Introducing BARKADA, a local collective based in Kaurna Country, Adelaide. Hailing from Adelaide’s South, BARKADA are a new RnB collective with hard hitting production from Ab-Thirza and J Tareno to the soulful singing of Escasinas and EXTC with the smart lyrical flows of Vanz and Shi’LO. This group brings a new side of Hip-Hop, Australia has yet to see.
Get to know them and how they aim to shape the Australian music landscape, emerging as one of the new faces to watch.
Founding members Vanz and shi’LO wanted to create a collective with different creatives from predominantly South East and South Asian backgrounds. In 2020, this vision came to life and ever since then, the group has evolved to over ten active members with varied roles across multiple mediums.
When asked why they chose to name the collective “barkada”, they answered “We’ve always called ourselves and considered ourselves a barkada, so it just fit.”
Due to the team members’ various backgrounds, they have an unstoppable mission of wanting to span across multiple avenues within the creative and administration side. “We all have individual identities, and each person brings something new to the table. Our differences synergise to create a sound that we wouldn’t be able to achieve on our own.”
With big dreams to one day play Coachella, they talk about their inspirations behind their music. “Nostalgia is a big factor in a lot of our music, whether through the sonics or the lyrics, that being said, we like to push the boundary in our sound, having tracks that are very modern but also tracks that can be super throwback as well.”
They are eager to hit the national festival circuit and start performing interstate, but for now, they are focusing on their next moves as a group, “We’ve just come off a packed summer of gigs and releases and are spending quite a bit of time working on our next couple of releases and shows that’ll follow to centre ourselves as a group and a brand.
Members
Vanz – Artist
shi’LO – Artist/Producer/Engineer
EXTC – Artist
Escasinas – Artist
Thirza – Producer
Jason Oates – Fashion/Photographer/Media Expert
Aaron Dasari – Management
WaxxOff/44Yush – Producer
ming. – Producer
Keith Kugo – Artist/Producer
JTareno – Producer/Artist
Rebecca Joy – Graphic Design/Tattoo Artist
Kegs – Inspiration
Barkada’s music videos
For more information, follow Barkada Collective on Instagram at: https://www.instagram.com/barkadacollective/
