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, Jasmine Alavuk and Bec Grech, music managers of Melbourne’s SYN, contribute with a selection of tracks currently making their way to community radio through Amrap’s music distribution service ‘AirIt’.
Check out Jasmine and Bec’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 8 best Australian artists
Kumar Shome & The Punkawallahs – ‘Nymphatic’
This song is like the kind of electric green that has a little bit of fluorescence in it. It’s confident and begs you to strut along as the snare loops about the beat like a lisp.
With the drawl of the guitar’s curly, distorted melody, you’ll probably find yourself bopping along to the undeniable groove that this track conjures.
Thank you Kumar Shome & The Punkawallahs. This is my favourite song to listen to on my walk home from work, when all I want to do is a little shimmy as I mutate from retail worker into a funk-driven frenzy. (Jasmine)
Check out Kumar Shome & The Punkawallahs’ ‘Nymphatic’:
If ever there was a local Melbourne super group to knock the air out of your lungs, this just might be it.
Made up of members of Porpoise Spit, Rat!Hammock, Sophisticated Dingo, and Fan Girl, ‘Our Own’ is the debut single from newly formed primetime.’s debut EP, crimetime.
If their mighty fine skills of rhyme don’t make your smile shine, get down to a live gig for a sublime time (sorry not sorry). Their live set is a juggernaut to behold, and then some. Leave your dangly earrings at home. (Bec)
Check out primetime.’s ‘our own.’:
The category is S A S S and Miss Blanks has delivered.
With Alice Ivy producing the cool, self-assured rhythm, Miss Blanks serves you intonation in her ultimate signature style. The message is clear, she’s got bigger and better things to do than be bothered by the inconvenience of knowing the subject alluded to in ‘Tommy’.
And if you are in fact travelling from London to Milan, I hope this track manifests your best life. (Jasmine)
Check out Miss Blanks’ ‘Tommy’:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dhk64cs8l7I
There is just so much to love about Merpire. The verses in Merpire’s most recent single ‘Lately’ are built with gentle restraint, and the swirling instrumentation underneath contrast so perfectly with a chorus that punches straight into your core.
Merpire has a knack for crafting gorgeous pop songs with layered vocals, crunchy guitar tones and wistful lyrics. We are hanging on the edge of our seats for her next release. (Bec)
Check out Merpire’s ‘Lately’:
Raised from the Clay EP which is due for release on April 26th from another member of the Soul Has No Tempo family, Ella Haber literally had me clutching my pearls with this gnarly injection of peppery vocals and a stomping beat to match.
The silky harmonies lay the foundation, while the keys melt into the layers and culminates into the the kind of toasty sonic sandwich I never knew I needed.
From now on I will also endeavour to incorporate the word, “pacify” in more sentences. (Jasmine)
Check out Ella Haber’s ‘Clay’:
DRMNGNOW has collaborated with Kee’ahn and River Boy on his latest single ‘Ancestors’ to emphasise the importance of acknowledging ancestors in order to achieve true justice upon this land.
The accompanying video clip for this powerful track captures parts of Yorta Yorta and its community, where DRMNGNOW is from himself.
River Boy’s tight production and crisp beats on ‘Ancestors’ provide an apt sonic landscape for DRMNGNOW and Kee’ahn’s moving vocals to exist within. (Bec)
Check out DRMNGNOW’s ‘Ancestors’:
Tiana Khasi – ‘Georgia’s Track’
This track is smooth combination of everything that I love about the Meghalaya EP, and everything I love about the delicious bass.
If Georgia is the villain of this song, Tiana’s voice is the hero. Her voice slithers through the track, dragging and lilting through the betrayal, slicing into it with earnest heartbreak.
Having recently been signed to Soul Has No Tempo, we can definitely expect remarkable things from Tiana in the future. (Jasmine)
Check out Tiana Khasi’s ‘Georgia’s Track’:
Melbourne four piece have served us with another two minutes of unwavering post punk intensity, lifted from their album Rule Of Four, out on April 26th through Poison City Records.
Screeching guitar lines and bass immediately suck you into Hexdebt’s world of fury and cleverly interplay with Agnes’ raw vocals that command your attention.
‘Loops’ perfectly captures Hexdebt’s powerful live energy that has previously been showcased on the Melbourne Music Week, Brunswick Music Festival, MONA FOMA and Gizzfest. (Bec)
Check out Hexdebt’s ‘Loops’:
