, adolescent fury that fuelled us when we’d scream along to “I Blame Myself” has been generated into passive-aggressive texts with our landlord.

Could the nostalgia of listening to Sky on the bus home from school translate to a crowd of adults in 2024?

The space: 4 stars

The Joan Sutherland Theatre inside the Opera House made sense for a gig like this. Smaller than the Concert Hall, bigger than the Utzon Room, intimate but spacious at the same time. Beautiful. It didn’t feel like I was surrounded by almost 1000 people in the room. However, that emptiness would be felt a lot more as the night progressed (we’ll get into this later).

For a concert filled with adults, adults, and more adults, the seats were a lifesaver. You could see the stage from anywhere, too, whether standing or sitting. Big win.

My only qualm: the space between each row of seats needs to be wider. Ass in my face and alcohol spills on my new Mary Janes from crowd members scooting along in my row was not on the cards for my night.

The timing: 2 stars

By the time the clock hit 7:30 PM – the expected start time of the show – the room was alive, filled with a bustle of attendees eagerly rushing to fill their seats. This would last at least another 15-20 minutes, which was perfect given Sky hadn’t come on yet. But we weren’t expecting the wait to last as long as it did.

An hour later, the noise of the crowd became less of an excited chatter and more of a disturbed annoyance. The show still hadn’t started, and there was no actual indication it was going to anytime soon.

“Sky’s at The Star, I just know it,” my friend jokes, making light of the situation.

“She’s just trying to get her eyeliner right but her hand keeps shaking,” I respond.

Earlier, we had joked about seeing her jump the opal gates at Circular Quay train station to save travel costs – though we wish that were the case, so at least she’d have been on time.

Around 8:40, the Opera House plays an Acknowledgement of Country over the concert speakers – a formality that usually suggests the performance is about to start. But there is no sign of Sky onstage and the pre-show music playlist starts up again over the speakers. Then the worst possible thing (besides maybe a death) that could happen at a concert, happens: the crowd starts booing.

The boos made me want to fold into the crevices of my seat and disappear. Have we all just been pranked?

Alas, at a whopping 8:53 PM, an hour and 23 minutes after the show was supposed to start, Sky and her band emerge from the side of the stage to begin.

Finally.

Once the show wrapped, my friend informed me that Sky’s shows have a history of lateness. Glad I found out the hard way.

The crowd: 3.5 stars

Enthusiastic at the start, restless towards the end.

For the first half hour of the show, headbanging, hair whipping and throwing your arms around uncontrollably were the norm. During some of her more popular songs like “Boys”, “24 Hours” and “I Blame Myself”, the crowd erupted, singing word-for-word as if it were the last time sound would ever escape our mouths. It was a beautiful, unifying feeling that made the experience almost feel out-of-body.

But as the show progressed the energy dwindled. And understandably so. Many people chose to sit for the rest of the show, some even decided to leave early. I’m the kind of person who feeds off the energy around me and I left the night feeling a bit…sour.

The performance: 5 stars

5 stars, no notes. The mic was ON.

I so badly wanted her to sound bad or drastically different live so I could have a reason to be pissed off by the lateness of the show, but her performance exceeded all expectations I had.

From her raspy low notes to her belting high notes, her range truly shines on a live stage. Her band was equally phenomenal. Amazing, impeccable, stunning.

The lighting: 2 stars

I’m giving the lighting 2 positive stars because of the use of bisexual lighting (if you know, you know). Every bisexual girl in that room who attended the concert with their straight, cis boyfriend felt seen.

However, there was no spotlight, or any bright-coloured light, to illuminate Sky or her band members. She was just a black-coated shadow. Like the Babadook. I have reason to believe that this has something to do with her performance anxiety and being seen or watched on stage, so if true, she gets a pass.

But the fog machine being set to max power was just a bit of a fucked mess. Giving Thriller. Not a fan.

The experience: 4 stars

Look…it’s literally Sky Ferreira. I paid for what I got, and what I got was the Sky Ferreira experience.

Lateness, horrible lighting, almost no interaction with the crowd, ignored every “I love you” a fan would yell out, the stage looked like the set of The Fog (2005), but she played music that could make a grown man cry.

Was it worth it? Fucking oath it was.

