Crocodylus, Phil Jamieson & Mama Kin Spender Lead New ORiGiN Music Group Publishing And Signings

After more than three decades in the game, the storied ORiGiN Music Group are continuing to kick massive goals across the board, with the fiercely independent music company announcing a major roster expansion of new global publishing and recording signings today.

Leading the charge with the new signings is Crocodylus, who have signed global publishing and recording deals with the Sydney-based company.

The quartet, who also hail from Sydney, have been on the scene for close to a decade now, with two albums released over their lifetime – their latest being 2022’s Muscle Memory.

News of their signing also coincides with the release of their latest single, Limbo, which marks the start of the band’s new chapter.

“With Limbo we wanted to create something called ‘beautiful punk,’” the group explain. “It’s fast, gets heavier in the bridge and all comes together at the end with a tempo change and the addition of strings.

“This song is about not knowing where we fit into the music scene. Trying to dig ourselves out of the place we sit and starting again. It took a while to nail this one, but stoked where we landed with it.”

Additional signings announced by ORiGiN today include recording deals for Grinspoon frontman Phil Jamieson and Vidya Makan, with the latter also signing a publishing deal.

Those publishing deals aren’t in short supply either, with Yours Truly’s Mikaila Delgado, The Jezabels’ Heather Shannon and Sam Lockwood, Salarymen, Horrorshow’s Nick Solo, FANGZ, Germany’s Phillip Scheill, Boo Seeka and Golding’s Jay Bainbridge, and Danielle Caruana and Dingo Spender of Mama Kin Spender amongst the myriad artists making up part of the announcement today.

COO Craig Redfearn is quick to champion the acts who are part of the latest batch of signing, including the likes of Phil Jamieson, who is gearing up to release his second solo record.

“Phil has incredible ambition and work ethic – he is constantly sending over ideas and strategies and hands on at this early stage,” Redfearn explains. “He is incredibly energised about these new songs. We are stoked to be working with Dan and Michele from Wonderlick on the campaign.

“Rohin Brown is a name most people won’t know, but the songs he has written with DOPE LEMON have been streamed over 600m times; nothing short of phenomenal,” he adds. “Rohin is an incredible writer and producer running a beautiful recording studio in Prague. We genuinely believe in his songwriting and will be working with him on exciting projects in 2026.”

Other names he points out include Mikaila Delgado (“a very special artist, songwriter and performer” who “writes amazing songs and has shrewd creative direction”), Jay Bainbridge (“he sings, writes, produces, plays most instruments and is potentially the nicest guy in music”), and The Stamps, and act he notes are “building into something special.”

“Alex Burnett, an existing ORiGiN client, brought the band to our attention earlier this year with infectious passion and excitement,” he explained. “We met Matt Walters who manages the band and we were sold! The band’s live show has developed rapidly; their harmonies, onstage interaction and storytelling is beyond their years. 

“They are legitimate stars and at their core is a deep passion for songwriting. There are huge ambitions for the band, we absolutely believe they’re destined for great things.”

Of course, with a massive number of acts being welcomed to the ORiGiN team, one needs to wonder what it is exactly that makes an act align with the core values of what the company seeks to achieve. As Redfearn explains, it’s all about something that sets these acts apart from the rest of the herd, while maintaining that exciting sense that indicates real promise.

“We have a set of qualities that we look for in new artists; we are constantly searching for something that is exciting, original and makes us want to share with the team,” he explains. “A touch of danger always helps.

“The music opens the door for us, but we then look further into the person for things such as work ethic, ambition, determination and resilience. We spend a great deal of time talking to prospective artists about their plans, what they want to achieve, how they think they’ll do it and how we can help. It is vital that our artists share the same ambitions for their music that we have for it.”

As Redfearn explains, the new announcement serves as the “latest installment” of the progress that ORiGiN has made in the past year, which has included the addition of many “interesting, creative and incredible artists.”

“Two great examples of roster additions outside of this announcement are worth mentioning; in late 2024 ORiGiN signed Ninajirachi’s publishing,” he explains. “Nina, along with her manager Matt Downey, have orchestrated one of the most incredible 12 months for an artist in memory. We are in complete awe of Nina – it is a privilege to work with both of them. 

“We recently signed Eric McCusker’s publishing – he has a rich catalogue of generational songs, headlined by his works with Mondo Rock,” he adds. “It is a true privilege to work with the ARIA Hall of Fame inductee and APRA Songwriter of The Year Winner.”

In December of 2024, Redfearn spoke to The Music where he mentioned that new publishing signing are the result of “going through the existing roster and identifying gaps and diversifying it with artists of new genres.” 

So what gaps do these new signings fill?

“Mama Kin Spender fills a gap we didn’t know we had – the music is passionate and powerful – and we are thrilled to be working with Danielle and Dingo,” he explains. “Sol Filshie brings dark, dangerous and aggressive songs to the roster, his success as a songwriter is something we are working to promote. Rohin Brown with the iconic DOPE LEMON tracks he co-wrote; those songs are legitimate global hits.

“Jay Bainbridge of Boo Seeka and Golding brings incredible electronic, dance and indie songs. The Stamps bring along their three part vocal harmonies and melodies to melt your soul. Happy Yeah! Productions (Mitch Kenny, Justin Merrill), based in the USA can do it all. They’re both Grammy winners that play every instrument, produce, mix and tell jokes.

“We are stoked to be working with one of NZ’s finest, Nic Manders; the reigning Aotearoa Music Awards Producer of the Year for his work with Georgia Lines,” he continues. “Nic is set for a huge year ahead; he is producing the new Borderline album and planning to spend more time in Australia working with artists on this side of the pond.”

Working with the ORiGiN team is undeniably a boon for any artist out there, with the star power of the company’s roster being noted by way of even a cursory look at the 2025 ARIA Award nominations.

In fact, 26 nominations have been earned by artists and writers that work with ORiGiN. “We have a fairly simple philosophy; if you work with talented artists, support them, show belief, give them time and they’ll create art that resonates with people,” Redfearn explains.

So what does the future hold for ORiGiN now? Last year, the company announced they were launching a three-year plan which aimed to strengthen the company’s abilities, their possibilities, and increase the potential they brought with themselves into the future.

With these new signings, Redfearn confirms that the three-year plan is on track, with plenty more wins to come.

“Things are looking incredible,” he explains. “We feel like we are ahead of schedule after just a year. The growth across our publishing and recording rosters has been significant. We have also added a production music library called POST, that is starting to see early signs of early success. 

“The new signings reflect the company’s ambition to become a diverse and eclectic music company. We are fostering a community around ORiGiN with the roster and the partners we work with – we are very happy with how it is all coming together. 

“There are still more mountains to climb, but it is nice to take a short second to reflect on the past, and be grateful for all these artists trusting us with their life’s work of music and art,” he adds. “We don’t take this for granted.”