Baker Boy storms the community radio charts

Community radio shows a huge amount of support for Australian music, with almost 40% of music played coming from local artists. Taste-making presenters excel at giving airtime to an incredible spread of what Aussie artists have to offer. The Amrap Metro and Amrap Regional Charts provide insight into what’s getting airplay and attention on community radio each week. Here’s the lowdown on some tunes charting this week.

Baker Boy – #6 Amrap Metro & #5 Amrap Regional (pictured above)

The Northern Territory rapper opened the APRA Awards a fortnight back with his thumpingly infectious newbie ‘Mr La Di Da Di’, commanding full attention working his rhymes in both English and his first language, Yolngu Matha. Embodying past, present and future in one short musical burst is no easy feat, but Baker Boy’s energy is immediate and feels vital. Sydney’s Koori Radio, Victoria’s Plenty Valley FM and Brisbane’s 4ZZZ are just a few stations with their airwaves positively vibrating to ‘Mr La Di Da Di’.

Bobby Alu – #1 Amrap Regional

Holding the Regional chart’s top spot two weeks running with his sunny roots-reggae mover, ‘Move’, Byron Bay’s self-proclaimed ‘tropical ambassador’ has also infused Polynesian rhythms into his sound to include a family lineage into his music. The long-time percussionist for Xavier Rudd has returned with music of his own for the first time in three years and the massive airplay across regional community radio shows it’s been long-awaited. ‘Move’ is proving incredibly popular at 2EAR from the NSW South Coast town of Moruya, 5GTR in South Australia’s Mount Gambier, Noosa FM and Voice of the Avon in York, West Australia.

Wharves –  #5 Amrap Metro

Coming off like some mutant strain of Liars and Blur jamming together, Lennox Head outfit Wharves have upped the groove on their latest, ‘High School Hero’, as well as the sassy and irony. It’s a bold move for the band to have changed their style after making a splash with their indie rock that eventuated in an opening slot at last year’s Splendour in the Grass. Community Radio has no qualms with the new direction, with Radio Adelaide, Sydney’s 2GLF and Byron Bay’s Bay-FM spinning this one a lot.

 Black Rock Band – #7 Amrap Regional

The eight-piece outfit from remote West Arnhem land are back with ‘Struggle’, a song that packs more of a pop feel in its punch than we’ve heard from them previously. The wealth of Indigenous culture and the battle to instil, preserve and progress it in modern Australian society is front and centre of Black Rock Band’s music It’s a sound and vision making its mark on community radio regionally. Yass FM in NSW, 5BBB in South Australia’s Barossa Valley and Victoria’s Mountain District Radio are three of many stations making ‘Struggle’ impact on the Amrap Regional charts this week.

Susie Scurry –  #9 Amrap Metro

Formerly working under the name The Grand Magoozi, Melbourne’s Susie Scurry has struck out under her own name for her next album. Scurry traveled to the UK to work with members of the similarly elegant Richard Hawley’s band and engineer and the first listen from those sessions is ‘The Elvis Hour’. It’s a gorgeously evocative song rendering her dreamy 50s torch n’ twang style perfectly. Swooning along are Sydney’s 2SER-FM, Brisbane’s 4ZZZ and Perth’s 6RTR

See the full Amrap Charts at www.airit.org.au.

The Amrap Charts show the top ten tracks ordered for airplay by community broadcasters through the Amrap’s AirIt music distribution service. Amrap is an initiative of the Community Broadcasting Association of Australia which distributes new Australian music to community radio stations nationwide & empowers broadcasters to promote new Australian music on air & online.