Celebrating the power of audio to inform and shape Australian culture, in all its diversity, the National Film and Sound Archive (NFSA) has opened public nominations for the 2024 additions to the Sounds of Australia capsule.
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 NFSA’s Chief Curator, Meagan Loader. “We want Australians to look back at 2014, and further, to let us know which sounds still resonate with them today.”
Past additions to the NFSA’s Sounds of Australia capsule 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 – 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
- the 2012 Misogyny Speech by then Prime Minister Julia Gillard
Nominations are now open and will close on Wednesday 9 October. The 2024 Sounds of Australia will be announced in December. For more information and to nominate, visit: www.nfsa.gov.au for details.
Image: The Misogyny Speech by Julia Gillard – courtesy of the NFSA