Hey Bart! Can you tell us about LISTEN: Independent Label of the Month and how you came up with the idea?

The original idea came from working around the Square on events, and always wanting to have more music playing.

Then, it was also just thinking about how we can support and promote local music here at Fed Square in other ways, apart from events like Garage Band, or programming bands on the stage. And that’s about artists, but also record labels. And that led me to this idea of having playlists of music playing throughout the Square that focusses on Australian record labels.

LISTEN is on every weekday from 12.30–1.30pm and 6-7pm, and from 12pm–2.30pm on the weekends. Music from local record labels will play through Fed Square’s speakers, so people can listen and discover new music while they spend time in the Square. Each month, we’ll focus on a different record label.

I wanted this music to be curated for the space. I wouldn’t say ‘ambient’, necessarily, but a bit more weird-and-wonderful, where you’re not necessarily hearing a band’s hit single.

Tell us a bit about your background in music and the scene here in Melbourne. What is the role of the smaller record labels?

I’ve been DJing since I was 12 or 13, and so I’ve been exposed to the scene since I was young. I used to work in a record store just around the corner from Fed Square, Wax Museum Records, and I grew up around record labels and going to parties.

Melbourne’s got a pretty strong scene of not only live music and bands, but also electronic music and DJs. And the biggest number of record stores in the world per capita, at 5.9 stores per 100,000 residents. Massive!

I think the little record labels are awesome because they help reflect how good the live music scene is.

The first label I’m featuring as part of LISTEN is local Melbourne label Efficient Space. I picked them because they’re not just focussed on new music, but also re-earthing old stuff, and especially old Australian stuff. There’s some cassette and archival stuff from like 1980-89 and some First Nations releases, which is awesome music that you just would never have found.

Efficient Space has grown to over 50 or so releases now. My own record label has four. It’s important to show those smaller labels that you can keep chipping away at it and create a bigger catalogue.

Have you curated the playlists to be a mix of artists, or are you presenting records in full? What are your thoughts on curation and how algorithms are changing how people discover music?

Some of the mixes are more varied whereas if there’s something that I think needs to be listened to in full, I’ve done the record in full. For example, there is a Wilson Tanner record, which is a Melbourne duo and a beautiful ambient thing, which I’ve left in its entirety. But then with one of their other Australian releases called Midnight Spares, it’s all Australian music and is varied.

I think in the music world people can be kind of protective of what they think’s cool, whereas when I DJ for example, I’m pretty unselfish about it. If there’s somebody who hasn’t heard a song, and then I’m able to introduce them to something new, that’s the job done.

I like the curation process. I think working in a record store, you kind of see everyone’s interest in coming in and discovering records, digging through things, finding things they don’t know, and then, there’s an excitement to it because it’s unknown.

I think that’s what’s lost in streaming and using Spotify. People can become lazy and kind of trust the algorithm. And they get fed stuff. I don’t think it’s that bad, it can work sometimes. But it’s probably not as fun or as exciting as when you discover a song that you like for yourself.

From your DJing, producing, releasing music on your own label in your work at Fed Square, you’ve crafted a career with lots of opportunities to connect with people around music. Where do you think that comes from and what drives you to keep seeking out opportunities around music?

I think my biggest drive is sharing.

My grandpa owned pubs, my dad owned pubs and then I grew up in the pub. Growing up in a pub is pretty weird. You’re always around people. It feels like that’s something that is a big part of my drive to keep connecting with people, whether it’s through a club night, through a record store or through this work.

It feels like a part of my bloodline that I’m always entertaining or feeling responsible to socialise and communicate with everyone. That’s something that I’ve always thought about in the way I navigate life – not really judging people and always trying to be up for knowledge sharing with anyone.

What is your biggest aspiration for LISTEN: Independent Label of the Month?

My goal was to be able to unearth Australian labels and music to people who are visiting from all over the world. I think about travellers walking into Fed Square and hearing music playing that’s from an Australian label. I think that’s a nice little touch that they might be able to find something they like.

And it’s not commercial, and it’s not generic background music. I’ve tried to pick music that is palatable for the space. I really want to test out how sound is accepted in our public space and how people enjoy it.

If people like what they hear they can check out the details on the Big Screen – they’ll find the artist and track name there, as well as the current label we’re spotlighting that month.

And then, if they like the music – they can find the artist on Bandcamp. In my eyes Bandcamp is the best way to support artists at the moment, across platforms, because you can physically buy the music, whether it’s on a record, or you can at least buy their files.

That support means a lot for artists and indie labels – getting heard is half the battle for them.

So hopefully LISTEN can also in some small way help those artists to keep making music, and these record labels to keep putting out new music.

And that’s a win-win for everyone.

Pull up a deck chair in the square between 12.30–1.30pm and 6-7pm daily from 1 September 2026 and enjoy the LISTEN: Independent Label of the Month, curated by Bart Harney.