Heaps Decent

Nina Las Vegas

Co-founder of Heaps Decent and social media personality Nina Las Vegas was forced into music by her parents in Wagga Wagga, NSW. Nina brought her piano skills to Sydney and entered the exciting world of radio production, and hosted two national radio shows on triple j. In 2015 she started her own music label, NLV Records, and continues to pursue her career as a solo artist. Nina is an inspiring role model for young people, and continues to mentor them in creative enterprises.

Levins

Andrew co-founded Heaps Decent with Nina Agzarian in 2007 when he was 22 and regularly touring Australia as a DJ. Andrew has since worked as head chef in his own restaurant, and continues to write about good food and music. Levins also hosts many podcasts, including Hey Fam, Serious Issues, Old Raps, All the Small Games and The Mitchen. Having music knowledge spanning countless musical realms, and having been a DJ since the age of 15 makes Levins an instant favourite with young people.

Adam Bozzetto

Heaps Decent facilitator main man Adam started his music obsession at a young age, playing Piano at 4 years old and trying his hand at every other instrument possible until he turned 18 and discovered electronic music. He has remixed for some of the biggest dance labels in the world such as Dim Mak and Southern Fried, and performed throughout Europe, Asia and USA.

Ego

Ego is a digital artist and has been working with us since 2015. His multimedia skillset includes video and projection, augmented reality, print, and audio-visual performance, with a trademark surreal and high intensity style. He has created projections for Vivid Sydney, exhibited at MONA FOMA, and worked on music videos for artists including LDRU, KLP, Sachi and Favored Nations. His workshop activities are on the cutting edge – exploring imagined virtual reality landscapes and the latest technologies.

CHARLIE CHUX

A key facilitator of Heaps Decent, Charlie is a DJ/Producer and man about town. Having DJd since 2005 at clubs and festivals all over, he has a diverse taste in music and a knack for imparting this on anyone who will listen. His passion lies in synthesizers and making Heaps Decent run like a well oiled machine.

Tom Elliott

Tom Elliott forms half of Sydney electronic duo Korky Buchek. Fusing house, hip hop, techno, and more, he’s had widespread support from outlets including Triple J, Pilerats, and Nocturnal Sound. Tom is a multi-instrumentalist and producer who has been sharing his talents and knowledge to inspire young, up-and-coming musicians. He has been a facilitator with Heaps Decent since the beginning of 2021.

Ellatronix

Ellatronix is a music producer, beat maker, and singer-songwriter who specialises in tropical house and chill out music. After discovering there wasn’t any music labels in Australia solely representing tropical house music producers, she decided to create her own label and in 2021 Soulset Records was established.

Lachlan Hazelton

Lachlan aka Cheff runs his own street wear design and print business, with a bold signature style influenced by cartoon iconography and manga. He commenced with Heaps Decent in 2023, running workshops that utilise apps and iPads to create original Tee shirt designs, album art and comic strips. These accessible workshops have been a firm favourite in environments ranging from youth justice to school holiday programs, with much unique original work and wearable art created as a result.

Bella Martin

Based in Sydney, Bella is a classically trained pianist with a Bachelor of Sound and Music Design. She has experience as a composer & sound designer for animation, theatre and short film, recently working with arts organisation Milk Crate Theatre. Bella is also engaged as a creative workshop facilitator with Starlight Children’s Foundation.

Wes Boney

Wes is a Proud Wiradjuri man from Wagga Wagga, a country rural boy who grew up with a love of cinema. Wes has a Bachelor in Television Production (Stage and Screen), as well as numerous collaborations with artists and communities as a filmmaker. He has a keen interest in storytelling and is constantly with a camera, traveling to new places, learning and reflecting on what the media and society does with certain issues and Indigenous topics.

MEEM

Meem is considered a pioneer in Australian electronic music-making, and has performed at some of Australia’s hugest music festivals and supported various first-class international acts. Meem has been part of the team at Heaps Decent since 2015, using his many years as a music producer and educator to engage even the shyest workshop participants.

