Brooklyn-born and now based in Eora/Sydney, Danté Knows comes off like a kid who grew up on stoop rap and late-night pirate radio, then dragged all of it into a warped guitar world. Raised around Brooklyn hip hop and West Indian sounds, he folds rap, indie rock and flashes of dancehall into something that feels wired, restless and very in-the-moment.
His first proper calling card was the psychedelic hip hop of the Phase One EP, made with producer Caleb Tasker and described as “one big trip to the astral realm”, a lab experiment in distortion, groove and head-noise. That project set the foundation: Danté as a frontman who can lean into chaos without losing control, and a writer who treats rap, rock and psych as tools, not categories.
The next chapter hit with VICIOUS, the EP that houses Lost Your Mind. On that track he pushes into big-room indie rock territory: live-band crunch, a hook built like a chant, and verses that feel like he finally stopped second-guessing himself and swung for the fence. He has called it the day he “fired the over-thinker” and you can hear that decision in the way the song opens up. Triple j and Unearthed picked it up, tagging his lane as a blend of hip hop, rock and indie, which is about as close as you can get to a tidy label for something that keeps shapeshifting.
Banter arrived around the same run, a single that Life Without Andy framed as a fiery ballad, heavy on mood and attitude, with a video built around a down-on-his-luck lead role. It shows the other side of Danté: still sharp with the writing, but more cinematic, leaning into drama without turning it into theatre.
On stage he pulls all of that into a live show that feels closer to a punk-rap gig than a tidy showcase: fashion brain, psych-rap energy, hooks big enough for festival crowds. The Brooklyn roots, West Indian background and Sydney years all bleed together. It lands like someone testing how far they can push the edges without losing the crowd.
MORE MOODS
NO CIGAR New Zealand
Auckland, NZ indie rock outfit NO CIGAR join us on the roof for two soaked, no-excuses performances in proper pissing down rain, running “Merci Merci” and “Russian Roulette” from their third album Under the Surface.
Jasmine Khan Australia
Jasmine Khan runs Gameboy on the roof like a late-night message you meant to ignore but couldn’t. There’s also Coco, her chihuahua, turning the whole thing into a moment that feels like her actual life, not a press shot.
Milan Ring Australia
Milan Ring steps into her Guitar&B bag on BS and Hide With You, sliding from head-nod grooves with Che Lingo to a softer, piano-led escape hatch that feels almost private. Watching her sing, rap and thread those guitar lines through both tracks is like seeing the producer leave the control room and run the whole set in real time.
Ms. Thandi Australia
Ms Thandi pours The Eyes into the night, turning a “lust song disguised as a love song” into a rooftop slow burn, all side-eye, bass and easy confidence.