NewsJane Shostak3 min read
Ecca Vandal wins the 2026 Australian Music Prize with Looking for People to Unfollow
The Sri Lankan-born Melbourne artist takes the A$50,000 prize from a nine-album shortlist that included Courtney Barnett, Julia Jacklin and Genesis Owusu.
Artwork: Ecca Vandal, under exclusive license to Loma Vista Recordings. A Concord Label Group Release.
Ecca Vandal has won the 2026 Australian Music Prize for her album Looking for People to Unfollow, according to the prize's official site. The win is worth A$50,000.
The Australian Music Prize, now in its 22nd year, is a juried award for the best Australian album of the year, judged on the record alone. This year's shortlist of nine, announced on 15 October, was strong:
- Baker Boy, DJANDJAY
- Courtney Barnett, Creature of Habit
- Ecca Vandal, Looking for People to Unfollow
- Genesis Owusu, Redstar Wu & the Worldwide Scourge
- Georgia Knight, Beanpole
- Grace Cummings, Bloodhorse!
- Julia Jacklin, The Gem
- Karnivool, In Verses
- Swapmeet, Mount Zero
Who is Ecca Vandal
Vandal is a Sri Lankan-born artist based in Melbourne whose records mix punk, hip-hop, electronic and soul into something loud and hard to file. She is not new to prize cheques: she took the Levi's Music Prize in 2019, and this year's album has been all over Australia's awards season, with seven ARIA Award nominations including Michael Gudinski Breakthrough Artist and Best Independent Release. Those ARIA winners are still to come.
Why it is a notable winner
The shortlist was packed with established names, so a record from a genre-crossing independent-minded artist taking the top prize says something about where Australian music is right now. For readers elsewhere, it is a good reason to go and hear the album: Looking for People to Unfollow is out through Loma Vista Recordings, part of the Concord Label Group.
The full shortlist and winner are on the Australian Music Prize site.
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