Part of Melbourne’s bubbling music scene, Finn Rees is a true creative at heart. An expert keys player, beatmaker, composer, designer and photographer, he has a knack for capturing emotions and intriguing minds, whatever medium he chooses. Born and raised in Tasmania his passion for music naturally drew him to one of the Australian epicentres of music, namely Melbourne/Naarm.

A tight-knit scene of friends, ideas and inspirations, it was a move that led to Finn becoming one of the core members of neo-soul-jazz collective 30/70. As a group, they’ve toured the world playing everything from intimate sessions to large-scale festival shows. Bringing together those experiences soaking up scenes in the likes of the UK, Europe and the USA, alongside channelling the musical melting pot that Melbourne offers, has been a key catalyst for Finn writing his debut album, out now on Mr Bongo.

In his own words, Finn gives us a taste of what makes Melbourne so special and how it has influenced his debut album.

Since moving here from Tasmania/Lutruwita 8 years ago, I’ve immersed myself in the Melbourne/Naarm soul/jazz scene across the last few years, the city with the highest number of live music venues and performances per capita. The fruitful wave of neo-soul and adjacent genres through the 2010s really created an artistic whirlpool that I was drawn into through projects such as 30/70 collective, Close Counters, Allysha Joy, Elle Shimada, Zeitgeist Freedom Energy Exchange, and more.

The combined do-it-yourself attitude, share-house studios and jam rooms nestled in the northern suburbs of Naarm and the intimate venues encouraging left-of-field bookings are the spaces that allow new and inventive musical perspectives to emerge; you never know what the next sound will be. Whether it’s cinematic groove, neo-soul, DIY-funk, psychedelic, post-punk, jazz, soul, jazzy-house (locally known as ‘jazz-doof’) or afro-beat, the petri-dish of playful collages of sounds is always fruitful in this community.

Our 30/70 collective has always been a vessel for pushing the groove and music into unexpected territory with soul at the heart. I’ve always loved the way that a lot of Melbourne artists unearth a sense of nostalgia, whether it be through the childhood echoes of a parent’s record collection or through our local record stores, the obsession with worn circuits of vintage studio gear or the sounds borrowed from across the world through curious and well-travelled ears. I believe that the fact we are a long way from the rest of the world creates a need for inventiveness and new interpretations of musical styles.

Our studio days are divided by banh mis and coffee, bites from Turkish or Lebanese bakeries (A1 bakery as proudly repped by Coburg sweethearts Surprise Chef). Sandwiched by a broad smorgasbord of music from 3RRR or PBS community radio stations on the car stereo. Mike Guierri’s Mystic Brew, Elle Young’s Headhunters or Chris Gill’s The Get Down are always my windows into new local heat.

One of my favourite recent releases is a record by Ella Thompson called Domino, where she wrote and arranged a whole album over productions by Frollen Music Library, an amazing analogue library music project by Henry Jenkins, Hudson Whitlock and Darvid Thor members of Karate Boogaloo, Surprise Chef and The Pro-teens. Domino was released on the essential Melbourne soul label Hopestreet Recordings. Henry Jenkins really deserves a mention, as he is one of the most underrated engineers out there with such a lovely, calm and efficient work ethic and a passion for warm analogue textures. He’s the man behind the mix on my debut record, forthcoming on Mr Bongo.

Audrey Powne, who I’ve also been lucky enough to work with, is an amazing trumpet player, singer and composer from Naarm currently releasing on BBE. Check out ‘Feed The Fire’ off her debut album From The Fire. She really inspired me to bring string arrangements into jazz and has such a colourful approach to writing.

My go-to man on the rhythm and one of the key drummers in Naarm is Lucky Pereira, one of the most natural drummers and percussionists. We played together in Elle Shimada’s live band and currently in Close Counters live band and his rhythmic contributions can be heard across multiple bands in the scene (including percussion on Surprise Chef’s Daylight Savings). His father Ray Pereira is one of Australia’s most notable percussionists in the African and Sri Lankan styles and their family has really injected drumming into the Melbourne community, particularly through drum lessons in the western suburb of Footscray.

Erica Tucceri’s Iliamna is a recent release on La Sape Recordings that features Ray Pereira, and of course worth highlighting that Erica’s flute work can be heard throughout many projects in Melbourne such as Don Glori, The Rookies, ZFEX, Close Counters, JK Group and Surprise Chef.

The West is another pocket of Melbourne with creative buzz (and some of the best African and Vietnamese cuisine) and is also home to Nikodimos, the DIY multi-instrumentalist who played flute on Hiatus Kaiyote’s latest single Everything Is Beautiful. His playful and collaborative approach has breathed new life into the scene recently. Another real breath of fresh air for Melbourne’s scene was Silentjay’s ‘Eternal / Internal Peace’ on the Sunny Side Up compilation. It was a reminder to me of the beauty of long-form arrangements and the search for a spiritual connection in music.

Elations Recordings is a notable and exciting new label offering fresh or reissued music through incredible curation and a truly left-field lens. For example, Mildlife’s Adam Halliwell recently released his debut 4th world dreamscape titled Freedom Lapse, a psychedelic treat. Another one of my favourites, Singing Dust, is a reissue of the 1986 album by the mysterious Australian pianist Robert Welsh.

Of course, you can’t mention Australian pianists without talking about Barney McAll, one of the most inventive, deep yet playful jazz artists I know. I had some tuition from Barney a few years ago at uni and the way he brings gospel sensibility into his playing really stuck with me. Listen to Precious Energy from 2022.

In terms of live spaces, one of the best up-and-coming in Melbourne’s North is High Note bar and community space run by Crown Ruler’s Jamie Bennett and Umut Turkeri. The intimate space hosts well-curated workshops and exhibitions, parties and gigs through a custom-built sound system by Umut repurposing Altec horns and a Condesa mixer.

In the city, Wax Museum Lounge is a great new space for parties and live improvised gigs and of course, I must mention the Jazz-lab as an iconic Australian jazz venue (FKA Bennet’s Lane). The heart and soul of Melbourne aka Northside Records is a space where live in-stores and many hangs are had and is always fostering new generations of soul/funk and jazz-leaning music on the Northside Records label.

There is a lot of soul and jazz that is leaning into its groove-based foundations, stripping back, and connecting jazz sensibilities to stand up audiences. Over the last decade, we’ve had a wave of re-interpreting electronic music in a live jazz setting, such as J Dilla’s beats or Detroit house music. You’ll always see a live tribute to Dilla around Melbourne (30/70 even started as an exploration into Dilla’s rhythms), or sometimes MF Doom or even Aphex Twin!?

When it came to writing my own record, in a strange way I wanted to explore more outside the realm dance or groove-based jazz that is so popular right now and lean more towards lush arrangements, beautiful layers and improvisation. While Melbourne is such a groove-oriented city I felt like there is room to explore more over the top and the spaces in between, indulge in the textures, the melodies, the romantic arrangements and breathe new life into jazz to remind people that it doesn’t have to be avant-garde or chin-strokey, but fully dive into a world and let its full colours show. Of course, this would never be possible without the multifaceted and bubbling scene that is Melbourne and all the projects that cultivate the electric creativity through its streets.

Big thanks to Finn for taking the time out to enlighten us on bubbling Melbourne/Naarm scene. Be sure to check out his brilliant debut album, Dawn Is A Melody, if you haven't already and keep up-to-date with all his live shows on Instagram.

Photo credits:

Press shots of Finn - Jacob Collings
Further photos - Finn Rees