Adele is the Junior Writer & Producer for VICE AU/NZ. Follow her on Instagram and Twitter here.

Read more from VICE Australia and subscribe to our weekly newsletter, This Week Online.

The post If You Pay for a Sky Ferreira Show, You Get a Sky Ferreira Show appeared first on VICE.

The crowd whooped as the words illuminated the stage of the Sydney Opera House’s concert hall behind party pioneers Underworld. 

British duo Karl Hyde and Rick Smith have been producing rousing techno ballads and all-consuming, charging dance tracks for three decades. Climbing from Wales, to east London, to the silver screen with “Born Slippy (Nuxx)” (one of the 90s’ most iconic songs that scores the climax to Trainspotting), to music directing the 2012 London Olympic Games’ opening ceremony, and now to headline Vivid, a state-government funded arts festival, in the most famous building in the world. 

1990s Essex was a very different place to sparkling Circular Quay today. Does a 67-year-old man half-ranting, half-preaching “lager lager lager” to a parish of people who forked out $139 for a club night make any sense at all? 

The space: 5 stars 

It’s true, the Opera House is sick. The curved ceiling is so high you can’t even see it through the haze of the smoke machines. The seats are cushy – not that anyone used them for the entire three-hour performance. Walls of seats are pretty fucking annoying at the club, but I really, really appreciated the barrier for stumbly bros to walk backwards. Everyone had space to wiggle, including Hyde who pranced and pumped around the stage behind Smith’s massive electronic setup, front and centre. The $139 ticket gives you room and view to take it all in. 

“Connect connect connect connect” 

Can you really connect on a dancefloor when you’re not glistening with someone else’s sweat? 

The seccies: 4 stars

Being the Opera house, there’s a security screening for weapons when you enter. But it’s chill, the seccies in suits don’t pat anyone down or rifle through bags. And if you felt uncomfortable, could you count on them to remove someone? Probably. 

The bar: 2 stars

Efficient, expensive. I can’t imagine Underworld’s London audiences sipping canned blackberry-infused gin and tonics. But hey, there are shitloads of free cups and taps on the bar. I drank so much fucking water.

The toilets: 2 stars 

Sobering. 

No tags, no piss, no trash, no signs of life or fun. Really bright. But lots of good ledges in the cubicles. 

The crowd: 3 stars 

The band is fucking old so it was a mixed bag of grey-haired men in collared shirts, sexy young rave kids, and jeans. So many people in jeans. But it buzzed. Once the lights dimmed at 8pm sharp, everyone was immediately on their feet. Hands were in the air and hands were in pockets, but it was a party from the first bass thump to the last drifting note. 

Following intermission, I accidentally reentered in the row ahead of my allocated seat. A late-30s-ish cop-type with a printed-out ticket informed us we were in his… seat space, despite the vacant metres on either side. 

“Oh shit, we’re in the wrong row – wait do you care if we stay?” 

“Yeah we need these seats.”

“Not really the party spirit!” I yelled while crawling over his backrest. 

He reached back and rubbed my elbow in unsolicited reassurance.

But the bass dropped and jiggled my leg muscles and I stopped caring.

I later saw him snort something off his friend’s pinky. He left before ‘Born Slippy’. 

The sound: 5 stars 

My boss is convinced the acoustics in the Opera House are shit. He is wrong, but he has also not been there since they redid the whole thing.

The music: 5 stars 

Underworld’s oeuvre is vast, varied and influential. There were moments of throbbing techno, DnB, hyperpop, shoegaze, choral harmonising and even an edit of Donna Summer’s “I Feel Love”. Throughout the mammoth three-hour odyssey, over euphoric peaks and through lachrymose valleys, we heard the years, the eras of music evolve. But what remained unwaveringly steady was the commitment to the dancefloor. Whether you were cognisant in 1996 or not, Underworld’s performance dredged up memories for everyone and made us feel less alone.

“I’m talkin’ reachin’ out to your telephone, are you listenin’? Can you hear? Do you hear? Show me how it feels when we’re, we’re no longer alone.”

By 11pm when it was time for the “Born Slippy” closer, everyone was so high – full of life yet equally depleted from throwing down nonstop – people clutched their friends, lovers, their own hearts and heads. Hands soared, heads tipped back, tears rolled down cheeks. 

