GRID Series has been unearthed some of the most exciting, thought provoking & dynamic artists in the country. Co-founded and led by Ariel Blum, GRID Series implements a wholistic methodology for introducing the sector to the artistic gems that live under the radar in our communities.
From forging paths with arts festivals and mainstream media, as well as promoters and record labels, they are living their core mission to develop and amplify musicians who might not otherwise have had the chance.
Historically, the majority of applicants who apply to be a part of the programs identify as coming from recent migrant and refugee backgrounds and First Nations backgrounds.
Past alumni include indigenous artist Flewnt (who recently appeared on America’s Got Talent 2024), Angie McMahon (2024 ARIA Award winner with 748,680 monthly Spotify listeners) South Asian artist Wild Gloriosa (winner – Music Victoria Award in ‘Diasporas category) Baraka The Kid of Democratic Republic of Congo (Triple J Feature artist & Music Victoria nominee) and Srirachi (Acclaim Allstar 2022).
We found out from Ariel what it took to get it off the ground, and how GRID Series is fulfilling his dream of making a difference in the music business.
Tell us more about the GRID Series- it just sounds fantastic
Ariel Blum: Its a way to jump start someone’s career in the music business. Typically for people who might never have that kind of opportunity, because of the two main factors of finance and social networks.
One thing that is apparent is that so often the path to discovery is based on who you know, moving in a circle, and being in a city. No matter how fantastic you are, you just will be completely invisible if you’re not in certain places. Our core work is to bring mentors, key decision makers, tastemakers, and producers together to work with artists, and over the years I’m proud to say we’ve introduced some of the best artists around to the sector.
How did you get it started?
I started through my background as a music producer. I observed that the bulk of my client base were coming from either mum-and-dad money or from high social currency- coming from immense place of privilege as a starting point. I didn’t feel comfortable with that – it just felt completely inequitable.
Was the weight of that decision more that you were concerned that the same kind of people were coming through to you? Or were you thinking there was some great art being missed?
So much of anyone’s life is really set up in a trajectory from when they’re born. Lots of people have worked their asses off, and I don’t want to throw shade on that, but just by virtue of coming from privilege, they’ve been able to chase their dreams. What I noticed was that there was a gap in the kind of storytelling that I personally gravitated towards. I came up listening to Rage Against The Machine and Public Enemy. Going further back, I grew up with soul music. All stories that were challenging the norm. That doesn’t necessarily come through with the same level of authenticity when it’s coming from someone that may not necessarily have lived those experiences, even if they are fully aligned to those ideas.
Is there something particularly Australian about that do you think? Has the Australian Dream of the block of land, and how that has become almost unattainable, fed into a lack of appetite to express artistic talents, versus getting on with building a property portfolio?
I think the nature of gentrification that’s taken place in our Australian capital cities is different to other parts of the world, and it hasn’t helped. People have been pushed out of the city instead of pushed into the city. In an Australian context, the way it works is affluent people live in the centre and non affluent people live in the outer suburbs. But that hasn’t historically always been the case. Even as recently as the 80s inner city suburbs which are now some of the most expensive places to live were basically the hood. Traditionally young people would find their voice in the melting pot of the inner cities.
There’s a much bigger issue of just how undervalued the arts are here. And I mean underfunded. In our environment, people do jobs because they’re secure, and they don’t do other things because they’re insecure. There is a precariousness to being a musician, and everyone’s doing everything with not a lot. I’d like the concept of being an artist or being creative to be normalised. It’s still an outlier in Australia.
The answer for many is to just have multiple jobs at the same time. What do you think about the sustainability of that or the effect on their career? – it can be positive and negative?
From my experience a lot of the young people are hustlers, doing 10 different kinds of art projects, which can be a cool thing. But I’m a believer that specialising and doing something really really well is a better long term approach to making your art work.
Do you remember the moment when you decided you wanted to become a musician? Or when you had the confidence to go for it?
When I was 23 I was just finishing my film degree, and wandering what to do next. I was living next door to an incredible internationally exhibiting fashion designer. At the height of my crisis of confidence we were sitting in the backyard, and I said to her ‘Do I stick with plan A, or do I hedge my bets and dip my toe into a plan B, because who knows if plan A is going to work out?’
She was very firm with me and said, ‘There is no plan B. There is only plan A, and if you’re going to call it a plan A, you have to actually believe it’s plan A.’
