STACK #263 September 2026

MUSIC FEATURE

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W hen Swedish star Zara Larsson saw Beyoncé performing with her all female band, she was inspired. “I was just like, ‘I like that’,” Zara CHART FACT GIRL POWER no one needs to prove they’re good,” Zara believes. “When there’s women seeing each other and listening to Zara Larsson mixes things up on her new album – with a little help from some famous friends.

each other and respecting each other, it just feels really good.” Zara was also inspired by Charli XCX’s Brat remix record. “I was super inspired by how Charli XCX did her album ’cause I always think that even when producing the original song that gets to be put out to the world, usually there’s just so many versions of it before that, which never get to see the light of day.” A highlight for Zara was getting her idol, fellow Swedish star Robyn, to work on the final track, Puss Puss .

explains. “I felt like that was so cool and I felt really empowered. “It moved me and I remember thinking, I want that!” The result is a remix album of Zara Larsson’s fifth studio album, Midnight Sun , which topped the Swedish charts and was a Top 40 hit in Australia, the US, and UK. The new set features

The original Midnight Sun album hit number 31 in Australia. Zara’s biggest Australian hit was her second album, So Good , which hit number seven in 2017.

Zara Larsson

collabs with an all star all-female lineup, including Tyla, Shakira, PinkPantheress, Kehlani, Emilia, and Madison Beer. “If it’s all women,

AWARD WATCH Midnight Sun led to Zara’s first Grammy nomination – for ‘Best Pop Dance Recording’. The award went to Lady Gaga for Abracadabra .

Photo credit: Charlotte Rutherford

“It was probably the biggest thing that I’ve ever done in my very long career.” Jeff Jenkins UNFOLLOW THE LEADER Midnight Sun: Girls Trip by Zara Larsson is out Sep 4 via Sony Zara became a star in Sweden when she won the second season of the TV talent show Talang in 2008. Talang translates as “talent” and it’s the Swedish version of the Got Talent series. BIG BREAK

COVER ME Ecca says it’s an “accidental album cover”. She didn’t plan to be in the shot, which shows her eating cake in a bathtub. She just couldn’t resist eating the cake.

supported American alt metal band Deftones on their recent Australian tour - actually studied jazz at the Victorian

Ecca Vandal releases her power-packed second album.

N o one sounds quite like Aussie artist Ecca Vandal. Her genre busting second album is a potent mix of punk, hardcore, grunge, electronica, hip-hop, and jazz. No one is telling Ecca how she should sound. And if they are, well, she’s not listening. “I’ve actually had label people

tell me to pick a lane, and if I picked a lane I’d be very successful,” Ecca recently told

FUN FACT

College of the Arts. It’s been a long trip for Ecca, who was born in South Africa. Her parents were Sri Lankan Tamil refugees, who then relocated to

Looking for People to Unfollow by Ecca Vandal is out Sep 4 via Universal

The Age . “And so that was the advice I had to ignore.” Ecca – who

After releasing her 2017 self-titled debut, Ecca broke up with the internet, disappearing from all socials for four years.

smooth out the edges.” Ecca made the record with her producer and partner Richie Buxton (aka Kid Not) in his childhood bedroom in suburban Melbourne. As the neighbours told them to “turn it down”, Ecca and Richie slipped into their own little private universe for three years. “I had the most fun I’ve ever had creating that album because we were in this little universe that felt entirely ours.” Jeff Jenkins

Australia when Ecca was four. “This album isn’t about fitting in,” Ecca says. “It’s about subtraction. Stripping things

THE NAME GAME

back to what’s real. Taking up space in a world that constantly asks you to shrink. I’ve stopped trying to

“Ecca” is short for Rebecca. She added the surname “Vandal” to create her stage name.

Ecca played at this year’s Coachella. And she then made her American TV debut, singing Cruising to Self Soothe on Jimmy Kimmel Live!

BIG GIG

Ecca Vandal

44 SEPTEMBER 2026

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