In this Tone Deaf series, a different music director or presenter at some of the finest community stations from around the country get their opportunity to share the best community music discoveries from Amrap.
4ZZZ’s Sophia Mann contributes this week with a list of local tracks from community radio you should be listening to right now. Read her thoughts and check out her song choices below:
I feel giddy thinking of all the musical talent, as things open up a bit more, as local shows come back into full bloom, to showcase what local community can deliver and it is tasty. I’ve excitedly bought tickets for everything from small bar shows to larger events and festivals.
The weather has caused some ruckus but we persist, rising to the occasion and pushing forward with an artistic prowess emboldened by the last few years of isolation and illness. 4ZZZ just had a radiothon where we saw talent and community come together to support our station, and it was a grand showing of support.
As we come into a time of beautiful music, we must remember those who paved the way. Gunditjmara and Bundjalung Elder songman Archie Roach passed earlier this month, leaving a tremendous legacy, still living and breathing within the music of many artists that he mentored and collaborated with. Rest in Power.
As a blackfulla, the utter feast of good music being delivered by mob has been delicious, with sumptuous offerings from King Stingray, Tasman Keith, Yirrmal, Budjerah, RACERAGE, CLOE TERARE, Becca Hatch, Keely, The Merindas, Electric Field, and dameeela. There are so many more but my goodness we’ve been spoiled.
I like to keep it local so here’s some absolutely banging hits and releases from Meanjin.
Love Live Music?
Get the latest Live Music news, features, updates and giveaways straight to your inbox Learn more
Recently released and already on full rotation at 4ZZZ, this bop is sure to get those appendages vibrating wildly. The slick smooth production, the yidaki and vocals make this local duo stand out from the rest. Absolutely excited for what’s to come.
Having seen them live, I can say they’re even better in person. The calibre of their music is hard to top, yet they do it with ease, with a finesse of musicians who have been in the game for 50 years.
This bombastic 80’s throwback has burrowed itself into my brain folds and will not leave, and I wouldn’t ask it to. This electronic, punky offering is one of the many servings that Dream Dali has been gifting us for a while now with standout tracks like ‘Rosary’ and ‘Hurt Me’ delivering wondrousness to the ears.
It makes me want to run, and at the end of my run, put my fist up in a glorious show of exhilarating self-congratulations, but it also makes me want to be in a cloudy club with my hair teased, dancing as if I’ve never danced before.
Hey I get sad too, and sometimes I wish to be enmeshed within emotions that are overwhelming and also a bit liberating. The melancholic yet decadent exploration of family creates a palpably thick air but it’s not unwelcoming, it’s accepting. The vocals really do it for me, the soft certain tone hits the ear gorgeously and the lyrics rolling out are even more punctuated as a result.
Matt Hsu’s Obscure Orchestra – ‘Eat The World’
I’m not biased, I know the guy (so I might be, fight me if you have an issue with it), but I got to say, I enjoyed this song. I didn’t expect to like it as well – it’s an off-kilter, soft experimental orchestral piece that invites the senses to think, mostly about food.
I could imagine this in a film. I’m not sure which film or what scene but something about it is cinematic. Plus, it’s pleasant. There’s a tingly-ness to all the instruments that twinkles the brain. It’s cruisey in the best of ways.