That always stuck with me. There is only one plan. I think of it like a perspective.
Have you worked with an artist that’s living that?
There’s a young artists we worked with last year called Baraka The Kid. He’s a dead serious dude. If he stays true to his word, and I’ve never seen him not be, just by the virtue of that focus, we’re goning to know about him for years to come. He was talking to me about how he’s juggling a Plan A and a Plan B. He told me he’s going to take the first money he makes from music to open a restaurant, and then the money he makes in the restaurant he’ll plough back into his music, To me that’s still a Plan A. It not a plan to just keep playing gigs until someone notices, but it’s another kind of plan to make it work. Music is still the goal.
You were in a band before you were a producer?
I was in a band called Pablo Discobar all through uni. We travelled the world and it was amazing. It was an eleven- piece band, and we did all the things we wanted to do- the tours, the festivals- but I was completely depressed because I was completely broke! I was worked a bar job and a call centre job. I worked in a post- production company and was fired because I kept using all the equipment for my film clips. I was a terrible employee! Then I had that conversation I told you about with the fashion designer and realised I needed to spend more time in music not making drinks. So I started playing in a wedding band and just doing covers and travelling all around the state. All my gig money stayed in a music bank account and at some point I had enough to buy a laptop, a microphone, and an interface. Then I had enough money to go and live overseas and start my life as a producer. It took me two years and a million versions of Moondance. All the connections I built up over the years helped me to get clients and start producing.
So in the GRID series you’re able to get a look at artists first- to catch them maybe before others do?
Yes, absolutely. We do get first look. In the early days of GRID series I was producing all the artists myself. I moved to a regional studio, locked myself in, and worked for 16 days straight, hardly sleeping, it wasn’t sustainable but it was a really great experience.
Who do you remember working with from the early days of GRID series
We started back in 2013. The Fabric was a band that came to the very first iteration of the series. The lead singer was Angie McMahon who’s now a huge star. We worked with Gordon Koang who went on to win the Levi’s Music Prize. We work with them for a very short amount of time and then introduce them to anyone we can and hopefully they’re ready to roll.
Is the team running things new each year?
Each time we put a program together we put a new team together. We put out an expression of interest, and look for artists out in the community that are doing amazing work. Out of about 50 applicants we take four artists. We run the program in specific areas- local government areas. We’ve just done one specifically from Geelong, and we have one coming up in the outer ring of Perth.
What does the program look like
They do an intensive two-day boot camp with some top people in the industry. It’s a very high level kind of mentor. For our upcoming South East Melbourne program we have Hannah Fox, who is a co-artistic director of Rising, and Carl Pires who used to manage to Sampa the Great.
Have you seen more First Nations artists coming through?
Part of our program is delivered by a group called FN Focus. They were founded by Joshua “FLEWNT” Eggington- he is an award winning, Proud Nyoongar Wongi rapper from Boorloo (Perth). He’s also came through our program in 2019 with an explicit mission to not only be the curators, but also the operational team of First Nations projects. I think what we see as an important element is not just the kind of amplification of amazing performers, but really the amplification of the backend, meaning, are organisations creating a safe space for First Nations people to apply. If they are doing that, then you’ll see more applicants coming through professional development pathways. Emily Wurramara was one of our mentors in 2019. We had great artists apply, and that mentorship with Emily was invaluable. We are seeing a change in the industry and that’s having a really positive effect on the next generation coming through.
What kinds of ages of people do you get coming through?
There’s no upper age limit but there is a lower one- you have to be over 18. It’s a really intensive program and there’s a lot of activity that probably wouldn’t work if the artist was still in school.
When we think about the age element all we’re looking for is does this artist have the bandwidth in their life to really give this music thing a go. I’ve got two kids now and if I was applying, I don’t think I would! But someone else that has the time to be able to do it -no sweat! The oldest we’ve had would be in their late 40s. The average age of the last group that came through was about 26, which was a bit older that normal for us, but they were all in a place in their lives where they could give it a red hot go.
What would you say to someone that’s thinking of applying now?
Just hit us up! You can contact us on Instagram – ask some questions. I’m there to answer. We just want to make the whole experience as friendly and open as possible. If you end up getting in, you’ll be dealing a lot with us so you may as well reach out now!
GRID Series is launching its 2025 programs in South-East Melbourne and Outer Perth suburbs.
Expressions of Interest are currently open in Melbourne (Apr 16-Jun 9), with Perth soon to follow.
