Bobby Alu and MOD CON top 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.

Alice Skye – #6 Amrap Metro & #9 Amrap Regional

The title track from Alice Skye’s just-released debut album Friends With Feelings is one of Australian music’s starkest standouts of the year so far. The Indigenous singer, mentored by Briggs and is set to tour shortly with Emily Wurramara, beguilingly possesses equal parts pure hurt and sunshine here. If you’re not affected by this piece of fragile beauty, there’s not we can do for you. Fortunately there’s no such tragedy at community radio, with the song sitting nicely on both the Amrap Metro and Regional Charts. Lots of love for this one from Bellingen’s 2BBB, Brisbane’s 4ZZZ, Mountain District Radio in Victoria and so many more community stations around the country.      

Tangents – #10 Amrap Metro

This band, featuring members from both Sydney and Canberra, have been recognised worldwide for their elastic fusion of post-rock, electronic and jazz flourish that recalls Four Tet, Tortoise and Explosions in The Sky. Housed by renown US label Temporary Residence, the band’s newest piece ‘Terracotta’ is a frenetic, ecstatic joy of groove and texture that amounts to one hell of a funky workout. Perth’s 6RTR-FM, Sydney’s 2RRR and Melbourne’s Triple R are doubling down on this one.

Rebel Yell – #9 Amrap Metro

Grace Stevenson’s dubstep-fused industrial techno as Rebel Yell still goes to dark places on her latest ‘Stains’ but the Brisbanite has wring more melody and feeling than ever before while upping the polish on her style of production. Vocalist Gussy originally envisioned his lyrics fitting a different song altogether but we couldn’t be happier the pair eventually came together to take what they both do to another level. ‘Stains’ may have some haunting lyrical matter but that hasn’t put community radio off from giving it some big spins, including Radio Adelaide, Tasmania’s Edge Radio and (no surprise) Brisbane’s 4ZZZ.  

Teen Angst – #7 Amrap Metro

Has there really never been a band previously in the history of recorded music called Teen Angst? True, we haven’t checked Discogs but that’s because we’ve been busy with this Perth band’s new tune ‘Adrian’ on repeat. And that’s a lot of spins with it clocking in at less than one and a half minutes. Their addictively scratchy lo-fi jangle-pop is proving a favourite at Western Australia’s Voice of the Avon, a breakfast hit at Perth’s 6RTR and charming Melbourne’s Inner FM.

West Thebarton – #4 Amrap Metro

One of the leaders of the Australian pub rock pack, Adelaide unabashed beer-barn revivalists are back with the sweatiest of love songs and pounding out on community radio. ‘Stuck On You’ has a riff that just won’t quit and we imagine their upcoming debut full-length Different Beings Being Different will be souped-up from go to whoa. Hometown heroes Radio Adelaide are on top with airplay as you might expect, but Edge Radio in Hobart and Brisbane’s 4ZZZ aren’t far behind to prove having a longneck in the bath is a most regarded pursuit.   

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 and online.