Deepchild

Australian-born, formerly Berlin-based Deepchild (Rick Bull) maintains a fierce reputation as one of Australia’s great electronic music exports. From his 2007 Berlin debut at the city’s legendary Berghain/Panoramabar, playing to thousands at EXIT Festival, Detroit Electronic Music Festival and more, a stunning international reputation precedes him. A “DJ’s DJ” with over 20 years of club, broadcast, composition and writing experience, Rick’s contribution to electronic music is deeply rooted.

Jackie Atim Okot

Jackie Atim Okot is an emerging artist from Wagga Wagga. After bursting onto the local scene in 2016, she was chosen to support Australian Poetry Slam winner Zohab Khan on his regional tour. Jackie has since received a Variety Heart scholarship, published a number of works in collaboration with local artists, and is undertaking a mentorship curated by Eastern Riverina Arts. She was the feature artist at the Mother Tongue Multilingual showcase in 2018, and co MC’d the 2018 FUSION Multicultural Festival.

Howard Matthew

Howard is an artist, filmmaker and educator with 20 years of experience in the creative arts. Howard was previously based in London and worked with museums and galleries including The National Portrait Gallery, Serpentine Gallery and Tate Modern. Since relocating to Sydney, he has worked as co-Artistic Director/CEO at Shopfront Youth Arts, and in recent years worked for various organisations including the Sydney Opera House, Sydney Living Museums, and Sydney University.

Sarah Emery

Sarah has been working with Heaps Decent since 2015, and uses her extensive experience as a multimedia artist and independent filmmaker to facilitate engaging visual art workshops. Sarah has previously held the positions of Associate Director at Milk Crate Theatre, and Outreach Director at Shopfront Arts Co-op. Sarah has a Masters in Media Arts and Production (UTS), a Graduate Certificate in Screenwriting (AFTRS), and also is a qualified school teacher.

Elizabeth Rose

Elizabeth joined the Heaps Decent team in 2017 as an accomplished DJ, producer, and singer with various music awards under her belt. Elizabeth is a whiz at writing catchy pop melodies, and also undertakes all of her own music production. Having released many singles, EPs and an album at a young age, she is a great role model and inspiration for the young people involved in Heaps Decent workshops.

Sparrows

Sydney-based singer, producer and multi-instrumentalist Jess Nitties writes and performs her music under the alias ‘Sparrows’. Her unique approach to songwriting involves using found sounds to complement her rich vocals, creating sweet soundscapes in her music. She has had 2 Hype Machine #1 tracks and generated huge support across radio and online tastemakers. Her love of guitar and writing music started from stories of her father and uncle playing in bands back in the day.

2022 / 2023 Annual Report

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Heaps Decent x Funskull Tee Fundraiser

Heaps Decent x Funskull We’re honoured to announce our limited edition ‘Positive Futures’ t-shirt in collaboration with Australian artist Elliott Routledge (Funskull) who’s created an epic one-off design to raise much needed funds for our inspiring and inclusive music program. Elliott is known for his vibrant abstract work in public spaces internationally. It’s bright, bold […]

Considering an EOFY donation?

We provide project work free to young people who are experiencing various challenges early in life. We are immensely thankful to our community of generous supporters. Please go to our support page if you would like to make a tax deductible donation. Peace & gratitude!

AR Trail, FRESH FESTIVAL Wagga Wagga

From 2019 to 2022, Heaps Decent teamed up with the Multicultural Council of Wagga Wagga to deliver the multi-artform ‘No Borders In Our Sky’ project.

The interactive augmented reality (AR) experience features the original artworks of around 100 young locals and explores notions of home, community, identity and belonging. They will be accessible through an app available from the 1st of April 2023!

No Borders In Our Sky

Who are we now as a community, and who could we be? No Borders In Our Sky brought diverse young people together to express their vision for harmony and belonging, and to tackle global issues arising from prejudice and racism at a grass roots level. Over 3 years they explored music production and visual media, and created a number of public outcomes in the local community.

2021 / 2022 Annual Report

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Spotlight On: That Gurl Bella

Heaps Decent is thrilled to introduce our second feature artist of the year, That Gurl Bella. HD writer Amy recently chatted to the up-and-comer about her role models, her future in the music industry and her process of songwriting at such a young age.

