PEOPLE OF NOTE: LYNA TY AND MELVIN TANAYA ON SONG FOR THE MUTE
The Australian label Song for the Mute, founded by Lyna Ty and Melvin Tanaya, weaves narratives of the disenfranchised and down-on-their-luck into their garments. Their influences spring from sound, material, people, and the ethereal cadence of untold stories.
PEOPLE OF NOTE: SEAN VENTURI – ON VENROY BY OLIVER BEGG AND DIVYA VENKATARAMAN
Sean Venturi is the man behind the Australian label Venroy, known for its well-made basics and nonchalant take on vacation-ready luxury. Here, Venturi treads over the brand’s winding journey, how it’s evolved alongside its hometown of Bondi, and just how calculated that easy breezy holiday feeling really is.
PEOPLE OF NOTE: NICK WARD BY JAKE TERREY
“Nick Ward grew up playing classical piano and recording albums in his bedroom. He’d wait for the weekend to release anything to avoid schoolyard criticism. Now rising to acclaim, he has been labelled a ‘true music-lifer’ and a darling of the emo-pop revival scene.” - Bianca Farmakis
PEOPLE OF NOTE: BEBE BETTENCOURT IN PARTNERSHIP WITH JAN LOGAN
The Australian-born, Los Angeles-based actress who fronts Jan Logan’s new campaign speaks to Isabelle Truman about keeping off TikTok, charting her own path to success, and how she keeps her head clear during the chaos.
PEOPLE OF NOTE: KREW BOYLAN AND DANIEL WEBBER BY SOPHIE BROCKWELL & SOPHIE DONALDSON
Whilst Dolly and Kenny mightn’t have been actual an item, this fictional relationship between two tribute acts in the new classical, Seriously Red, is an original take on the dynamic between love interests. Far from the typical romantic tropes we see on screen, it’s a relationship dependant on each individual masquerading as somebody else. Krew Boylan, who wrote the screenplay, stars as the titular Red, a property valuer turned Dolly Parton impersonator who becomes entangled with Kenny, a tribute performer deeply embedded in his own on-stage persona, played by Daniel Webber.
PEOPLE OF NOTE: ASHER YASBINCEK, WILL MCDONALD & TOM WEATHERALL BY ROBBIE FIMMANO
In the nineties, Australian drama Heartbreak High enthralled a generation of teenagers who saw their own lives played out on the small screen. Sure, those fictional teens may have been a little bit edgier, their clothes a touch cooler and their sex lives a lot more active, but there was an authenticity and grit to the characters that struck a chord. While not all the storylines from the Hartley High of the nineties remain relevant, first love and heartache are the touchstones of teenage experience making it ripe material to rework for a Gen Z audience via a Netflix reboot.
PEOPLE OF NOTE: JILLIAN NGUYEN
With a feature film and hit TV series already under her belt, and several more projects in the pipeline, Melbourne based Jillian Nguyen is a powerhouse performer. Ted Min captures Nguyen on the streets of her hometown for SIDE-NOTE’s PEOPLE OF NOTE series.
PEOPLE OF NOTE: MEG MAC BY ROBBIE FIMMANO
Emerging from her self-imposed hiatus with one buried album, one new album, and a fresh sense of direction, Mac finally feels back in control. SIDE-NOTE caught up with Meg Mac as she prepared for her Sydney Opera House performance, the final of her sold out national tour.
PEOPLE OF NOTE: MITZI RUHLMANN BY MICHAEL BRUNT AND BIANCA FARMAKIS
Off the back of the 2021 Foxtel series, Love Me, SIDE-NOTE chats to rising talent, Mitzi Rhurlmann on landing her career-shifting role. Lensed by Michael Brunt and written by Bianca Farmakis.
PEOPLE OF NOTE: MEGAN MACKENZIE AND CATHERINE VĂN-DAVIES
Commercial surfing has long been epitomised by a masculine bravado and an air of nonchalance. Theatre veteran Catherine Văn-Davies, and newcomer Megan MacKenzie inject new life to the story of 70s Australian surf culture in ABC’s Barons. Lensed by Julian Schulz, interview by Annabel Newland.
PEOPLE OF NOTE: CHARLEY BY JULIAN SCHULZ AND GRETTA RAY
"Charley's fiercely unwavering passion for her refined, commanding pop project is the breath of fresh air that the Australian music industry needs in 2022”, says fellow musician, Gretta Ray. Julian Schulz captures up and coming pop singer Charley, for our latest PEOPLE OF NOTE profile.
PEOPLE OF NOTE: THOMAS COCQUEREL BY MICHAEL BRUNT AND BIANCA FARMAKIS
From the Golden Age to the Silver Screen, film and television has long afforded us an escape from our realities. And in a time when the world in which we know has dramatically changed, period drama ‘The Gilded Age’ has found space to flourish in the endeavour of escapism. Michael Brunt captures Australian actor Thomas Cocquerel on the eve of the release, directed by Julian Fellows.
PEOPLE OF NOTE: CLAUDE SCOTT-MITCHELL IN PARTNERSHIP WITH JAN LOGAN
Sans makeup and social media Claude Scott-Mitchell is a clean break from the standard code of conduct for someone of her age and vocation, opting to express herself through character arc rather than publicise her private moments. JAN LOGAN’s newest collaborator is quietly chartering her own path to greatness. Dan Roberts shoots Australian actress, Claude Scott-Mitchell.
PEOPLE OF NOTE: SOPHIE WILDE
SIDE-NOTE catches up with Sophie Wilde to discuss the ever-evolving nature of herself and her practice as an actor. There’s a sweetness to this woman. Grounded in the roots of her upbringing, yet eager to make her mark in the acting world, she recognises that it is now her time to step into greater self-exploration and expansion.
PEOPLE OF NOTE: Gretta Ray
To call Gretta Ray’s career charmed would do a disservice to the years of effort she has exerted in pursuit of her goal. But magic? Well, there’s a certain dose of that present, a dash of pixie dust she carries around on her shoulder and let’s find its way into every encounter.
PEOPLE OF NOTE: Chanel Contos
Chanel Contos is taking on Australia’s antiquated approach to consent education—and winning. Side-Note catches up with a true woman of note.
PEOPLE OF NOTE: Gabrielle Penfold in partnership with Emma Lewisham
A modern woman in many ways (Penfold’s break, and subsequent momentum has been helped along by social media), the 27 year old is quick to affirm her reverence for tradition, preferring to sell her work by way of galleries rather than DM’s. Instagram has proved a seminal and ongoing asset to her commercial success, and yet, Penfold is adamant “I don’t want to be an influencer, I want to be an artist.”
PEOPLE OF NOTE: Nathalie Morris and Carlos Sanson Jr
When we catch Nathalie Morris and Carlos Sanson—breakout stars of the breakout Australian dramedy Bump—they’re on the Pacific Highway, headed back from a four-day short film shoot on New South Wales’ South Coast. In person, the pair mirror the same easy chemistry that has made Bump such a blockbuster success. The series—a Stan original created by Australian TV veteran Claudia Karvan—broke viewing records within days of its January release. It was quickly renewed for a second season. The story hinges around a ‘will-they won’t-they’ love story between teenagers Oly and Santi (Morris and Sanson), who are in their final year of high school when their lives are upended by Oly’s cryptic pregnant—a phenomena in which women don’t know they are pregnant until they give birth.