Meanjin/Brisbane’s ixaras, an already ground-breaking artist, has just ushered in her new phase with the brilliantly genre-bending single, ‘This City’. The track is also accompanied by a captivating, noir-themed music video.

Produced by Roeith Geraghty, ’My City' is an exhilarating, sweeping track that utilises exquisite percussion, didgeridoo and soaring synths to build an idiosyncratic, evolving soundscape. Tension and anticipation are moulded as arpeggiating synths crescendo and drive the song, expertly led by ixaras and her captivating delivery and hook-laden falsetto.

An absolutely fierce jam, This City sees ixaras push her sonic boundaries further than ever, diving into a multi-textural alt groove that jolts the senses in all the right ways. With rhythmic spasms of dark energy and an addictive percussive drive, the track is both raw and refined — a confident flex from an artist clearly locked into her vision. The inclusion of didgeridoo adds a striking, deep pulse, threading cultural depth into a forward-facing sound. The only downside? It’s over too soon — so hit repeat and stay in it.

  ixaras talks about the inspiration behind 'This City': 

"'This City' is a portrait of self-reinvention in a world where survival demands transformation. Inspired by the novel Jekyll and Hyde, the song explores the psychological toll of killing off your past self to succeed. The refrain, 'This City Knows My Name', is manifestation, declaration, and lying all in one. It's about the pursuit of ambition, acknowledging what parts of yourself you've sacrificed along the way, such as the paranoia of being perceived, a love letter to the version of you that had to disappear so the world would take notice."  

Accompanying the release is the elegant music video – directed by Mellow Minh. Shot in Eora/Sydney, the clip expertly uses black and white to extenuate the light and emphasise its film noir influences. The track's themes are front and centre in its storyline, using strobe lights to choreograph the central fight. Minh explains, “Ixara and I met a while back when I was out on tour with Skeggs — I instantly knew as soon as I heard her play, an exhilaration that I never heard before. So, as soon as I finished the leg, I dm’d her, wanting to work with her. As manifestation has it, while in Vietnam. She hit me with this track, and it blew my mind. I knew I wanted to make something out of it — the idea instantly came to mind, and we never looked back."

ixaras was recently announced as the fourth annual recipient of Good Intent's independent artist initiative 'Greater Good', a package that includes a cash grant totalling over $30,000 AUD and in-kind services with partners Forbes Street Studios, Jungle Merchandise, Purple Sneakers, PHILTER, Zenith Records, Media Arts Lawyers, Billy Zammit, PLAKKIT, White Sky and Ben Mitchell.

In November 2024, ixaras released her debut EP 'full lover fake friend', with her releases receiving over 1 million streams in her career so far. She was named a finalist in triple j Unearthed's Unearthed High (2023) and has seen extensive support from the likes of Spotify, Apple Music, SiriusXM (USA), triple j, Double J and Australian community radio.

Alongside her melodic earworms and thought-provoking lyricism about the complexities of growing up and young love, ixaras epitomises the meaning of youth, inclusivity and accessibility today with her all-ages, DIY event management and record label 'Anti-Dismal' - throwing gigs in backyards, skateparks, community halls and houses. She also belies her age, having spoken at conferences BIGSOUND (2024), Indie Con (2024), The Push (2024) and Creators Summit (2025), the latter of which was about 'How To Hold Your Own Gigs As A DIY Artist And Start A Record Label White You're At It’.

‘This City’ is out now on all streaming platforms. 