That Gurl Bella

That Gurl Bella is an inner-west Sydney-based rapper, singer, and songwriter. Using her unique and smooth as silk vocals, she writes and sings in the same vein as the classics that she grew up listening to. She has always loved music, and from a young age has idolised top-tier singer-songwriters like Selena Quintanilla, Christina Aguilera, rappers Kurtis Blow & Eminem, and other rap, pop, and R&B superstars. She has created a lot of songs over the years, and works with Heaps Decent producers to take her tunes to the next level, with her latest song receiving rotation on Triple J.

Lil Arts

Lil Arts is a 17 year-old indigenous rapper from Walgett and Waterloo. He is part of the recently formed Sydney hip hop group Young Guns Original, sharing stories and observations from their lives growing up in the neighbourhood with hooks the kids love. YGO has played festivals and shows around the city including Balmy Nights at the Rocks and toured regional NSW with local legend Kobie Dee on the Block Party tour. Most recently Lil Arts had his biggest audiences yet, when he opened for The Kid LAROI on his latest tour of Australia and New Zealand.

Princess Atlantis

Princess Atlantis is a 17 year-old Aboriginal and Lebanese musical artist from Western Sydney. With an ear for melodies, she writes and performs genre-bending, infectious future facing club bangers. Her inspirations range from the unbeatable songwriting femme-fatales such as Amy Winehouse and Lana Del Rey, to the wit and unapologetic attitudes of rappers like Kanye West and Azaelia Banks. She has played shows at Balmy Nights in the Rocks, Saferoom as well as the Qween’s Ball at Luna Park’s Big Top. So far she has released 3 singles receiving radio play on Triple J and FBI.

Pantera Press Foundation support

We would like to thank the Pantera Press Foundation for their generous support of the Heaps Decent program. The Foundation recognises the impact and importance of creative development and self expression for children and young people – essential parts of learning and wellbeing. They are helping us increase access and inclusion in song writing and music production.

KEY COLLEGE

Heaps Decent runs a weekly workshop with the young people of Key College in Redfern, a private College run by Youth Off The Streets that provides education for young people without stable housing. Heaps Decent have been leading weekly music workshops at Key College since 2008 with great success!

HOME BASE

Home Base is our weekly workshop providing studio time and music production. Run as a drop-in format for young people to come and record with one of our facilitators, Home Base is a great opportunity to build skills and work on new content. We regularly run sessions in Redfern, Glebe, Haymarket and Woolloomoolloo.

RIVERINA & WAGGA SESSIONS

Riverina and Wagga Sessions is an ongoing workshop project in the Riverina hub of Wagga Wagga in NSW and greater Riverina area. The project consists of workshop visits at various centres around the Riverina region with numerous community partners.

YOUTH JUSTICE ‘BIG UP’ PROGRAM

The Big Up program focuses on music creation and appreciation skills, building confidence and self-expression. It aims to help at-risk young people to find alternative ways to engage with education and become engaged members of the community. The project takes place at schools and programs within Youth Justice Centres and schools for young people with behavioural challenges right across NSW.

Heaps Decent Augmented Reality

Heaps Decent Augmented Reality Heaps Decent has been working with young people around Australia making digital artworks that you can view via our Heaps Decent augmented reality app. How to Use Download the app! App store Google Play Enable camera access for the app Ensure you have reasonable network connection or wifi Point your phone […]

TIRKANDI INABURRA

Tirkandi Inaburra is a cultural centre for First Nations Youth in Coleambally, NSW. It aims to empower teens to develop and draw on their own resilience in order to take responsibility for their own lives, develop strategies to deal with their problems and minimise risk taking behaviours. The promotion of self-confidence, identity and cultural pride is […]

GIRLS REFUGES

We’re delighted to support the creative expression of young women, and those wanting to enter the music industry with skills development and mentoring.

WILCANNIA AND FAR-WEST SESSIONS

Heaps Decent facilitators, armed with professional recording equipment and a whole lot of enthusiasm, lead music production workshops with a large majority of First Nations young people in the community. Joining forces with local organisations such as Wings Drop-In Centre, Heaps Decent facilitates a number of week-long workshop visits.

