Guy Sebastian, Thelma Plum & international hitmakers to Sydney’s Songhubs

Evanescence founding member David Hodges, Guy Sebastian, MoZella (who co-wrote Miley Cyrus’ Wrecking Ball), Thelma Plum, Gotye producer François Tétaz, and X Factor’s Jai Waetford are among the 30 international and Australian songwriters and producers meeting in Sydney next week for what is billed as the largest SongHubs program to date.

They will gather at APRA AMCOS’ head office in Ultimo over the Easter long weekend to write new songs over the four days. The sessions will take place in ten studios over four floors.

Launched in 2013, some of the songs written at SongHubs have gone on to be recorded by the likes of Troye Sivan, Client Liaison, Tkay Maidza, Nicole Millar, Guy Sebastian, SAFIA and Reece Mastin.

For this year, APRA AMCOS tapped Hodges, Tétaz and Beka Tischker as curators. Tischker is a prominent A&R pro and President of Prescription Songs.

These three curators used their contacts to get a number of top names to join them.

Aside from MoZella (who’s also written for One Direction and Ellie Goulding), also making the trip are Chris Walla of Death Cab for Cutie, Steve Solomon (James Arthur, Demi Lovato, Avril Lavigne), Nate Campany (Tove Lo, Carly Rae Jepsen, Martin Garrix) and others.

They will be working with both high profile and up-and-coming APRA AMCOS members including Guy Sebastian, Ricki-Lee, Jon Hume (of Evermore), Nat Conway, Waetford, SAFIA’s Ben Woolner and Michael Bell, Ainslie Wills, Thelma Plum, Mirko Vogel (Sekiden, Cut Copy), Giselle, Josh Moriarty (Miami Horror) and Thief.

The Australian contingent also includes Adam Katz, Alys Ffion, Anthony Maniscalco (Hook N Sling), Aviva Payne, Daniel Kennedy, Giselle Rosselli, James Crooks, Jessica Nitties (Sparrows), Nat Conway and Rita Satch. 

“We’re thrilled to have some of the world’s biggest names in songwriting joining us in Sydney for The Tower,” said Milly Petriella, APRA AMCOS’s Director of Member Relations.

“This is the largest contingent of international writers and producers we’ve ever had working with local creators at a SongHubs, and it seems only fitting to host it in the APRA AMCOS head office, where we constantly work to create new opportunities for our members.

“I can’t wait to hear the new songs that emerge from these sessions, and to see the new collaborative relationships that are formed.”

Since its inception, more than 300 Australasian artists have worked with 200 internationals across more than 40 SongHubs events. SongHubs writing camps have taken place in India, USA, UK, Indonesia, Canada, Sweden, Germany, Greece, Australia and New Zealand, and over 500 new works have been created.