Media Release: Nominations Open for 2024 Sounds of Australia

Published Wednesday 25 September 2024

Public nominations open today for the 2024 additions to the National Film and Sound Archive’s annual Sounds of Australia capsule, which celebrates the power of audio to inform and shape Australian culture, in all its diversity. 

Audiences can nominate any Australian sound recording – songs, albums, advertising jingles, sounds from nature, radio and podcasts or a memorable moment from the country’s cultural, political or sporting life – as long it’s more than ten years old. 

That means sounds from 2014 are newly eligible, like Chandelier by Sia, Adam Goodes’ Australian of the Year speech, Fancy by Iggy Azalea, or the then PM Tony Abbott promising to shirtfront Vladimir Putin. 

Sounds of Australia is the NFSA’s annual celebration of iconic audio moments, honouring recordings that have resonated deeply with communities and audiences. Each year, a panel of audio experts and NFSA curators, following public nominations, select standout recordings capturing the essence of Australia to enter the NFSA’s iconic capsule collection.

‘These recordings highlight the creativity and diversity of Australian communities and build on the ongoing narrative of our national identity,' said Meagan Loader, the NFSA's Chief Curator. ‘We want Australians to look back at 2014, and further, to let us know which sounds still resonate with them today.’

Past additions have included Filipino singer Pilita Corrales’ early recording Come Closer To Me — one of the first recordings by a female artist to top the Australian charts – the Aeroplane Jelly jingle, the themes from Blue Hills and Neighbours, audio from Cyclone Tracey, Treaty by Yothu Yindi, Apodimi Compania’s album Rebetika: Songs of Greece, which was part of the diasporic revival of rebetika in Australia, a recording of a lyrebird in Healesville, Kylie Minogue’s I Should Be So Lucky, Gurrumul by Gurrumul, Tomorrow by Silverchair and the 2012 misogyny speech by then Prime Minister Julia Gillard.

Nominations will close on October 9 and the 2024 Sounds of Australia will be announced in December. 

Audience CTAs

• Go to nfsa.gov.au/sounds to nominate your pick for Sounds of Australia 2024

   

The 2023 Sounds of Australia, in chronological order, were: 

• Anvil Chorus, P. C. Spouse – 1927
• Sweet Nell of Old Drury, Nellie Stewart – 1931
• The death of a wombat, Ivan Smith (author), George S. English (composer), ABC (broadcaster) –1959
• I Only Came To Say Goodbye, Wilma Reading – 1961
• The Loved One, The Loved Ones – 1966
• Howzat, Sherbet – 1976
• Menstruation Blues, Robyn Archer – 1977
• Harry Williams and the Country Outcasts, Harry and Wilga Williams – 1979
• Slip Slop Slap jingle, Phillip Adams (writer), Peter Best (composer) and Cancer Council Victoria – 1981
• I am Australian, various – 1997
• Concerto of the Greater Sea, Joseph Tawadros – 2012

Audio and vision from the Sounds of Australia are available at nfsa.gov.au/sounds

Media enquiries and interview requests: 

Louise Alley | Communications Manager | 0422 348 652 | louise.alley@nfsa.gov.au

ABOUT THE NATIONAL FILM AND SOUND ARCHIVE OF AUSTRALIA 

The National Film and Sound Archive of Australia is the national audiovisual cultural institution. From the earliest recordings of the 1890s to the latest games and immersive digital productions, the collection comprises video and audio recordings, and contextual materials such as costumes, scripts, props, photographs and promotional materials. It ranges from items inducted into the UNESCO Memory of the World register to sporting matches, game shows and advertising jingles. Originally known as the National Historical Film and Speaking Record Library and operating under the auspices of the Commonwealth National Library, the collection dates back to 1935, making it one of the first audiovisual archives in the world. The NFSA became an independent cultural organisation in 1984. As well as preserving these items for future generations, NFSA curators continue to add to the collection, ensuring it provides an unbroken record of life in Australia, and of Australian creativity.