15 Years of Heaps Decent!

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Spotlight On: Princess Atlantis

Introducing our first feature artist for 2022: Princess Atlantis! The genre-bending sensation chatted with us about her first live performance, and we got the inside scoop on her influences and her musical journey so far.

Happy Holidays from Heaps Decent!

Thank you, IMB!

We would like to announce some special grant support from the IMB Bank Community Foundation. Creative engagement provides a means by which young people can tackle their thoughts and feelings through self-expression. Heaps Decent works to empower children and youth to express themselves through music and multi-media projects. Many participants we work with experience mental […]

Thank You, NSW ClubGRANTS!

A big thank you to NSW ClubGRANTS. The City of Sydney RSL and Club York have provided funding assistance for our Home Base project in Redfern.

Be Kind Sydney

Excited to announce Heaps Decent is part of the Be Kind Sydney 2021 Day of Giving. This epic collaboration is to raise funds for 100+ local Sydney charities, including us!

2020 / 2021 Annual Report

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JANINE AGZARIAN

Janine has extensive experience in the public education sector, and is currently managing disability programs in the Riverina. Over many decades she has worked with isolated Aboriginal communities and marginalised young people. Janine recognises the enormous potential that exists in young people regardless of life circumstances. Janine is committed to supporting work that allows the ability of young people to flourish.

CREATIVE KIDS PROVIDER

We are now a registered Creative Kids provider! Young people across NSW can redeem vouchers with us. If you don’t have a voucher, claim yours at Service NSW.

People of Post Grants

The People of Post Grants gives Australia Post workforce members the opportunity to nominate a local organisation for a small grant. Big thanks to Louisa in Redfern for choosing to nominate us! Our application was successful and we have been able to purchase a new Oculus Quest headset, an exciting tool in our kit for exploring virtual reality.

14 Years of Heaps Decent

We need your help to support change, positive futures, and the development of high quality Australian music with young people. Make a tax deductible EOFY donation to support our work now!

Sydney Human Beat Machine

In 2020 with the support of the City of Sydney we gathered a library of found sounds made by some of Sydney’s youngest residents. When things went very quiet for a while we invited primary school aged children from several schools in the area to make some really loud noises, and these were orchestrated into “Sydney Human Beat Machine”. The resulting edit is a real celebration of the energy and invention of kids in the city.

3c Above Part 1: Protecting the Country

Super happy to share this recently completed short film 3c Above Part 1: Protecting the Country. Made by emerging filmmakers Sivani Yaddanapudi & Samantha Barahona, this film looks at how climate change is impacting our local communities. It’s part of a larger Heaps Decent multi-media project in the making.

Youth Action Project Grant Scheme

We would like to thank the Commonwealth Department of Health for supporting our 2021 Big Up program through their Youth Action Project Grant Scheme.

Seeking Multi-Media Artists!

We are seeking Sydney based multi-media artists to join a pool of casual workshop leaders. Desirable candidates may be experienced in public art, mural creation, VR/AR technology, or digital art including animation. We encourage applicants skilled in several visual mediums.

Real World XR Awards

The No Borders In Our Sky mural won an award at the Real World XR Awards! With some big competition, the mural was selected as the winner in the Diversity category.

2019 / 2020 Annual Report

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Artstate Wagga Wagga 2020 – Future Leaders

During Artstate, No Borders In Our Sky will present a photographic portrait series titled Future Leaders as well as the interactive public art mural. In the Future Leaders series participants collaged their own additions to their portraits by hand, exploring personal identity, culture and strength.

City of Sydney funding for Home Base

We are excited to announce that we have received funding from the City of Sydney for Home Base workshops covering the essentials of music production and recording. Participants will be able to access a range of current equipment and technology while working with our skilled music producers. We will be commencing workshops once we can […]

No Borders in Our Sky – interactive public mural

After over 12 months of multimedia workshops, creating artworks, recording songs, interviews and stories, we were proud to install a large scale interactive mural that celebrates the diversity and creativity of young people engaged in the No Borders project in Wagga. 28 beautiful self portraits make up the mural, each portrait a window into the […]

REMOVE HATE FROM THE DEBATE

https://removehatefromthedebate.com

2018 / 2019 Annual Report

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Diplo Bridge Climb Competition Terms & Conditions

