Community radio music presenters and music directors often have an encyclopaedic knowledge of local music and an insatiable thirst to keep their ears ahead of the curve. So in this Tone Deaf series, the Australian Music Radio Airplay Project (Amrap) invites music directors to highlight new Aussie tunes that you might have missed.
In this edition, Paul Gough, host of Playback – a nationwide radio show presented by APRA AMCOS and heard on community stations via the Community Radio Network – contributes with a selection of tracks currently making their way to community radio through Amrap’s music distribution service, AirIt.
Check out Paul’s selections below and if you’re a musician you can apply here to have your music distributed for free to community radio on Amrap’s AirIt.
This week’s 7 best Australian artists
Matt Hsu’s Obscure Orchestra – ‘In Colour’ (feat. Blaq Carrie, Mister E & Aurora)
Many people are dubbed ‘multi-instrumentalist’, but Matt Hsu has to take the ‘Best in Show’ award for his latest effort playing 15 different instruments in creating a vibrant folk orchestra.
It’s a track he’s been slowly building, and the only missing ingredients were some talented vocalists to complete the task. This absolutely hits the spot with Blaq Carrie, Mister E and Aurora weaving a narrative celebrating difference and exploring the boundaries between being from two worlds, yet united as one.
Bedroom Suck is one of my favourite labels and it’s wonderful to see them broadening their scope and palate with the signing of Adelaide’s Sunset Cities.
Underneath a sunbaked psych-soaked hip-hop bed, (thanks to Producers SO.Crates and Alnitak Kid), MCs Nelson Dialect and Cazeaux O.S.L.O wax lyrical about philosophical bombdrops like spiritual essence, mindfulness, love and our own essence.
On ‘Black Tapes’, it’s those small mysterious black rectangular time capsules (VHS nuggets to you) that trigger memories of love and solidarity. Essential listening.
Possibly the cry of their growing fan base for more new music, this Tasmanian duo have continued to lift their electronic soundscapes with a song that tells the tale of investing everything in someone and realising you’ll get nothing in return.
The production is slick as usual, the beats hit just that little bit harder and Chloe’s vocals portray someone in a cloud of confusion.
It’s been a huge year for Sumner after scooping the 2018 Josh Pyke Partnership Grant and big performances at BIGSOUND and EMC, as well as releasing their debut single and EP. I can’t wait to hear what’s next.
YoWo Music is a contemporary music program, empowering young women and GNC teens in High Schools around Melbourne. I’m so impressed with not only the talented musicians on this record and the strength of songwriting, but the amazing mentorship from luminaries such as Maggie Rigby (The Maes) and Engineer/Producer Anna Laverty (to only name two).
My hope is that this acts as a catalyst to encourage and inspire this project to blossom in other parts of the country. The lead single from the new album is ‘Built For Boys’, about a search for identity in this world and how we fit in it.
Geelong’s Canary have produced some stellar tunes since their debut Dear Universe in 2011. They’ve always been a hard to pin down style wise. I like that a lot about them. This sounds like feelgood road trip fodder, full of twisted folk with horns and whistling.
There’s an urgency to this track summed up in a kind of hedonism that says, “what I really don’t want to do, I do”. Very clever pop with a shiny bright melody.
Ah Trees – ‘How Long Must We Wait’
This five-piece have been working hard for the last couple of years and have been described as one of Perth’s most consistent act. It shows in the maturity heard on this most recent single.
Inspired by new wave, alt-rock and post-punk sounds of the ‘80s, expect pounding drums and driving bass, but it’s the spider-web like, reverb-laden guitar that will have you spinning round and round.
They’re also an ensemble that’s not afraid to take risks – an earlier single this year clocked in at seven minutes. This one kept bouncing around in my head for days.
Rachael Comte – ‘Love To Rest’
There’s been some sublime female folk vocalists coming through the ranks over the last few years such as Hannah Cameron and Demi Mitchell. Add the name of Melbourne’s Rachael Comte to your must listen-to list.
Her debut album, Where I’ve Begun, is warm and beguiling. The lead single, ‘Love To Rest’, sets the tone, with Rachael’s voice instantly captivating you – then as the song builds, minute guitar flourishes mimic her voice, and a swell of atmospherics send you soaring. Then it’s over, all too soon.
