There’s a handful of Australian indie labels everyone knows. Flightless, Bedroom Suck, Farmers & Assassins — they’re all great, don’t get me wrong. But if you’re only following the big names, you’re missing out on some of the most interesting music coming out of this country right now.

I spend a lot of time digging through catalogues, and there are a few labels that keep showing up in my “this is bloody brilliant” pile. They’re small, they’re focused, and they’re releasing stuff that’ll be collectible in ten years. Here’s five you should know about.

1. Healthy Tapes (Sydney)

Started in 2022 by a couple of Newtown locals who were sick of the post-punk clone factory. They’re doing experimental electronic stuff, ambient, the occasional weird pop record. Everything’s limited to 200 copies, hand-numbered, usually comes with a zine or a print or something.

What I like about Healthy Tapes is they’re not trying to recreate 1979. They’re making music that sounds like now — or maybe ten minutes into the future. The Maroubra Drones cassette from last year is genuinely unsettling in the best way. And their releases always sell out within a month, which tells you something.

2. Moonlight Rituals (Melbourne)

If you’re into dark folk, psych, anything with a bit of mysticism or weirdness, Moonlight Rituals is your label. They’ve been around since 2018 but they’ve really hit their stride in the last couple of years.

Small runs, usually vinyl and cassette, always beautifully packaged. They did a split 7” last year between a Ballarat doom band and an Adelaide folk singer, and it shouldn’t have worked but it absolutely did. That’s the kind of left-field thinking that makes labels interesting.

3. Rust Records (Brisbane)

Brisbane’s always had a great underground scene, and Rust Records is right in the middle of it. They’re doing garage rock, surf, a bit of punk — nothing too polished, everything recorded fast and loose.

Their ethos is basically “get it done, get it out there, move on.” That might sound sloppy but it’s not. It’s honest. These records sound like they were made by actual humans in actual rooms, not algorithms in a DAW. The Velodrome 7” from February is four minutes of perfect scuzzy garage rock that’ll make you want to start a band.

4. Low Lying Records (Adelaide)

Adelaide gets overlooked, which is a shame because there’s always been great music coming out of there. Low Lying is doing experimental, ambient, drone stuff — the kind of music you put on at 2am when you can’t sleep and you want something that’ll take you somewhere else.

They’ve only put out about a dozen releases since they started in 2023, but every one’s been solid. The David Trimboli LP from last year was one of my favorite Australian records full stop. Minimal piano, field recordings, somehow deeply unsettling and comforting at the same time.

5. Coastal Haze (Various)

Coastal Haze is a bit different — it’s run by one person who moves around a lot, so the “location” is kind of wherever they happen to be. But they’re always championing Australian artists who are doing something interesting with shoegaze, dream pop, that kind of dreamy reverb-soaked sound.

What’s great about Coastal Haze is they’re documenting a particular moment. In twenty years, if someone wants to know what Australian shoegaze sounded like in the mid-2020s, this label will be the reference point. The Sydney Shimmer compilation they put out last year is essential listening.

Why Small Labels Matter

Look, I’m not saying you should stop buying records from bigger indies. But these small labels are where the interesting stuff happens. They’re not worrying about radio play or festival slots. They’re just putting out music they believe in, in runs of 100 or 200 copies, and trusting that the right people will find it.

That’s how scenes get built. Not from the top down, but from the ground up. One weird 7” at a time.

And here’s the thing — when you buy from these labels, you’re not just getting a record. You’re supporting a micro-economy of artists, designers, pressing plants, printers. You’re participating in something that exists outside the algorithm.

How to Follow Them

All of these labels have Bandcamp pages, which is still the best place to find and support independent music. Most of them announce releases on Instagram a week or two before they drop. If something catches your eye, don’t wait — these things sell out fast.

And if you’re in Melbourne, come by Spank Records. I stock stuff from most of these labels when I can get my hands on it. Which isn’t always easy, but that’s part of the fun.

The best music’s never been easy to find. But it’s always been worth looking for.