Community radio music directors often have an encyclopedic knowledge of local music and an insatiable thirst to keep their ears ahead of the curve. So in this Tone Deaf series, the Australian Music Radio Airplay Project (Amrap) invites music directors to highlight new Aussie tunes that you might have missed.
In this edition, Aeron Clark from Edge Radio in Hobart contributes with a selection of tracks currently making their way to community radio through Amrap’s music distribution service ‘AirIt’. Check out Aeron’s selections below and if you’re a musician you can apply here to have your music distributed for free to community radio on Amrap’s AirIt.
Foxy Morons – ‘Ex’
Foxy Morons have been together for less than a year, but that hasn’t stopped them from delivering one of the standout tracks from the wonderful Community 4 compilation released last month.
‘Ex’ is woozy dream-pop and sugary vocal harmonies, paired with lyrics which, while being incredibly poignant, are delivered with a rawness that is almost heartbreakingly matter-of-fact. It’s sweet, and it’s an excellent encapsulation of small town claustrophobia.
EWAH & The Vision of Paradise – ‘All Summer Long’
EWAH & The Vision of Paradise’s debut LP Everything Fades To Blue combines suburban nostalgia with stories of disturbing violent crimes to create an intoxicating blend of sinister and ethereal.
‘All Summer Long’ tells the story of a town rocked by the unsolved disappearance of a girl. The first lush ring of the guitar is at once both warm and foreboding, and analogue synths create a creeping sense of urgency, building to an intense and immersive final movement.
Swayze and the Ghosts – ‘Reciprocation’
Swayze and the Ghosts are known for the unrelenting nature of their live performances. I had imagined that any attempt to capture this on record would be futile, but their debut single proved me gladly wrong.
Driven by a pulsing bassline, ringing guitar and plenty of space, ‘Reciprocation’ is a ten minute slow burn that steadily builds in energy throughout and then calms again, as desperation passes and clarity arrives. It’s raw, honest and entirely engaging.
Paradigm – ‘BBT’
Paradigm is the highly danceable solo project of Christina Arnold (Spinning Rooms, The Perfections,
Women of Soul), whose debut album Eternal Maternal landed at the start of this month.
Lead single ‘BBT’ features a bouncing, crunchy bassline, with insistent guitar, and lyrics about luteinising and ferning that Arnold delivers with deadpan aplomb. Who would have imagined a song about trying to get pregnant could be quite so catchy?
ADKOB – ‘Less & Less’
It’s been a while since we heard from Sydney four-piece ADKOB ‘Less & Less’ is their first release since 2015’s debut EP A Different Kind Of Busy, and coincides with news of their signing to Wonderlick Music/Sony Music.
Springing from founding member Mark Piccles’ quest to find a “cool keyboard sound” one morning, this ethereal track envelopes you like a mist, while the clicking percussion threaded throughout feels almost tangible.
The Cactus Channel & Sam Cromack – ‘Sorry Hills’
Melbourne seven-piece alt-soul ensemble The Cactus Channel are no strangers to collaboration. They seem to thrive on change, and have kicked off 2017 by announcing the upcoming Sorry Hills EP, created in partnership with Ball Park Music frontman Sam Cromack.
The title track is moody and atmospheric, and Cromack’s voice nestles amongst instrumentation that seems to have grown up around it naturally, with both of these elements perfectly complementing one another.
Ghost Drums – ‘Window’
Ghost Drums is Western Australian producer Peter Guazzelli. Late January saw the release of his new EP Imprax, limited to a fifty unit run on cassette.
EP opener ‘Window’ is calm and mesmerising. Soft vocals emerge from a swirl of brooding synthesizer and layered drum loops. It’s slightly off-kilter, yet deeply relaxing.
