Big Scary is an Australian musical duo formed in Melbourne in 2006, by Tom Iansek and Joanna Syme. The pair have released several EPs and five studio albums. Their 2013 album '' Not Art'' was nominated for the Australian Album of the Year at the J Awards of 2012, Best Independent Album at the AIR Awards of 2013 and also for Best Independent Release at the

ARIA Music Awards of 2013 The 27th Annual Australian Recording Industry Association Music Awards (generally known as ARIA Music Awards or simply The ARIAs) were a series of award ceremonies which included the 2013 ARIA Artisan Awards, ARIA Hall of Fame Awards, ARIA Fin ...

. ''Not Art'' won the 2014

Australian Music Prize The Australian Music Prize (often shortened to the AMP) is an annual award of $50,000 ($30,000 from 2005 to 2023) given to an Australian band or solo artist in recognition of the merit of an album released during the year of award. The award was ...

, winning the band $30 000. In 2010 Iansek formed a side project, #1 Dads. Big Scary's 2016 single "The Opposite of Us" was certified gold in Australia in 2020.

History

2006–2010: Formation and early EPs

Big Scary formed in 2006 as a modern folk band with simple shakers and acoustic guitar after the two met through a recommendation of mutual friends. Joanna Syme recalls "Tom was looking to put together a band and needed a drummer. He ended up on my doorstep with a guitar". The duo played casually together in between day jobs until 2008 when Iansek completed a program in audio engineering. Syme said "All of a sudden he was paying a lot more attention to production, and the direction of the band changed." In late 2008, the band headed into the studio for the first time, recording six live tracks in a single day. In October 2008, they duo uploaded "The Apple Song" onto Triple J Unearthed and officially released in December 2008, alongside a self-titled debut EP. In March 2009, "This Weight" was released followed in July 2009 with their 4-track EP ''The Mini EP'' and single "Hey Somebody" and EP ''At the Mercy of Elements'' in January 2010. In 2010, the duo recorded and released limited-edition EPs named and inspired by each seasonal turn. Upon completing the task in December 2010, the four EPs were compiled into the compilation, '' The Big Scary Four Seasons''. ''Beat Magazine'' said "''Four Seasons'' proves to be the defining turning point for Big Scary, for they are no longer the next best thing in Australian music, they ''are'' the best thing" while the ''AU Review'' hailed "the versatility and obscene talent of the players." At the

J Awards of 2010 The J Award of 2010 is the sixth annual J Awards, established by the Australian Broadcasting Corporation's youth-focused radio station Triple J. The announcement comes at the culmination of Ausmusic Month (November). For the third year, three awar ...

, they were nominated for Unearthed Artist of the Year. The song "Autumn", was placed in a high-profile AT&T advert in the USA and released as a single in January 2011.

2011–2020: ''Vacation'', ''Not Art'' and ''Animal''

In July 2011, Big Scary released "Mix Tape", the lead single from their debut studio album, ''

Vacation A vacation (American English) or holiday (British English) is either a leave of absence from a regular job or school or an instance of leisure travel away from home. People often take a vacation during specific holiday observances or for sp ...

''. This was followed by "Gladiator" in September 2011. ''Vacation'' was released in October 2011 and peaked at number 37 on the ARIA Charts. ''Beat Magazine'' said the album "delves into the theme of slowing losing touch with all those important things we like – friends, lovers, a home and that nifty thing known as employment." Two further singles were released from the album and the band extensively toured USA in 2012. In February 2013, Big Scary released "Phil Collins", followed by "Luck Now" in April. The duo's second studio album, '' Not Art'' was released in June 2013 and peaked at number 32 on the ARIA chart. "Twin Rivers" was released in November 2013. At the

, the album was nominated for two awards. The album won the

of 2013. The duo signed with Barsuk Records who released ''Not Art'' in North America in March 2014. In September 2015, Big Scary released "Organism", the lead single from their third studio album. In June 2016, the duo released the six-minute sonic, "Over Matter" and announced the released of their third studio album ''Animal''; a four-part experience drawing inspiration of the daily cycle of the animal kingdom, hunting, lurking, resting and waking. ''

Animal Animals are multicellular, eukaryotic organisms in the Biology, biological Kingdom (biology), kingdom Animalia (). With few exceptions, animals heterotroph, consume organic material, Cellular respiration#Aerobic respiration, breathe oxygen, ...

'' was released on 2 September 2016 and peaked at number 5 on the ARIA charts. The album was supported by their first Australian headline tour in three years. At the

ARIA Music Awards of 2017 The 31st Annual Australian Recording Industry Association Music Awards (generally known as ARIA Music Awards or simply The ARIAs) are a series of award ceremonies which include the 2017 ARIA Artisan Awards, ARIA Hall of Fame Awards, ARIA Fine ...

, Iansek was nominated for Producer of the Year.

2021–present: ''Daisy'' and ''Me and You''

In February 2021, Big Scary released "Stay", their first new music in four years and announced the release of their forthcoming fourth studio album '' Daisy''. Singles "Get Out" and "Bursting At the Seams" preceded the album's release on 30 April 2021. In August 2022, Big Scary released "Real Love" and "Devotion" preceding their fifth studio album, '' Me and You'', which was released on 23 September 2022.

Discography

Studio albums

Compilations

Extended plays

Singles

Awards and nominations

AIR Awards

The Australian Independent Record Awards (commonly known informally as

AIR Awards The Australian Independent Record Awards (commonly known as AIR Awards) is an annual awards night to recognise, promote and celebrate the success of Australia's Independent Music sector. History The inaugural 2006 awards were held at Blacket Hot ...

