Plastic World has quickly become one of Australia’s best imprints. Boasting a roster of some of the best acts this country has to offer (such as GL, Retiree, Cassius Select and more), they’ve worked hard to make a name for themselves as innovative tastemakers – and their back catalogue is a testament to this.
Next weekend marks their 2nd birthday, so naturally the crew are planning to celebrate in style. They’ve got themselves an unreal lineup, a legendary venue in The Chippendale Hotel, and a “big announcement” that we should all be getting ready for, so it makes sense that tickets are flying out the door. Black Vanilla, Sampa The Great, András, Dreems, Cassius Select, Silent Jay & Jace XL and so many more will be tearing up the pub all night long as Plastic World prepare for a full-venue takeover.
To help them celebrate, we asked the guys about their label, and what songs define what it is they’ve done. In return, they’ve gifted us a little trip down memory lane, and mapped out some of the tracks that mean most to them and their journey so far. They summed it up best themselves when they said, “What links Plastic World’s releases are not genres or trends, but instead a freshness and creativity that was screaming to be unleashed onto the Australian musical landscape.” We couldn’t agree more!
Alba, Knokke
Where it all began. These two have been staples in Sydney for sometime, and their live show is unreal. Knokke a great way to launch plastic-world, my heart still beats faster every time it comes on.
GL, What Happened To Us?
These guys are out and out superstars. We were absolutely head over heels when we first came across these guys, and this track was a big part of that. Ella has one of the strongest voices out, so hard to get that chorus out of your head once it’s in there. What happppened to?
Cassius Select, Bruv
Released on a split 12″ with Tuff Sherm that absolutely went crazy. Lavurn has an absolutely unstoppable energy and it really reflects on both of his tracks on PWRLD003.
Khidja, Mustafa (Timothy J FairPlay Remix)
We obviously didn’t release this one, Eugene (Tuff Sherm) opened with it at the launch of him and Lavurn’s 12″ at the Bowlo’. This track perfectly captures what was such a unique and incredible energy in that room. After that night we really felt that Plastic World had landed.
Retiree, Altruisme (Harvey Sutherland Remix)
The original is an absolute belter, so we were honoured to have Harvey add his delicious synthy goodness to it. This one was on a cheeky little digital release we did after their first EP, we’ve stuck by them from the start and always will! For good reason!
Savoir, Malala
Perth big ups. I will never tire of this song. Effortlessly catchy and so goddam funky.
Thomas William, Sleepwalk
Thomas William is a don. This boy bided his time and finally released the EP he wanted to release, and we are so honoured that he did it with us. Love the way this tune shuffles.
Hugo Frederick, Hexagon
Hypnotic and calming to the last. Hugo is such a talented producer, and this track perfectly showcases what he is capable of. From that distant yet powerful shuffle, to those growing synths, one of my favourite tracks we’ve ever released.
Retiree, Gundagai
Above all else Retiree are just great story tellers. Low key and humble Australian stories that really speak to a lot of people. This one was released on old mate Bradley Zero’s label, Rhythm Section, super proud to see them flourish on the international stage.
GL, Number One
These two are about to really take off. One of the proudest moments of our little label was watching Graeme (G) and Ella (L) perform in front of 12,000 people at Meredith last year (see our photo diary from GL’s Meredith experience here). They absolutely killed it! This here is their new single, big things on the way!
If you want to get in on the birthday action, head to The Chippendale Hotel in Chippendale, Sydney from 2pm on Saturday, January 16th. You can get your tickets here and see more information here.
Image of GL from Triple J Unearthed