{"id":306707,"date":"2025-11-25T01:17:09","date_gmt":"2025-11-25T01:17:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/306707\/"},"modified":"2025-11-25T01:17:09","modified_gmt":"2025-11-25T01:17:09","slug":"speed-win-inaugural-80000-new-south-wales-music-prize","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/306707\/","title":{"rendered":"Speed Win Inaugural $80,000 New South Wales Music Prize"},"content":{"rendered":"

Speed<\/a>, the flute-wielding hardcore band based in Sydney, Australia, have won the inaugural New South Wales Music Prize<\/a>, taking home the whopping $80,000 reward on the strength of their debut album, 2024\u2019s Only One Mode<\/a>. The state government introduced the NSW Music Prize last year as part of their 10-year plan to support local musicians amidst an increasingly competitive market, noting how streaming platforms prioritize international artists over local acts. Speed beat Ninajirachi, R\u00fcf\u00fcs Du Sol, 3%, Barkaa, Kobie Dee, Onefour, Party Dozen, Shady Nasty, and Vv Pete & Utility for the honor.<\/p>\n

\u201cIn 2025, we have a whole new generation of amazing kids all over the country making Sydney and Australian hardcore the sickest it\u2019s ever been,\u201d Speed said during their acceptance speech. \u201cWith that being said, this award belongs to them \u2013 the people around us who make it what it is \u2013 and we\u2019ll take some time to think about the best way we can pay that forward to keep growing this the right way.\u201d<\/p>\n

Only One Mode has plenty of harsh beatdowns, as to be expected in hardcore, but Speed also incorporate a number of unexpected elements into their sound, the most obvious of which is a trilling flute \u2013 as heard on their viral single \u201cThe First Test.\u201d Vocalist Jem Siow, guitarists Joshua Clayton and Dennis Vichidvongsa, bassist Aaron Siow, and drummer Kane Vardon take pride in bringing a modern touch to punk while upholding an earnest authenticity.<\/p>\n

This past summer, Speed joined Turnstile\u2019s huge North American tour<\/a> as openers. As with Speed\u2019s own headlining shows, singer Jem Siow gave speeches onstage during that run about the importance of inclusivity in the hardcore scene, speaking out against anti-Asian racism, and addressing the male suicide epidemic. He also often discusses how playing music together in a band with his brother and friends makes life\u2019s difficulties a little less daunting.<\/p>\n

New South Wales\u2019 government allocates $160,000 for their new annual music prize, which is then split into three categories. Speed won the $80,000 NSW Music Prize, which is gifted to a local artist whose music had a significant impact over the past 12 months. Barkaa Big Tidda took home the $40,000 NSW First Nations Music Prize, which is awarded to a local First Nations act whose music had a significant and meaningful impact over the last year. Ninajirachi won the third prize, the $40,000 NSW Breakthrough Artist of the Year, which celebrates an emerging local artist who had \u201ca groundbreaking 12 months.\u201d It\u2019s all organized by Sound NSW, the government\u2019s dedicated contemporary music development office that provides advocacy, leadership, strategic initiatives, policy development, and funding to local artists.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Speed, the flute-wielding hardcore band based in Sydney, Australia, have won the inaugural New South Wales Music Prize,…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":306708,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[28],"tags":[64,63,25671,134,136],"class_list":{"0":"post-306707","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-music","8":"tag-au","9":"tag-australia","10":"tag-award","11":"tag-entertainment","12":"tag-music"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/306707","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=306707"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/306707\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/306708"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=306707"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=306707"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=306707"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}