Celebrated Australian musician Jim Moginie was only half-joking when he said the new Beatles might come out of Wollongong.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
$0/
(min cost $0)
or signup to continue reading
The Wombarra resident, best known for his work with Midnight Oil, of which he was a founding member, guitarist, keyboardist and leading songwriter, was the keynote speaker at a special event held at Wollongong TAFE on Thursday.
Moginie led a who's who of the Australian music industry, at The Regional Sessions event presented by music rights management organisation APRA AMCOS, with support from Create NSW and MusicNSW.
Songwriters gathered in Wollongong to learn from top Australian songwriting talent and to connect with the local music community.
Moginie was joined on stage by fellow music heavyweight, You Am I frontman Tim Rogers.
Acclaimed singer-songwriters Emma Swift and Milan Ring were also on hand to mentor up and coming songwriters, as were Johnny Took from Sydney three-piece rock band DMA's and Zach Stephenson from Windang band Hockey Dad.
Australian indie rock artist Imogen Clark and well-known singer-songwriter, musician, academic and lecturer Toby Martin were also in Wollongong.
The full-day program included two workshop sessions, giving emerging and mid-career songwriter attendees a valuable opportunity to share their work and get feedback in a small group setting.
Aspiring singer/songwriter Tiarnie Haridemos said it best when she told the Mercury she "was just soaking up the knowledge".
The Canberra-born 23-year-old, who now calls Coledale home, said she just loved the experience of listening to some of Australia's best songwriters.
I looked at all the guest speakers and the mentors and thought this is incredible. I haven't been disappointed, it's been fantastic learning from these legends
- Tiarnie Haridemos
"I looked at all the guest speakers and the mentors and thought this is incredible. I haven't been disappointed, it's been fantastic learning from these legends," Haridemos said.
Moginie told the Mercury he enjoyed playing his part in trying to explain or demystify the whole act of songwriting to people.
"It is a mysterious process writing songs but there are rules about it, there are things you can do to help, real tips," he said.
"I didn't want to come here and go on about my glorious past. I wanted to try and help people with their own individuality and to express that in whatever way they can because I think it is important for artists to find their own voice.
"I'm looking forward to the workshops this afternoon to try and plug people into things that they can think about like using error to sort of write songs and make mistakes, that can lead you into places you never thought you'd ever be, so there is an element of surprise.
"Improvisation is important, as is listening to other songwriters and learning from them."
Years of trial and error also taught the respected songwriter the importance of "listening to your gut instincts and collaborating whenever possible".
"I found writing sometimes that opening up to collaboration can cause genuine brilliance and genius," Moginie said.
Looking at some of the talent who were in Wollongong on Thursday, Moginie felt the Australian music industry was in a good place at the moment.
"It is great. There is people doing new things all the time," he said.
"These sort of events bring people together. A lot of these people here today have never met before. They may be locals and live here....who knows the new Beatles might come out of Wollongong.
hey may be locals and live here....who knows the new Beatles might come out of Wollongong.
- Jim Moginie
"I really believe that Wollongong is a great area and there is some great people here whether it's Rob Younger from Radio Birdman or the guys from Leadfinger or Tumbleweed.
"I'm finding great people all the time that lived here. I didn't even know they lived here, genuinely brilliant artists."
We depend on subscription revenue to support our journalism. If you are able, please subscribe here. If you are already a subscriber, thank you for your support.