Headliner's Ones To Watch: Ziggy Alberts

Australian singer songwriter Ziggy Alberts has already been creating a standout musical legacy, becoming one of Australia’s most prominent independent recording artists. With the release of his latest studio-album, DANCING IN THE DARK, he is now looking towards global recognition.

2022 proved to be a huge year for the coastal-folk artist, starting off by being awarded an APRA for his track letting go, and finishing with the release his fifth studio album, which features some breathtaking melodies in I BELIEVE, THE GREAT DIVIDE and THE SUN & THE SEA with Donovan Woods.

A recording session at Abbey Road Studios took place in October, as did shows all across Australia, in addition to the UK and South Africa. And now this year, Alberts has plans set out for a tour all over Europe and the UK.

Taking on different structures and approaches to each track, DANCING IN THE DARK is filled with immersive, heartwarming songs that slot right into the songwriter's ever-growing arsenal of ‘future-folk’ hits, with stripped-back melodies and calming vocals that glide over the top of finger-picked acoustic guitar rhythms.

Diving into what sparked the ideas for his latest album, Alberts explains: “The very first inspiration for DANCING IN THE DARK came to me on a plane in 2020. I had not even yet finished searching for freedom, but through creating that album, I started dreaming about where I would like to go next. I wanted to embark on an exploration of what I call 'future folk': time codes, antidotes to dissonance, new soundscapes and topics, tuned backing vocals and synth bass, all intertwined in a folk foundation.

“I didn't expect the added Latin influence in some tracks, which is the beauty of letting an album grow and change along the way. I've never looked to recreate records, so I would like you to be able to add this new one to a growing collection that has already spanned nearly 10 years. I hope these love/protest stories lift you up and keep you together even when tides of change encourage us to do the opposite. Into the future, we sail.”

Ziggy Alberts is a phenomenal artist, and with his own record label helping to propel his work forward, he will be sure to capture the eyes of the world in the coming years.