Tone Deaf and Amrap are continuing in 2024 to ask music directors or presenters at some of the finest community stations around Australia to share their best Australian music finds discovered on amrap.org.au.
If you haven’t got your music on Amrap, what are you waiting for? Community radio uses Amrap to source Australian music for airplay.
Anyone can discover all the great Australian music championed by community radio on the Community Radio Plus App, featuring the diverse range of community radio stations nationwide in one handy spot.
This week, Adele Luamanuvae, contributor at FBi Radio, contributes with a list of Australian music from community radio you should be listening to right now.
Adele Luamanuvae’s Community Picks
Sollyy – “No Assumptions” (ft. Dylan Atlantis)
Sollyy and Dylan Atlantis have been heavy hitters for years in the Australia music scene, and on “No Assumptions”, they add another esteemed title to their rosters. On this track, Sollyy uses brash, playful bars to rap over hard hip-hop production spearheaded by Full Circle affiliate, Dylan Atlantis. It’s the ideal balance of yin and yang, Sollyy bringing a roughness with their vocal delivery and Dylan packaging it all with their signature vocals, and a beat that speaks for itself.
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King Ivy sits in a lane of his own. This track – while only under two minutes long – hits you like a tonne of bricks. With layers of ethereal harmonies and hazy guitar chords, King Ivy transports you back to a time in your life you’re sad to move on, but happy to have experienced in the first place. It’s infused in nostalgia that feels intimate because of Ivy’s innate ability to speak to the soul.
Jerome Blazé – “Let Your Heart Fill Up”
Jerome Blazé is an artist who you want to gate keep but also simultaneously want to blow up massively. The subtle vocals, soulful groove, and UK garage backbeat on this track takes you on a journey you’ve never been before. Despite how you’re feeling at the time, this one will always find its way back into your rotation.
Ruby Jackson – “What You’re Missing”
For those raised on Corinne Bailey Rae and Norah Jones, this one’s for you. Ruby Jackson’s ability to craft up a giddy story about a lover floats through your ears like a distant memory. It’s a familiarity that brings warmth and comfort in the same way that listening to “Love Is a Losing Game” by Amy Winehouse [does]. The harmonies are heavenly and over a bed of subtle acoustic guitar chords, it’s the perfect wind-down track.
Robert’s vocals are so sickly sweet, it’s almost addicting. Their yearnful lyrics and heartfelt singing on top of this hectic concoction of hyperpop, pop and drum & bass production transcends you into a different level of being. It’s music that allows you to completely lose yourself, jumping up and down and flailing your arms until the nerves in your body are replaced by the ecstasy of letting go.
The hook on this song is unbelievably infectious. Ward’s cheekiness and confidence radiate like the sun during golden hour, shining light on all those who volunteer to bask in it. It’s youthful, carefree, and full of life.
“LET HER BE” is the perfect track if you want to feel free. The 2000s nostalgia is boosted by the bass, and Does’s captivating voice acts like the angel on your shoulder telling you that it’s okay to be yourself. Play this song when you’re going through a breakup, play it when you’re getting ready for the club, play it when your grocery shopping, and by the end of the song, you’ll be left feeling content than ever before.
