Tone Deaf and Amrap are back in 2025, bringing you the best Australian music finds from community radio music directors and presenters.
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Amrap’s airplay tracking just got an upgrade. Airplay (formerly Airplay Search) is now in your Amrap artist account, giving artists who’ve uploaded music since November 1st, 2024, real-time airplay data powered by Music Recognition Technology (MRT) across the entire community radio network.
This week, Melbourne’s Triple R music content producers Simon Winkler and Sam Cummins share the must-hear Aussie tracks spinning on community radio right now.
Triple R’s Simon Winkler and Sam Cummins’ Amrap Picks
Guy Blackman – “Don’t Ask Don’t Tell”
“Don’t Ask Don’t Tell” is the first single from Guy Blackman’s new album Out of Sight, recorded in London and Melbourne with collaborators from Good Morning. The beautiful, bittersweet track features backing vocals from Laura Jean and bass from Liam Halliwell, marking Blackman’s highly anticipated return to solo work after a hiatus following his 2008 album, Adult Baby.
Mulga Bore Hard Rock – “Sweet Home Mulga Bore”
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“Sweet Home Mulga Bore” is Mulga Bore Hard Rock’s second single, transforming a traditional country ballad written by Akaye elder Dave Bird into a punchy hard rock anthem. Originally sung by lead vocalist Alvin and his family growing up, the reimagined track maintains the original melody while adding the band’s distinctive electric guitar-driven intensity.
The lyrics evoke bush life – gathering bush tucker, hunting goanna and kangaroo – creating a connection between ancestral traditions and the band’s current experience sharing their music from their remote community to audiences across Australia.
“Suburbia” is a harmonica-fueled ode from Floodlights’ extraordinary new album Underneath, written during a retreat at Victoria’s Kennett River. The contemplative track explores the disconnect between being seen and understood.
“BLUSH” features on Teether and Kuya Neil’s upcoming debut album, YEARN IV, set for release on May 2nd via Chapter Music. The track takes a gentler direction for the duo, combining a steady garage beat with romantic lyrics – a heartfelt escape from the routines of everyday life.
“Fractures” combines lush synth layers with broken-beat rhythms, saxophone, and delicate piano work. It’s the title track from Kitsch Kitchen’s new EP, a stunning follow-up to his Technicolour debut.
Created by the Melbourne/Naarm-based producer with global collaborators, the release bridges electronic experimentation with propulsive dancefloor tempos and jazz sensibilities.
Intermood are a Melbourne/Naarm-based instrumental dance outfit whose music evokes the psychedelic live energy of Mildlife and L’Eclair with Todd Terje’s laid-back house-y rhythms. “New Krush” closes their debut EP Casuarina with a reflective mood, layering swirling keyboard pads and melancholic electric guitar beneath a sultry saxophone solo that builds to a kaleidoscopic, hands-in-the-air climax.
“Open Field” is a seven-minute, fifty-one second odyssey from EGGY’s third album, From Time to Time, crafted as a three-part sonic journey inspired by philosopher Robin James’ ideas about sound as a dimension of reality.
The Melbourne group draw from 1970s Düsseldorf and Berlin schools, blending drifting melodies and mechanical rhythms with the energy of 2000s New York underground sounds to create a musical world that embraces free-flowing exploration and unplanned creative impulses.
Cool Sounds – “And That’s How I Got the Congas”
Cool Sounds’ latest single “And That’s How I Got the Congas” blends their shapeshifting indie rock with nostalgic ’90s and 2000s pop rock elements reminiscent of So Fresh compilations.
The track was inspired by Dain and Dyl’s wedding band experience and tells the true story of Dain buying percussion instruments from a former jam band musician turned finance professional whose congas wouldn’t fit in his new Audi.
Mess Esque – “Take Me To Your Infinite Garden”
“Take Me To Your Infinite Garden” is the lead single from Mess Esque’s third album, Jay Marie, Comfort Me. The Australian duo of Helen Franzmann (McKisko) and Mick Turner (Dirty Three) create a hypnotic blend of pounding toms, mud-toned guitars, and spectral organ that swirl beneath Franzmann’s fractured lyrics, examining the compulsion to know the unknowable.
Though still collaborating remotely between Melbourne and Brisbane, this new release marks an evolution in the duo’s sound, incorporating a more visceral, rhythmic approach with contributions from cellists and acclaimed percussionists Bree van Reyk and Jim White.
