Full of Air welcomes its first Meanjin-centric compilation, 'foa001'

“Everything in this city inspires me… from its rivers to streets-beach, Queen St or Brunswick St… the end of one train line to the other,” says Sol, who is a DJ and presenter on Full of Air. “B.N.E till I D.I.E,” they conclude.

Full of Air has been a permanent fixture on Brisbane's 4ZZZ for six years now. Sonically, it explores electronic music outside the heteronormative guise of straight techno or dance. It’s a thoughtful space, where the punishing hood-oos of exclusion need not be heard.

Presenting on the show are Sol, Amy-Jean and the program's founder Rachael, who started Full of Air with her cousin Chloe in 2020. Since then, the group have expanded the scope to parties and now, to their first-ever compilation 'foa001' - music from femme, queer and non-binary artists, exclusively from Brisbane.

Releasing a compilation like this had been a long-term goal for Full of Air. “I got sick of searching for music and like just finding labels where every song was by a man,” Amy-Jean recalls, “for years now I've been talking to friends about putting together a compilation independently or starting a small label... it just made sense to do it through Full of Air,” she tells me.

“At the start of this year, in January, we sat down together with a proper plan—pen and paper—and mapped everything out.”

Rachael’s track 'Sitting on your shoulders', from her quickly-growing electronic, dream-pop project Fatshaudi, opens the record. The song is a collaboration with friend and guitarist Jashka, which provides a new backing for her smooth vocals, along with digitised production and remixes.

READ: Fatshaudi on making music that feels deeply

The record slips through each artist's personal sound, melting moments of melodic glitch and experimental electronics that feel refreshed and inspired each time I return to it. The best way I can describe 'foa001' is like a welcome blur, like the cover that draws over your eyes after a long day in the pool, rich and felt.

“The brief itself was fairly loose,” FOA’s Amy-Jean recalls. “We definitely wanted it to be something you could sit with - words like textural, ethereal, airy, and soft kept coming up, and I think the final result really reflects that,” she describes.

Among the featured artists is SCRAPS, the melancholic, dehydrated disco project, known for songs like 'Touch Blue' and 'She Devil'. Here, the artist explores a slower tempo, with 'Love that with one stroke cuts time in two', in what feels like a last-dance lullaby.

Among the compilation's other contributors are Dominance and Jeani, from Full of Air’s own Amy-Jean. When describing her track, 'Computer Noise', she shares that it was made in part with the laboured buzz of her very old, now-dead computer. “It was so old and loud," she laughs. These samples sit alongside her melodic (eye-watering) vocal arrangements.

Amy-Jean’s track is a standout, not only because it's great, but because it fundamentally repels the idea that you need heaps of stuff to make great music. It’s the product of talent, and proper platforming for new musical artists, which more often than not, lands on top.

All the same, Amy-Jean, Sol and Rachael all confess to wanting better opportunities to perform and release music outside of the city's male-dominated dance scene, and the ripple-on effects of their efforts are palpable.

“Amy Jean and I have talked about this a lot," says Rachael. “When I first started playing in Brisbane, I’d often be booked for opening slots and asked to play ambient sets before a male DJ….

These days, I just say no to that kind of thing. I refuse to put myself in that position.”

“That said,” she continues, “those situations still exist, but now there are so many queer- and femme-run parties that they’re no longer the only opportunities available; you actually have options.”

Only a week or so out from release, 'foa001' has already begun to capture a wider audience, securing placements in libraries of tastemakers like NTS’s Rory Bowens. Yet, while attention for the project continues to grow outward, more than ever, Full of Air’s intentions stay local.

“We’ve had so many people come through the show,” Rachael says. “Some DJing for the first time, others just making playlists, eventually, going on to pursue DJing or producing.”

Among the impressive list of alumni are Hannah D. and Triple J host Mayatu. Also passing through the program were dear friends: Bona, Bill and Lydia, who all contribute to the arts in a wider capacity.

“Sol, who’s now our co-announcer alongside Amy-Jean, started as a DJ on the show. Since then, they’ve become a huge part of the community, throwing parties and building a presence in Brisbane. It’s really special to see that growth…”

“We don’t claim responsibility for what people go on to do, but it’s nice to provide that initial opportunity, a little push in the right direction,” Rachael tells me.

In many ways, 'foa001' feels like a triumphant return to Brisbane’s defiant roots. It’s a recurring ebb and flow of any city scene that reminds me too of Sydney’s own trajectory, what simmers after big political changes, and conservative governments. For a time, a city leads, in a brief period of cultural currency; others follow, and we continue chasing our tails, around, time and time again.

It’s this ongoing effort and general toughness in maintaining a scene that Sol speaks to as well. “Every time this city (Brisbane) hits a flow state it loses momentum by people leaving…

Sometimes you have to stay and create the city you want to live in.”

When asked about this, Rachael responds, “that’s exactly why we started it (Full of Air)... the station we’re part of is 4ZZZ, which I think is (one of) Australia’s oldest-running community radio stations….

It celebrated its 50th anniversary at the end of last year. It has really strong punk and punk rock roots, and that influence is still very present.”

For Queensland, this resistance was mobilised in the eighties, a defiance among young people in response to the hyper-conservative, corrupt government reforms of Joh Bjelke-Petersen, who enforced censorship and shutdowns of entertainment precincts across the city.

This, at the time, mobilised a fiercely engaged underground of musicians and politically active young people, hosting shows in illegal venues, warehouses and community spaces. In the end, it was the student community radio station 4ZZZ that was famously responsible for the unveiling of this government.

This period also gave rise to hugely influential Australian music, including 'Pig City' by The Parameters, as well as new experiments with electronics and post-punk sounds. Among them are Xero and resurging artists like Nicole Skelty’s (Artificial, B(if)Tek).

READ: Nicole Skeltys on rebooting B(if)tek & Artificial

Now, it feels like a new wave of young people is sowing the seed of dominance within the heteronormative fabric of their cities' culture.

For their first compilation, Full of Air will donate all proceeds to Brisbane’s Open Doors Youth Service. Open Doors Youth Service is Queensland's only service for queer people under 25, providing safe places for connection and mentorship within their community.

This, as Amy-Jean shares, felt personal to the group, highlighting how much the service had supported people in their community.

“Sometimes I’ll go for a bike ride through Brisbane city, through the streets I’ve lived in and just try to see it all with fresh eyes. It’s actually a really beautiful place, and it’s shaped who I am, and a lot of the people around me. It’s kind of just… Brisbane is what it is,” Amy-Jean concludes, “there’s something honest about that…”

Full of Air will be celebrating the CD launch of 'foa001' on Tuesday 11 August at The Cave Inn, Woolloongabba, with live sets from Attention Shoppers, Raquel and Jeani. The event is part of an ongoing series, ‘Experimental Tuesdays,’ which is hosted at the venue each week.

Entry is free for all on the night, with all CD proceeds going to Open Doors Youth Service.

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Lilly Grainger is a DJ, radio presenter and writer, contributing to Mixmag ANZ. You can find her on Instagram.