Unearthed High is back for the 11th year, which means that national broadcaster Triple J is once again searching for the best High School act in the country. The high school competition has been incredible successful for over decade, unearthing now established acts such as Gretta Ray, Japanese Wallpaper, Tia Gostelow and Stonefield.
Last year, Arno Faraji was an unknown rapper and producer from Perth’s Shenton College. In Year 12 at school, he uploaded his track ‘Destiny’s’ to triple j’s Unearthed High competition with no real expectations. Fast forward a few weeks and morning crew Ben & Liam surprised Arno at his school to announce that he’d won Unearthed High 2017. Then things majorly blew up for him. He quickly picked up a booking agent and management team, toured with Allday and played sets at St Kilda Festival and Groovin The Moo Bunbury. He even turned up in the 2017 Hottest 200 (#178)! Unearthed High changed Arno Faraji’s life, with the young rapper telling Triple J “Unearthed High was a huge moment for me! A lot has happened, so fast, and it’s boosted my music’s reach so far. Only last year I was a senior in high school looking for a way to do what I get to do now: playing ‘thicc’ festivals, touring and making music with some of my favourite artists. I’m still geeking out over a lot of the things that are coming my way.”
As part of his Unearthed High prize, Arno was flown to Melbourne’s House of Beige studio to record a track with Remi & Sensible J. As a mega fan of the duo, this was a literal dream come true for Arno. Today, Arno has uploaded ‘Bless (What It’s Like)’, his collaboration with the pair, to triplejunearthed.com to inspire the bright young minds entering Unearthed High this time around.
Now, it’s the class of 2018’s chance to step up as we put a call out for bands, solo acts, producers and MCs from all over the country to enter Unearthed High, a unique platform celebrating the incredible young talent emerging today.
To enter, upload an original piece of music to triple j Unearthed before Midnight Monday 30 July.
The winner will be flown to triple j to record, mix or master their music, which will be played on triple j and triple j Unearthed. They’ll also receive music industry advice and triple j will visit their school.
The best Unearthed High entry from an Indigenous artist, as well as being eligible for the major prize, will win ongoing mentorship from the Association of Artist Managers (AAM) and a songwriting workshop at their school by the APRA AMCOS Songmakers program.
Over the next few months, the best entries will be played nationwide on triple j and triple j Unearthed and you’ll be able to listen and download all the 2018 Unearthed High entries on triplejunearthed.com for FREE. Stay tuned as finalists are announced over the coming months.
