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, Liz Ansley and Jasmine Dunn from the Music Department of Brisbane’s 4ZZZ, contribute with a selection of tracks currently making their way to community radio through Amrap’s music distribution service ‘AirIt’.
Check out Liz and Jasmine’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.
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Relative newcomers to the Brisbane post-punk scene, Local Authority have released their first single ‘Oil Rigs’ off of their forthcoming EP Negative Space.
Sparking reminiscence of Starfish-era The Church, heavy flanged bass leads this track through its relatively downtempo verses and false hope peaks in the chorus.
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Reverb-washed vocals and guitar may linger but the overall sense of melancholy still remains, the juxtaposition from the Sunshine State locals a welcomed one indeed.
Check out ‘Oil Rigs’ by Local Authority:
Khi’leb – ‘Anthem (feat. King Twiist)’
Another local to so-called Brisbane, Khi’leb first caught my attention last year with his track ‘Black Roses’ and keeps going from strength to strength; he’s only 16 and already has the kind of presence, mastery and control you’d expect from a seasoned professional with decades on the live circuit.
On ‘Anthem’, King Twiist’s heavy bass provides the perfect foil to Khi’leb’s nimble and ruthless flow; it instantly inspires that same kind of unstoppable drive he talks about having.
Check out ‘Anthem’ by Khi’leb:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OEP3RhVixxk
A politically-charged lyrical delivery over a frenzied yet measured musical framework, the debut HEXDEBT full length offering Rule Of Four has had me hooked since the band released the first single ‘Covenant’.
The track tears through and challenges the frustrations and the current imbalances of our modern world, in a very satisfying way.
Check out ‘Covenant’ by HEXDEBT:
Homeward Bound – ‘The Red Dust Plain’
Homeward Bound are electronic hip hop duo Jimblah and Goji (Georgia Humphreys), partners in both music and life who’ve just released their debut album Whatever You Do, Don’t Panic, a semi-concept album which traces over 11 tracks the narrative journey of Blah’s giving up on, and finally returning to, music after releasing his solo record Phoenix in 2013.
Charming, danceable and bursting with clever, playful moments from the magnetic pair without shying from raw and real emotions, the album is in essence a celebration of love and finding your safe haven.
Marking just around album’s halfway point, ‘The Red Dust Plain’ is a stirring slow-builder, made all the more impactful for its sparseness, that sees Blah address Indigenous genocide and its unresolved aftermath which continues today, crescendoing to a chaotic and gut-wrenching outro.
Check out ‘The Red Dust Plain’ by Homeward Bound:
Adelaide’s Fair Maiden craft beautifully layered songs in their self-described ‘folk-noir’ fashion. Their latest album, Oleander, leans hard into dangerous, yet sickly sweet, country gothic territory right throughout the record and the sonic embodiment of the old ‘death by a thousand cuts’ adage comes to mind here.
The vocal harmonies in particular within these tracks are delicately arranged and opt for a slow burn approach for their forlorn listener.
Check out ‘Willow’ by Fair Maiden:
Sunshine State-based trio Requin make “intricate, art-focused pop” that feels comforting and unsettling all at once, a cautious tension bubbling away underneath an endearing surface. Their debut EP, The Noisy Miners Swoop Him, dropped last year, but they’ve only just recently made its lead single ‘Return To Sender’ available on AMRAP.
Self-produced and recorded in an old Queenslander, ‘Return To Sender’ unfurls unexpectedly, pairing lilting synths, saxophone, plucked guitar, and sprightly drums with intricate harmonies and phrasing.
Check out ‘Return To Sender’ by Requin:
Ziggy Ramo’s deeply introspective, smooth hip-hop and unmatchable live presence has been winning him fans for some time now including the likes of Kehlani, Briggs and Remi; his 2017 BIGSOUND performance completely blew my mind and he’s appeared at plenty of festivals since.
A reclamation of masculinity from limiting Western standards with an aim to “start a dialogue between men to take responsibility for our insecurities”, ‘Pretty Boy’ is a joyous ode of self-love that’s as fluid as the concepts of gender it explores.
He walks the walk too: Ramo’s just been announced as an ambassador for The Line’s “Never Follow” forthcoming campaign – a new initiative to challenge stereotyped constructions of masculinity, and to encourage young men to develop positive personal identities not constrained by gender stereotypes.
Check out ‘Pretty Boy’ by Ziggy Ramo:
I wanna go home and watch Freaks every time I listen to The Pinheads, and that can never be a bad thing. ‘Feel It Now’ from the Wollongong five-piece is full of apathetic fun and delivers a refreshing and bona fide take on garage-rock.
Check out ‘Feel It Now’ by The Pinheads:
