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This week, RTRFM’s Matthew Perrett contributes a list of the must-hear Australian music spinning on community radio right now.
RTRFM’s Matthew Perrett’s Amrap Picks
Kallum Mungulu – “Ngiya Na Ngiya” (ft. Nicholas Allbrook)
Kallum Mugulu, a singular songwriter from Mowanjum community in the far west Kimberley region of WA, teams up with Pond’s Nicholas Allbrook on the title track from his new record. “Ngiya Ga Ngiya” is country music as real as it gets; a warm and deeply revealing look into live on Worrorra Country. This is smile-inducing music that that portrays a truly inimitable place in inimitable style.
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Walyalup/Fremantle punks Last Quokka have been fighting the good fight for a long time, and they’re not showing any signs of stopping. “Save Our Pubs” is taken off the band’s new album Take the Fight to the Bastards, and is part joyful celebration of the ever-equalising nature of public house, part war cry to save them from being turned into beige, profit driven shells. Ripping garage-punk that sticks [it] to Australia’s fat cats!
Butter – “Baby I’m in Love” (ft. 1800 Sleep)
Is there anything purer in this world than love? Maybe, but Walyalup/Fremantle neo-soul and hip-hop outfit Butter don’t want to hear about it. “Baby I’m in Love” is the band’s new single and is a sumptuous celebration of the L-word, with vocalist Lachlan Payet joined by collaborator 1800 Sleep to wax lyrical over a band that stays locked into a ridiculously smooth groove neo-soul.
Readers and listeners be warned, a couple listens to Noongar singer-songwriter Boox Kid’s new single “Landslide” easily breaches the threshold to have its melody embedded in your head for days and days. This lilting, guitar-driven tale of being swept away with passion for a partner is picture-perfect indie-pop for balmy Autumn evenings replete with yearning.
Known for their gritty and gothic synth-pop, WA act GIA COMO go a little troppo on Buggy, leaning into an effervescent Balearic vibe where loopy synth arpeggios, bouncy conga lines, and a liquid bass line duel with vocals and a screaming guitar part dripping with 80’s sweat. “Buggy” is lifted from the band’s new EP, FLUX.
Boorloo/Perth is having a bit of [an] indie-folk moment right now. One of the artists leading the heartfelt bedroom-pop performed with a full band charge is Ullah, whose new single “I Want It All” has been floating over the RTRFM airwaves like a summer breeze. Her open and poetic lyricism cuts deep and is perfectly complemented by a band that’s ridiculously steezy with every melody and chord they turn. This is another one that will be (and has been) on repeat for days.
Following a performance at Perth Festival, East Kimberley artist ICONYX pays tribute to Uncle Archie Roach, covering his song “Mulyawongk” with his express permission. The Mulyawongk is an ancestral being who guards the Murray River for the Ngarrindjeri; ICONYX elevates Roach’s story of it with a unique blend of contemporary pop, folk, blues, and traditional storytelling. The cover is taken from her forthcoming album, Blak on Trak.
