As the Australian music scene begins to enter a cautious state of normalcy following a few difficult years, community radio Music Directors and presenters from around the country have shone a light on the finest local talent doing the rounds today.
While many of us are adjusting to the new global environment after these last two years, Australian musicians are still facing enormous limitations in working opportunities to support and sustain their careers. Exposure is more important than ever and ironically harder to come by in today’s media landscape.
The Australian Music Radio Airplay Project – best known as Amrap – offers Australian musicians a pathway to airplay to the many community stations who have long championed Australian music of all stripes. Providing exposure often before anyone else, community radio is a strong and unique network immune to passing trends.
In this Tone Deaf series, we’ve turned to the Music Directors and presenters at some of the amazing community stations from around the country to get their latest favourite Australian music discoveries from Amrap.
Lachlan Holland, Music Co-Ordinator of Sydney 2SER, continues the 2022 edition of this series with Australian music available on Amrap to help compile a playlist of the best homegrown tunes doing the rounds on community radio for you to sink your teeth into.
Check out Kitsch Kitchen’s ‘Motionless’:
Selfishly speaking, one of the few upsides of lockdowns over the last couple of years has been a proliferation of this sort of beautifully blunted, home-recorded trip hop and jazz coming in from around the country. One that really stood out recently was this warm and hazy outing from Melbourne, lead by Cousin Tony’s Brand New Firebird’s drummer Nick Reid.
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Immy Owusu – ‘Brown Supremacy’
An artist that has been exploring various sounds and directions for a while now, Immy Owusu has found a rich vein of inspiration here, diving deeper into the psychedelic, fuzz-driven sounds of Zamrock.
Reworking and sampling classic rock material can be a tricky one to do well, but on Brown Supremacy he has used additional production to bolster the raw sound of ‘Easy Street’ by Amanaz and rebuild it into something new and exceptional. This, along with his other recent single ‘Mantra’ (also available on Amrap) are two really exciting new ones to come from the Surf-coast based musician.
Check out Harvey Sutherland’s ‘Feeling Of Love’:
Harvey Sutherland – ‘Feeling Of Love (feat. DāM-FunK)’
A collaboration that was probably pre-determined and featuring two of the leading exponents of modern disco-funk. This is just a fantastic slice of boogie, and it’s plain to hear how complementary their talents are when working together. Excellent vocals, tight drumming and punctuated with some killer key solos, it packs a lot into its 4.30 runtime and really is a full package tune.
The Stroppies – ‘The Perfect Crime’
The Stroppies’ last album, 2020’s Look Alive! was a feature album on 2SER and so I was really excited to see this pop up recently. Filled with a friction between live and robotic rhythms, this is the first single from their upcoming album and is a fun, leftfield indie rock tune that draws inspiration from Krautrock inspirations and lo-fi recording.
Bortier Okoe – ‘No Man Can Survive Alone’
A bright piece of Highlife music from Adelaide-based educator, drummer, singer and multi-instrumentalist Bortier Okoe. Originally from Ghana, Okoe focusses on music as a vehicle to enhance awareness, resilience, and calling for a better world. The political consciousness in the lyrics are matched by supreme rhythm-driven arrangements, while the tail end of the track gives way to an incredible open horn, bass and percussion passage. Excellent and uplifting music.
Check out Bortier Okoe’s ‘No Man Can Survive Alone’:
This was just one of the many standout tracks from Lewis Cancut’s recent album Magic Circle. Wobbly acid grooves, synth pads, and dynamic drum machine programming with plenty of swing are all on display here. What’s not to like? The sound template owes a lot to early ’90s dance music aesthetics but it’s got it’s own thing happening as well.
Rosie And The Quest – ‘Temptation’
Easy low-riding soul from the Central coast. Fronted by Rose Callaghan, lyrically this is concerned with the constant struggle against a variety of impulses. But equally prominent here is the easy groove-driven instrumentation, smokey atmospherics and reverb-laden vibe of it overall. Definitely a group to pay attention to.
Check out our playlist of community radio’s Australian music picks:
