Welcome to the Music Journal: Where the voices of the global music industry today leave a note for the industry.
Who are you and what do you do in the music industry?
I’m Su-Ann and I write the songs for my band, monstahouse, which I also sing and play guitar in
I moved to Sydney from Singapore 6 years ago and have been gigging since arriving. I write songs about my mental health, sexuality, and just love the catharsis of writing songs about my fears and worries and performing them.
What is one thing you’re currently working on?
I’m currently working on some music videos for monstahouse’s upcoming EP. We’re filming a music video per song that all strings together as one short film!
I’m also recording a solo album about this girl I dated whom I thought was the one but she broke it off with me :’)
If money wasn’t a barrier, what are 3 things you’d change about the current industry?
Make it a meritocracy (and not fuelled by nepotism and plagued by racism and sexism),
I’ve been playing in Sydney for almost 6 years now and due to nepotism and the local music industry only seeking certain sounds (i.e. inner west-y art rock/punk, triple J music, dad rock, etc.) which is made mostly by white males for white males, that makes it inherently racist and sexist, I don’t get many opportunities to perform
I’ve once sent an EPK to a venue, with the first line of my bio saying I made rock music, and the venue replied, mentioning that I made K-pop covers. It’s the most racist incident I have experienced in the Sydney scene
Through my 6 years of gigging, it is so obvious that my white counterparts get a lot more gigs than me despite us sending the same emails to the same venues
Especially obvious when they are new and only have one press pic and no tracks to show, and they still end up getting the gigs we applied for
That makes me think they choose bands from pics. (White boys with mullets would make the music we want in our venue etc)
Make sure artists are paid reasonably,
Small note that countries like Singapore (where I’m from) doesn’t have an organisation like Apra Amcos, so that’s one of the great things about making music in Australia
Make gigs more accessible
Physical accessibility like more ramps
And other things that will make live music more accessible to others like live streams
Living with a condition that makes me more tired than the average person, and having some sensory issues, I can’t attend many gigs in person so things like live streams might help the industry with events and ticket sales
Who is someone you’ve always wanted to get to know in the music industry?
Someone like Aleksiah! I admire how she managed to create a presence and audience for herself using social media, and I love her music and think she’s really cool :)
What is your favourite part of this industry?
The music and performing. It’s just so cathartic to be able to scream and sing your feelings out on a stage. And having people come up to me, telling me how much my love my performance or my songs
If your life had a theme song, what would it be?
Shove by Mali Velasquez and Czech One by King Krule
What’s a recent win you are proud of?
Every time I get to play in front of others is a win. Gigs for me are hard to come by and people nowadays are too overworked to go to gigs. Any chance I get to play to an audience is a huge win
ABOUT monstahouse:
monstahouse is an Indie Rock band on Gadigal land (Sydney, Australia).
The band’s frontwoman, Su-Ann, writes songs about her life, from her childhood in Singapore, and the stress-laden and restrictive environment of Asia, to her personal experiences and struggles with relationships, mental health, and sexuality.
With comments comparing their music to the Blondshell, Big Thief, and Mitski, monstahouse delivers songs that are charged with emotion and angst, churning out angsty sapphic indie rock hits from their bedrooms to yours.
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