Bloods debut at #1 on the Amrap Metro Chart

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.

Bloods – #1 Amrap Metro (pictured above)

With a defiant, positive spirit aligned with the sound and vision of both Bikini Kill and The Gossip, Bloods’ latest single Step Back is the Sydney trio’s toughest and catchiest yet. Moving out of the garage and into the games room of Cloud Control’s Liam Judson’s parents where he produced their upcoming album Feelings, Step Back marks a new edge in Bloods’ sound and we hope Feelings is as much a spiked-up pop pleasure throughout. Bloods have gone right to the top of the Amrap Metro chart this week, courtesy of sterling airplay from the likes of FBi Radio and 2RRR in Sydney as well as Brisbane’s 4ZZZ FM.

Rabbit Island – #2 Amrap Metro

The haunting beauty of Amber Fresh’s songwriting as Rabbit Island feels like a rare space somewhere between dreamstate and waking, tracing around feelings and hitting you hard without the need to be direct with her emotions. It’s a way she keeps drawing you in, searching for more on her delicate debut album, Deep In The Big, already an Album of the Week at FBi Radio. FBi isn’t the only place at community radio giving lots of airtime to Rabbit Island, with the latest single Interstate slotted in at #2 on the Amrap Metro chart this week. Her hometown Perth station 6RTR FM has been similarly supportive, as has Radio Adelaide.

FELIVAND – #9 Amrap Regional

Brisbane’s FELIVAND is a self-produced solo artist creating a steady stream of low-key neo-soul gems since 2017. Set to reveal her debut EP before the end of 2018, she’s given us Same Old as a first taste, and it’s a sublimely cruisy offering that could be the perfect soundtrack to walking on air. This subtle, downtempo delight has been making the sweetest of waves at regional community radio, with Emerald, Victoria’s Mountain District Radio and NSW’s Bay FM and Yass FM leading the way.

Hey Harriett – #3 Amrap Regional

Hey Harriet rolled in with the tide less than a year ago and immediately gained the attention of Adelaide’s live music scene with their eclectic style and infectious indie-surf riffs. Their latest offering, Too Fast Too Soon, is the perfect example of why they are such a captivating live act; you are drawn in by the positive summer vibes but stick around for the honest, heartfelt melodies of the band’s shining lead vocalist, Georgy Rochow. While the track bops with upbeat nostalgia there is a warm, ethereal tone that flows amid the drums, tying it all together somehow like drifting asleep on a surfboard mid-wave, the sun on your back. You can follow them on Radio Adelaide and Triple Z in South Australia.

Bennett, Bowtell & Urquhart – #6 Amrap Regional

Get three solo stars of Australian country music, bring them together and what do you get? You get Bennett, Bowtell & Urquhart and a few more Golden Guitar Awards. Kevin Bennett, Lyn Bowtell and Felicity Urquhart have returned after the mega-success of their self-titled 2016 album with their brand of uplifting country, spirited by fantastic three-part harmonies on Love Or Money. It’s a classic country tale of being pulled between two of the most defining things in anyone’s life and it comes from the trio’s upcoming album, Weeds. Joining in the struggle are BBB FM in NSW’s Bellingen as well as Fraser Coast Community Radio in Queensland.

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

The Amrap Charts show the Top 10 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 and online.