) is an annual awards night to recognise, promote and celebrate the success of Australia's Independent Music sector. ! , - ,

2011 The year marked the start of a Arab Spring, series of protests and revolutions throughout the Arab world advocating for democracy, reform, and economic recovery, later leading to the depositions of world leaders in Tunisia, Egypt, and Yemen ...

, themselves , Breakthrough Independent Artist , , , - , rowspan="4" ,

2013 2013 was the first year since 1987 to contain four unique digits (a span of 26 years). 2013 was designated as: *International Year of Water Cooperation *International Year of Quinoa Events January * January 5 – 2013 Craig, Alask ...

, themselves , Best Independent Artist , , rowspan="4" , , - , ''Not Art'' , Best Independent Album , , - , "Luck Now" , Best Independent Single/EP , , - , themselves , Carlton Dry Global Music Grant , , - , rowspan="2" ,

2017 2017 was designated as the International Year of Sustainable Tourism for Development by the United Nations General Assembly. Events January * January 1 – Istanbul nightclub shooting: A gunman dressed as Santa Claus opens fire at the ...

, ''Animal'' , Best Independent Album , , rowspan="2" , , - , "The Opposite of Us" , Best Independent Single/EP , , - ,

2022 The year began with another wave in the COVID-19 pandemic, with SARS-CoV-2 Omicron variant, Omicron spreading rapidly and becoming the dominant variant of the SARS-CoV-2 virus worldwide. Tracking a decrease in cases and deaths, 2022 saw ...

, ''Daisy'' , Best Independent Pop Album or EP , , , - ,

2023 Catastrophic natural disasters in 2023 included the Lists of 21st-century earthquakes, 5th-deadliest earthquake of the 21st century 2023 Turkey–Syria earthquakes, striking Turkey and Syria, leaving up to 62,000 people dead; Cyclone Freddy ...

, ''Me and You'' , Best Independent Pop Album or EP , ,

Australian Music Prize

The

(the AMP) is an annual award of $30,000 given to an Australian band or solo artist in recognition of the merit of an album released during the year of award. , - , 2013 , ''Not Art'' , Australian Music Prize , , - , 2016 , ''Animal'' , Australian Music Prize , , -

ARIA Music Awards

The

ARIA Music Awards The Australian Recording Industry Association Music Awards (commonly known informally as ARIA Music Awards, ARIA Awards, or simply the ARIAs) is an annual series of awards nights celebrating the Australian music industry, put on by the Austr ...

is an annual awards ceremony that recognises excellence, innovation, and achievement across all genres of

Australian music The music of Australia has an extensive history made of music societies. Indigenous Australian music forms a significant part of the unique heritage of a 40,000- to 60,000-year history which produced the iconic didgeridoo. Contemporary fusions o ...

. Big Scary have been nominated for three awards. , - , rowspan="2",

, rowspan="2", ''Not Art'' , Breakthrough Artist - Release , , - , Best Independent Release , , - ,

, Tom Iansek for ''Animal'' by Big Scary , Producer of the Year , , - ,

2021 Like the year 2020, 2021 was also heavily defined by the COVID-19 pandemic, due to the emergence of multiple Variants of SARS-CoV-2, COVID-19 variants. The major global rollout of COVID-19 vaccines, which began at the end of 2020, continued ...

, ''Daisy'' , Best Adult Contemporary Album , , -

J Awards

The

J Awards The J Awards are an annual series of Australian music awards, established by the Australian Broadcasting Corporation's youth-focused radio station Triple J, and which also extend to sister stations, Triple J Unearthed and Double J. The awar ...

are an annual series of Australian music awards that were established by the Australian Broadcasting Corporation's youth-focused radio station

Triple J Triple J is an Australian government-funded national radio station founded in 1975 as a division of the Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC). It aims to appeal to young listeners of alternative music, and plays far more Australian conten ...

. , - ,

2010 The year saw a multitude of natural and environmental disasters such as the 2010 Haiti earthquake, the Deepwater Horizon oil spill, and the 2010 Chile earthquake. The 2009 swine flu pandemic, swine flu pandemic which began the previous year ...

, themselves , Unearthed Artist of the Year , , - ,

, ''Vacation'' , Australian Album of the Year , , - ,

, ''Not Art'' , Australian Album of the Year , , - ,

2016 2016 was designated as: * International Year of Pulses by the sixty-eighth session of the United Nations General Assembly. * International Year of Global Understanding (IYGU) by the International Council for Science (ICSU), the Internationa ...

, ''Animal'' , Australian Album of the Year , , -

Music Victoria Awards

The

Music Victoria Awards The Music Victoria Awards (previously known as The Age EG Awards and The Age Music Victoria Awards) are an annual awards night celebrating music from the Australian state of Victoria. They commenced in 2006 and are awarded in Melbourne Music W ...

, are an annual awards night celebrating Victorian music. They commenced in 2005. , - ,

, ''Not Art'' , Best Album , , - ,

2020 The year 2020 was heavily defined by the COVID-19 pandemic, which led to global Social impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, social and Economic impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, economic disruption, mass cancellations and postponements of even ...

, Tom Iansek (Big Scary) , Best Musician ,

References

{{Authority control Victoria (state) musical groups Australian musical duos Musical groups established in 2006