Meet Godlands: An Artist Taking The Australian Dance Music Scene By Storm

Godlands throws down at any BPM. The Australian deejay and producer, legally known as Annabel Hartlett, creates heavy club anthems and festival-ready heaters that get the dancefloor on fire. Her sound is best described as energetic, loud and genre-bending as her discography ranges from trap to house and future bass. The artist showcases her distinct style on her second EP, Bleach, out today (June 16).

The EP, released during Pride Month by the queer artist, features ominous and swirling synths, deep bass drops, trap, drum’n’bass, playful sounds and more. The track “INNER FYRE” was created with her good friend and producer, PLSMA. The closing song on Bleach, “Alone,” is noticeably different from the rest of the EP. It was the last record completed, and there were many different versions. Ultimately, she crafted a bass tune inspired by Skrillex that’s playful and less “in your face.” In addition, the five-track body of work, she says, was influenced by imposter syndrome.

“I named it Bleach because imposter syndrome is much like bleach—it sort of gets on your clothes and doesn’t seem to go away. That’s the case with imposter syndrome,” Hartlett says. “It feels like, for me, as an artist, and I’m sure with many other artists, that [there’s] this looming demon hanging over your shoulder, feeling like you’re not good enough or comparing yourself to others.”

She finds that imposter syndrome is more prominent in her career. As an Australian artist, she says making music there isn’t the best because the scene isn’t as large as it is in the United States and other areas in the world. Deejays elsewhere frequently do gigs, but she notes there’s a lack of shows in Australia. She tends to compare herself to others, and she is even thinking of moving to the United States.

When it comes to how the songs on Bleach were created, the tastemaker says the song that sticks out to her most is “Charmer.” The track was made on a trip to Bali for Hartlett’s birthday. However, her mother became very sick at the end of the trip. She was hospitalized in Bali for five days for covid and a few parasites. Once her mother was cleared to go, she boarded the plane and passed out. As a result, her mother was hospitalized for five more days. Hartlett says seeing her mother in that state was an “extremely emotional” and “scary” experience.

“It’s pretty bad when your mom says, ‘I don’t wanna die,’” she says.

As a result, “Charmer” reflects the sound designer’s emotions during that time, with her noting it is “purely me.” While it can take months for her to write a song, the track was created in two days as her emotions were “flowing” out of her. She adds that “Charmer” holds a special place in her heart because her mother is much better now and was able to return to Australia.

In addition to her records, the EP’s visuals show how she processes the overwhelming feeling of perfection while creating music. Hartlett says she made a story with the visuals that focus on her and her tendency to party too much, which she uses as a coping mechanism to escape troubles such as stress.

“Sometimes it’s partying too hard, drinking too much and making wrong decisions,” she adds. “I feel when I turned a bit older, that sort of came down a little bit. But it’s still part of my DNA, unfortunately, with deejaying and being in that sort of club lifestyle. Sometimes [it] feels like it’s hard to escape.”

Hartlett’s discography ranges from trap to funk and dubstep. Bleach also showcases her drum’n’bass and breaks side. Her variation of sounds comes from her taking inspiration from many genres, so she isn’t categorized as one type of producer. The artist was initially an open-format hip-hop deejay, with her beginning her career doing five-hour house party sets for about $100. She then broke into playing at local clubs that requested her to play hip-hop, even though she wasn’t familiar with the genre. Her beginnings in hip-hop can be heard to this day as she incorporates trap music into her performances.

“Hip-hop is made a lot differently compared to house music and electronic music,” she says. “So learning how to do hip-hop and play hip-hop actually really helped in the long run because now I can pretty much play anything because hip-hop is actually really hard to mix. It really helped to expand my deejay capabilities as well as performing.”

Hartlett says she would give her younger self advice to keep going because success isn’t linear—there will be ups and downs, but you must persevere. When it comes to what she would tell those also struggling with imposter syndrome, she says: “You are your biggest critic, and your brain isn’t always telling you the truth. Sometimes you just have to block out your brain and maybe go for a walk, clear your mind, do some yoga, journal, manifest—do something else that’ll stop that same cycle because [when] you keep that cycle, [it] is really hard to break and you need something that can help break it. I would suggest finding something that can break that little demon on your shoulder telling you you’re not good enough.”