Ziggy Alberts (AU)

About

Queensland's Ziggy Alberts built his career from the ground up, literally starting by busking along Australia's East Coast before co founding his own label, Commonfolk Records, to release his music entirely on his own terms. His third studio album Laps Around the Sun is the one that put him on the map nationally, peaking at number 2 on the ARIA Australian Artist Albums chart in November 2018. The record uses the Earth's rotation as a metaphor, wrapped around a passionate case for protecting marine life, which gives you a pretty good sense of where Alberts' head is at: thoughtful, outdoorsy, and not afraid to make a point. His catalogue spans folk leaning acoustic songwriting through to collaborative work with Sydney hip hop duo Horrorshow on the 2020 EP I Won't Give You Up. By the end of 2019, ARIA had handed him gold certifications for six songs and platinum for two songs and an EP, a solid marker of just how wide his fanbase had grown. His label later signed a global distribution deal with Ingrooves Music, giving Commonfolk Records a much bigger reach.