Among the surge of emotion, Hyde said “I know you wanna dance with me. I know you wanna dance with me. Let’s dance.” 

And he did. So we did. 

The feeling: 5 stars

“You bring light in, you bring light in, you bring light in, you bring light in”

Entering the concert hall, I had a lot of thoughts about the people, the place, whether it all fit, whether it was cringe, outdated, forced, fake, relevant. I looked around, I contemplated, I analysed. Did any of this gel, mesh, make sense? As soon as the first kick drum pelted through the hall, it did. After a few songs, I stopped thinking and just had fucking fun.

Aleksandra Bliszczyk is the Deputy Editor of VICE Australia. Follow her on Instagram.

The post Underworld Review: Does ‘Born Slippy’ Make Sense In the Opera House? appeared first on VICE.

Inside the tome titled LOVE is an eruption of evocative snapshots, oscillating across timelines, themes and narratives, from contorted bodies caught in moments of intimacy, to stylised shoots, to diary pages, their neat cursive constraining vivid emotion, vignettes illustrating worlds beyond most civilians’ imaginations, tender, loving relationships, and everything in between. 

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Speaking with VICE, Bliss said the book’s raw and unapologetic approach was a deliberate attempt to “release shame through loving tendencies.” 

“It’s a 25-year-old woman’s documentation and observation of her loving relationships that span across romantic to familial, to friendships to strangers,” Bliss told VICE.

“Like the experience of feeling like a bit of a voyeur in your own life, and then trying to make something physical out of that feeling.”

Bliss said the ideal message in the book – “overall, overarching, and overwhelmingly” – was to “lead with complete and utter vulnerability, even if you are unsure.”

Right now, she said she thought there were a lot of outside forces pushing creatives to subdue, refine and curate, and “make everything artificially contextualised”.

“You share the best, most clean parts of yourselves,” she said.

“I think there’s a fundamental kind of drive to destroy that and go with something that is a reflection of a messy, real life. And just speak to the honesty of that.”

Viewed through the lens of its title, the theme ripples across the pages. In queer partying, in sex with older men, in eroticism, menstrual blood, religious iconography, in nature. Muses, vaginas, tattoos and lines. 

Bliss says the muses in the book include “Friends and lovers and family and people that I’ve met that were willing to be vulnerable with me.”

“There’s a lot of queer clubbing culture, and then there’s the fashion industry, and then there’s personal relationships. It’s a threading between all of the worlds through one living person.”

“There would be no book without people, photography’s obviously a medium so dependent on your connection to people,” she said.

Bliss said, as someone who has experienced a lot of sexual and personal shame, she thought the book had been “a way of understanding how to love and create out of it”. A way of “witnessing it and not shying away from the beautiful and the ugly parts of it all.”

The images in the book span almost a decade. 

“There’s some photos that I took when I was a teenager, there are photos of me from lovers when I was young. And then there are things I took a month ago that I added last-minute,” she said.

“It’s sort of a mixed bag of ‘coming into adulthood’”.

Bliss said the act of taking photos was her way to connect to others, as an introvert it was an accessible tool to connect with people and offer something back in exchange. 

“I hope that it resonates as a project that’s come from a place of loving witness,” she said.

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“And that includes witnessing myself and my own desire to document and share and make public things… things that I think have happened within everybody’s lives, to some extent.”

“LOVE”, a collaboration with Melbourne-based independent publishers MOM Publishing, will be released this Friday. The Sydney book launch is to be held at LUNA studios in Newtown on Friday, May 31.

Arielle Richards is the multimedia reporter at VICE Australia, follow her on Instagram and TikTok.

The post The Beauty, Gore and Unadulterated Smut of a 25-Year-Old Woman’s Relationships appeared first on VICE.

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In the midst of it all, dstreet was born. Named for Douglas Street, the location of a big, silly sharehouse, the party collective was formed through a series of “pretty stupid house parties”. What followed out of lockdown were a slew of inner west location TBAs, outdoor parties and bush raves. Their “first licensed venue party” was held at the Sydney Opera House, as a part of Vivid Live’s studio party series. 

VICE Australia met with two members of the collective, Talia and Tom, to find out how it’s done.

WHO IS D.STREET?

