It’s been another big year of releases from Australian, Australia-based and First Nations artists. In this list of our 50 favourites of the year, we’ve tried to capture the various movements and innovations that provided the soundtrack to 2023. In top spot is ‘Blak Britney’, a knockout blow of hip hop and personality by Yorta Yorta, Djadja Wurrung, Kalkadoon and Yirendali woman Miss Kaninna.
It’s joined near the top of the list by Teether & Kuya Neil’s grimey alt-rap song ‘CYA’ featuring ZK king 劉, the ambient techno of Sleep D’s ‘Punch Drunk’ featuring YL Hooi, and the reggae-rock protest song ‘Take No More’ by Kee’ahn and Emma Donovan.
‘Blak Britney’ – Miss Kaninna’s debut single – is a prime illustration of how the personal is political. Over a lean, upbeat groove that sounds like turn-of-the-2000s Neptunes, Kaninna voices her disgust at Australia’s ongoing colonial violence. ‘Blak Britney’ is a fuck you to invaders, “land takers” and “treaty breakers”, but ultimately, it’s a song of resistance. “I’m a deadly bitch,” goes the chorus. “A Black Britney Spears.”
Revisit Our 50 Favourite Australian Songs of 2022
The Top 50 Australian Songs of 2023
- Miss Kaninna – Blak Britney
- Teether & Kuya Neil – CYA (feat. ZK king 劉)
- Sleep D – Punch Drunk (feat. YL Hooi)
- Kee’ahn & Emma Donovan – Take No More
- POOKIE & Kuzich – FEEL IT IN THE BLACK
- Yirinda – Thurum Voi (Look There)
- ZK king 劉 – Heart throbs
- Keanu Nelson – Kutjupa Tjuta
- Sevy – Whats the Move
- Naretha Williams – Into Dusk We Fall
- Ripple Effect Band – Loving and Caring
- EXEK – Welcome to my Alibi
- 700 Feel – 5D Dub
- Polito – Fortune Teller
- rocky – Nothing Tuesday
- Mindy Meng Wang 王萌 & Tim Shiel – Mirror Flower 镜花水月
- RVG – Midnight Sun
- Ella Thompson – To Light The Lantern
- Maggie Tra – Hanoi Ói
- J. McFarlane’s Reality Guest – Youtube Trip
- YL Hooi – Glitch Clarry Ditty
- Hubcaps – Beside(s) Me
- Jennifer Loveless – Pleasure (Original Vox Mix)
- Vv Pete – Frauds (DJ Plead Remix)
- Ryan Fennis & Voidhood – AETHERNET
- 1300 – Lalaland
- Elizabeth – Love Is the Easiest Salvation
- Mindy Meng Wang 王萌 & Sui Zhen – 气 | Chi | Energy
- REBEL YELL – Kombat
- Izy – Close the Door
- Gold Fang – Badness Issa Habit
- RONA. – Aperleye
- Immy Owusu – The World Is Here For You
- Baby Cool – Daydream
- Mo’Ju – Money
- DJ PGZ – Quality High
- Eternal Dust – Candy
- Jen Cloher – Mana Takatāpui
- Divide and Dissolve – Want
- Barkaa – Division
- Elle Shimada – MONONOKE (feat. Jamahl Yami)
- Gut Health – Juvenile Retention
- Terry – Gold Duck
- Surprise Chef – Rosemary Hemphill
- Kootsie Don – Lemme Know
- Cash Savage and the Last Drinks – $600 Short On the Rent
- Picked Last – NO CLUE
- Charlie Hill – Orleigh Sun
- Unsolicited Joints – Joint 1
- BAYANG (tha Bushranger) – Antarctica (feat. FRIDAY*, TT)
Further Reading
Miss Kaninna: “It’s a Privilege to Listen to Black People’s Stories”
ZK king 劉: “This Record Felt Nostalgic Even Before I Had Finished Making It”
REBEL YELL and Her Collaborators on the Themes and Experiences at the Core of ‘DESOLATION’
We’re All Stupefied Oil Gobblers in the Video for EXEK’s ‘Welcome to my Alibi’
Elizabeth: The Songs, Words, Treasures and Images that Inspired ‘Love Is The Easiest Salvation’
Ella Thompson Goes Giallo on 70s Slow-Burner ‘To Light The Lantern’
