Community radio 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, Aeron Clark for Edge Radio Hobart, contributes with a selection of tracks currently making their way to community radio through Amrap’s music distribution service ‘AirIt’.
Check out Aeron’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
Happy Axe – ‘Seven Sounds’
When I first heard this I was pumped because I thought I could hear a theremin, but then I found out it’s actually a musical saw, and my excitement levels ended up off the charts. Emma Kelly’s Happy Axe project is a masterful mixture of delicate vocals and evocative strings elevated by an insistent beat and the slightest hint of glitch – layer upon layer upon layer applied with ethereal finesse.
HABITS – ‘SELFIE’
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rDUkVvgSKUc
Melbourne duo HABITS are absolutely vital, and my attention is piqued whenever I hear of new material from them. The lead single from their second EP SALTY, ‘SELFIE’ combines aggressive, booming production with honest, vulnerable lyrics, and is a battle cry for self-representation and in a world of restrictive gender and beauty standards.
Mojo Juju – ‘Native Tongue’
Mojo Juju’s third album is on its way and if this is any indication, it’s gonna be an absolute belter. On title track ‘Native Tongue’, we hear a soul laid bare. Juju’s powerful vocals explore cultural identity and sense of place, backed by a mesmerising performance from the Pasefika Vitoria Choir and a beautifully restrained beat from Joelistics.
Bansheeland – ‘Bamshalinga’ (from the release ‘Such Fuzz Many Wow’)
Launceston five-piece Bansheeland have just unleashed a collection of material from a good two years ago with their release Such Fuzz Many Wow. It’s impossible to pick a favourite from this one because they’re all strikingly different songs, but this morning, I’m really feeling the punch of tambourinist Tori Rattray’s guttural, percussive screams on ‘Bamshalinga’.
East Brunswick All Girls Choir – ‘Leave The City’
Marcus Hobbs could sing absolute gibberish and I think I’d still be moved by his voice, so intensely imbued with ragged emotion that it penetrates instantly to your core. New EBAGC album Teddywaddy is full of contrasts, riotous eruptions of chaos interspersed with moments of calmness and clarity, with ‘Leave the City’ featuring a mad crescendo that is somehow entirely comforting.
Mares – ‘Aeroplane Mode’
Taken from Mares’ debut album Wherewithal, out through Psychic Hysteria, ‘Aeroplane Mode’ is picturesque and meditative. Eerie guitar glissandos swirl over soft, welcoming bass and around moody vocals. It’s the perfect soundtrack for your next road trip.
HoT To RoT – ‘Kindred’
The debut single from Melbourne trio HoT To RoT is just the thing to get you moving. Blaise Adamson and Loretta Wilde deliver fierce dual vocals, there’s an irresistibly jumpy bass line driving things along, and Jack Normoyle is wonderfully unpredictable drumming really ties everything together.
Braille Face – ‘Fallen’
Jordan White caught us all unaware with a new release, Malheureux, last week and as we would expect from him, it’s a deftly constructed package of textural variations. There’s a military aura to the drums propelling ‘Fallen’, and a gritty jazz underlay peeking out from beneath White’s chorally influenced vocals.