Talia: “dstreet formed because we were all living together. So it was during lockdown, we started doing streams in bits and pieces like that.”

Tom: “It actually started from some pretty stupid house parties before that.”

Talia: “It eventually evolved, as we got older and stopped throwing 300 person house parties, into proper curated parties in venues that are not necessarily illegal… I think we fumbled around a lot at the beginning. But now we know how to throw a party we want to be at.”

TELL ME ABOUT YOUR FIRST EXPERIENCES WITH SYDNEY’S UNDERGROUND.

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Talia: “The memory that will be in my head forever and ever, it was Mardi Gras many years ago, and it was a DUNJ rave. And it was something that I didn’t even know about, I got the call when I was at another party. My friends were like ‘no, leave you have to’. That was my first renegade party that I ever attended. And I think that really opened my eyes to the underground scene in Sydney and what that community looked like, out of licensed venues. That party will always live in my head. It was very much a down the rabbit hole kind of moment.”

Tom: “It would probably just be parties at unnamed venues in Marrickville. That would have been back when the police were really cracking down on those things. And I still remember the night that the cops raided three warehouses at once.”

1. SOUND

A big one, the crew spent the better part of lockdown building their own sound system, a venture Tom estimates cost around $100,000. They’ve made their money back by loaning it out.

Tom: “Good sound for me, that’s the biggest one, because it can change anything. It can transform how people interact, just the entire vibe. It can change a fairly lively dance floor into something that’s fully expressive, and it just makes all the difference.”

2. COMMUNITY

One could consider the organisers of Sydney’s underground the gatekeepers of the scene. But in a climate where parties operate in legal “grey areas” the cultivation of a connected, respectful community is as important for keeping the parties on the DL as it is for patron safety.

Thalia: “You can’t fully control it. And you shouldn’t necessarily fully control it. But it’s having a space that is safe and expressive, and brings the right sort of people, and then those sorts of people are able to bring other like minded people. Or, if someone doesn’t know how to party in that way, they’re able to kind of learn the dos and don’ts of how to interact with people in a really safe space. So, community is everything

Tom: “Parties essentially take place in empty boxes, it’s just an empty space. But it’s just a box. So the space is actually this liminal space of people. Good people make a good party.”

3. MUSIC

Talia and Tom concede this one is a little obvious. But… good music is crucial for a good party. And it’s not so simple as booking the hot DJs.

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Talia: “It’s not just about booking good DJs, it’s about bringing people in that maybe your audience hasn’t heard before and being surprising, or booking a lineup so it has a nice story arc throughout. People are not being slammed with the hectic stuff at the beginning, they can ease into it. And it’s that journey. It’s not just about booking the hot DJs.”

Arielle Richards is the multimedia reporter at VICE Australia, follow her on Instagram and TikTok.

The post From the Underground to the Opera House appeared first on VICE.

“Get Ur Freak On” is one of those songs you would hear everywhere: in the club, in the grocery store, through the headphones of the stranger on the bus. It’s an undeniable bop that only holds bop status for many important reasons, one of them being the sampling of South Asian sounds.

South Asia’s richness goes beyond indulgent food dishes, cities of colour, and sensory explosions. Deep in its varying mother tongue lies a language known to all: music.

“There’s a lot of flavours to pick up from South Asian music,” British-Punjabi artist Raf-Saperra told VICE.

“Music, for that reason, is just so universal and shapeless.”

Often, South Asian music is enriched by unique vocal styles, alap note bending, the sounds of the sitar, harp, or drums, or the following of raga—a melodic improvisation framework that allows you to “colour your mind.” It’s a free-flowing river, a scarf in the wind of sound that twists and turns, grasping onto human feeling.

Other prolific artists, such as Vince Staples, Yasiin Bey, and M.I.A, have all borrowed and sampled South Asian music independently, transcending geographical separation through one sonic experience. Because it consists of such deep, diverse sounds, South Asian music speaks to the soul and provides a sense of nostalgia that those outside of the community wouldn’t understand. It’s music that takes time to deconstruct and dissect, a genre that’s worth breaking through the shell of to see the core.

For one night only in Sydney’s Opera House, VIVID’s Spice Trail is where the East and West collide. Artists from Sydney, Switzerland, California, and South London are coming together to celebrate their South Asian diasporic experiences through the sounds of their ancestors.

VICE: What are you listening to right now?

Raf-Saperra: At the moment, I’m listening to a lot of sad music. But there’s also a Punjabi artist called Satinder Sartaaj I’m listening to. He’s an amazing artist and was the first Punjabi to ever perform at the Sydney Opera House. So I’ll be one of the second of them.

India via California Carnatic singer Sid Sriram: I’ve been listening to Ryuji Sakamoto and many of his film scores. Cocteau Twins’ Heaven or Las Vegas. Been going back to Blonde a lot, Frank Ocean, and a lot of Indian classical music.

Tamil-Swiss singer-rapper Priya Ragu: I’m listening to Glass Beams. They’re artists from India but based in Australia. They’re pretty cool.

What do you think is the most striking part about music from South Asia?

Sid: Even just within the Indian subcontinent, each region of the country has such a different culture, a different music, a different way that people move. So then you go broader, looking at the whole region of southern Asia, and it’s exponentially more diverse. From studying Carnatic music, the most striking thing about it melodically is that it’s a very different approach from Western or European melodies. We have microtones where you can really slide through certain notes in a way that feels quite different from Eurocentric melodic approaches. Rhythmically, there’s a whole system that feels very complex but still has a super dope groove to it. Those two things create very vibrant music.

Bengali-Australian DJ Munasib: Part of it I will never be able to explain or share with anyone. It comes from nostalgia, and it’s more feelings-based. The drums speak to my soul. This show incorporates all of the microtones that Western music misses. With Eastern music, we go through every single scale and all the tones in between. Western music doesn’t do that. It’s really just a combination of the drum patterns, the types of instruments used, and the folk-sounding vocals that you get.

Tell me how identity intersects with your line of work as a musician.

Munasib: When I was younger, being the brown girl, I didn’t hate it, but I knew it wasn’t cool, and I wanted to be white. Brown was never seen as a cool thing. And much of it comes from “Oh, the accent sounds stupid”. But we’re not supposed to be speaking a white man’s language, which is English. That alphabet doesn’t translate. We have some of the most beautiful-sounding languages in the world. And that’s what our tongues are made for.

Although I was consuming all this really rich and beautiful shit in my home life, I never tied them together and thought that I could have a space in the art scene or the creative scene around me because I’m not seen as “cool”. But then I started to lean into what actually made us different. The jewellery, the colours, the sounds, the food – everything is undeniable. I don’t know many other people who are doing a similar thing. I will never run out of inspiration. I can tell my own individual, unique story, which no one else is telling. And that’s something I push in everything I do.

Raf: Being a first-generation Punjabi, we undeniably are kind of in our own space right now. For my brothers and sisters, there is a sense of not completely belonging over there and not completely belonging over here. That’s something that boils and bubbles up within a generation and then slowly starts piecing into actual culture.

Dance music, in the capacity of South Asia sounds, is explosive. I released a dance/UK garage record in 2022 that was influenced by my time going to underground shows and seeing Yung Singh perform. I’m a student, and seeing the community they were pulling up over there shows how eclectic everyone’s tastes are. I may be Punjabi, but I know growing up in my school, and my area of southwest London wasn’t a heavily Punjabi area. Sometimes, when you live so far away from people of your culture, you kind of start feeling like you’re a bit alone in this. You kind of have to hide some stuff. And so combining all those things, all those experiences and perspectives and then finding yourself in a creative field, whether you’re an artist, painter, actor, DJ, singer, or producer, those experiences, insecurities, and vulnerabilities will show in your work. And I think that’s one of the most beautiful things that I get to live as a vocalist. I think we’re in a really nice pocket right now.

Sid: It’s at the very core of it. My mom is an Indian classical music teacher. It was a real blessing growing up with that form of music around me at all times because it allowed me a deep connection to my culture, even when I was far away from the country I was born in.

There was definitely an identity crisis growing up. We didn’t see Indian or South Asian people on billboards, in movies or on the charts. Because of that, it didn’t feel like a realistic goal to have to do all of this. But I think the music is what really allowed me to find my way through that. When you come from different places and are of the diaspora, it’s easy to fragment your identity and present as “this is the Indian me” and “this is the American me” and keep them separate. But through music, I could destroy that barrier and celebrate the whole spectrum of who I was.