Win Tickets for Bridge Climb Terms and Conditions 1. Entry is open to Australian residents only aged 18 and over. Only one (1) entry per individual will be accepted. 2. Promotion commences 23/09/19 and final entries close on 25/09/19 at 10am 3. To enter participants must re-post this photo, describe why you want a ticket […]

KXH x Vivid pt. 3: Heaps Decent x Shantan Wantan Ichiban

We’ve worked with some amazing talent over the years & some of them will be coming together for one big night at Vivid!
Spicy lineup and *FREE ENTRY*

1mob

1mob have performed shows including Good Vibrations Festival, Parklife, VIVID Sydney, and supported Bone Thugs & Harmony. They have also worked with communities and presented at Yabun Festival on numerous occasions, as well as working with Heaps Decent for several years. 1mob have shared studio time with international artists including AC Slater, Jessie Rose, Diplo, A-Trak, and collaborated with local MCs Brother Black, The Last Kinection and Street Warriors. After putting music on hold, Rhimi and Henry are back to take the industry by a storm!

Thanks FBi!

This month we are celebrating 4 years of Heaps Decent tracks played on FBi Radio! Since April 2015, Heaps Decent Radio has been featured (almost) every Monday at 5pm. We did the maths – that’s over 180 songs played!

Heaps Decent x Emanate

We are thrilled to announce our partnership with new music platform, Emanate!

2017 / 2018 Annual Report

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Party in the Sky

Earlier in 2018 we attended a mini schools camp in the small northern NSW town Enngonia, to run a week of music and digital art workshops. Facilitators Ego, Charlie and Adam created some amazing work with kids from Enngonia, Louth, Bourke-Walgett and Wanaaring schools. We produced this super cute green screen music video Party in the Sky!

RIVERINA JUVENILE JUSTICE CENTRE

We’re thrilled to announce that we will be returning to Riverina Juvenile Justice Centre to run music production workshops with help from the Wagga Wagga City Council Annual Grants Program!

ENNGONIA, MARCH 2018

In March we made the trip to the small town of Enngonia in northern NSW.

THE XX SHOW, FORUM MELBOURNE

Due to overwhelming demand, The xx have added an additional Melbourne show to their Australian tour with proceeds going to Heaps Decent and Minus 18!

HAPPY HOLIDAYS!

2017 has been a HUGE year for Heaps Decent, thanks HEAPS for all the support!

MAJOR LAZER – GIVE ME FUTURE

A couple of weeks back, Warner held a special screening of Major Lazer’s Give Me Future documentary, which takes a behind the scenes look at their momentus Cuba show.

EMC: YOU’RE THE VOICE

Our Project Director Charlie O’Brien is a panelist at this years Electronic Music Conference.

GIRLS REFUGE WORKSHOPS

Nina Las Vegas, Elizabeth Rose and Sparrows have recently been running all girls workshops in Sydney!

THANK YOU!

Our 10 Year celebration, I Heart Heaps Decent, was a great success! We sold every single piece and raised over $36,000 for Heaps Decent…

Adam Dal Pozzo

‘Wanderer’, 2017
graphic print
50 x 70cm

Kai Wasikowski

‘Handscape VII’, 2017
pure pigment on archival paper
60 x 60cm

William Mansfield

‘Inferno’, 2016
four colour risograph print
42 × 29.7cm (unframed)
limited edition of 50

Emma Walker

‘Element Song V’, 2017
paper, marine ply, ink, paint, graphite, wax and desert ochre
37.5 x 31cm (framed)

Leah Fraser

‘One of these things first VII’, 2017
watercolour ink and acrylic on French artisan paper
32 x 26cm (framed)

Alex Latham

‘Shh’, 2017
Acrylic on canvas
20 x 20cm

Miranda Skoczek

‘Shifting Worlds’, 2017
oil on linen
69.5 x 89.5cm (hardwood frame)

I HEART HEAPS DECENT

Come and celebrate 10 YEARS OF HEAPS DECENT!

Join our story – a charity art auction will be held on the night, an opportunity to buy some incredible pieces by Australian-based artists while contributing to the future of Heaps Decent. All funds raised will go directly into delivering projects where they are most needed.

HEAPS DECENT TV

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