Priya: I feel like this is my life path. Music has helped me discover different sides of myself and my cultural background. I definitely think it takes time for people to understand the music we’ve created. Because it’s a fusion of our different cultural backgrounds, it’s still kind of new in the industry. And I think that takes time until it really reaches the people.

What has been the most liberating experience for you so far in music?

Raf: I’m still trying to find that liberation. I feel like my biggest thing is representation. I don’t want to be a heritage act or something that gets celebrated for being South Asian. When dope South Asian artists come up, they get celebrated for being South Asian. I’m at a place where I want good artists to be celebrated for being good artists. I think we’re fighting the right fight, but it takes a lot of education from our side. But the one thing that I do have right now is the fact that I can sit here and even just speak about these things. Many other South Asian artists had to crawl, and some had to walk to reach this point. I’m growing and learning, and I think that’s probably the main thing that I’ve got right now as a currency.

Sid: Making my album Siddartha. I grew up studying Indian classical music, and I fell in love with R&B and soul when I was around 7 or 8. So much of my life has just been trying to figure out how these different forms of music can live with each other and have conversations with each other. And this album was the first time it felt like I didn’t have to think about overthinking. A creative wave just kind of hit in a way that I couldn’t deny or ignore. That was liberating because it took away this notion that I control everything. Sometimes, the most liberating feeling is letting go of control and surrendering. And I think the process of making the whole album was exactly that.

Priya: I like that my music is not one genre, and I can create whatever I want. If it’s Kuthu or garage or pop, gospel or soul. I just enjoy that freedom of creating whatever I want. I think it’s way more difficult to create one genre of music.

Munasib: Once I started to see people connecting with my art or not even connecting but being intrigued by it, that was my driving force to keep going.

When you go into the music-making process, is the intent to make someone feel something, or do you focus on how it makes you feel?

Sid: Self-expression is the only goal. It’s a very cathartic kind of exercise – I’m not thinking about how I feel or anyone else really. The moment when I’m really making something that feels special, it feels like my brain has turned off, and I’m just a vessel that’s channelling. Those are the times when I think I make my best music. When I start to think about how it will be received, and get in my head about it,  that’s when the magic kind of dissipates. Letting myself express as honestly as possible is always the goal.

Priya: Once you put your music out there, you never know how others will perceive it. But it’s always different once you’re on tour, playing the music live and getting to talk to the fans. Mostly, they relate to the stories and the cultural representation.

How does it feel to be bringing your sound to Spice Trail?

Sid: Playing at the Sydney Opera House is momentous. I can’t wait to perform there for Spice Trail and this lineup of artists. Between myself, Priya and Raf, we’re very diverse and different. So I think it really speaks to the fact that as people, there’s such a broad, beautiful spectrum of experience and art and music and sound. So I think it’s gonna be a really, really special set of performances.

Priya: I never thought that I’d play one day in Australia. It is huge to be able to connect with people and play our music there. You can expect a lot of fun, energy, and oneness.

Munasib: I think now, at this stage, it just makes sense. It’s almost poetic because, for brown people, or any brown family member or cousin or anyone that comes from overseas here, the first thing they do is go to see the Opera House. We always go the next day and take a billion photos, and you start to realise how iconic it is when you see it through the lens of tourists and other people. I’m lucky to be from Sydney, this is my home. And I’ve always had a sweet, beautiful relationship with the building because every time I go, it makes me smile. My Dad brought one of the biggest Bengali artists Runa Laila to the Opera House in the early 2000s – I was 9 or 10. That’s so crazy to me, because now I’m working in music, and my dad was also the first person to set me up to play at the Opera House years ago. So now that I’m doing this now, it’s a dream come true.

Astral People Presents Spice Trail at Vivid LIVE will be held on Tuesday, May 28, at the Sydney Opera House’s Concert Hall. Tickets are available here.

Adele is the Junior Writer & Producer for VICE AU/NZ. Follow her on Instagram and Twitter here.

Read more from VICE Australia and subscribe to our weekly newsletter, This Week Online.

The post Follow the Sounds of the Spice Trail… appeared first on VICE.