Colour Machine join The Goon Sax at the top of 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.

Colour Machine – #1 Amrap Regional (pictured above)

Colour Machine come charging out of the Adelaide music scene with some radiant, heart-pumping rock on their latest single Laughing Last. Lead singer and drummer Anthony Donato draws you in with a deceptively gentle yet introspective opening only to raise the adrenaline moments later and leave you awe-struck with a vocal range reminiscent of Mars Volta’s Cedric Bixler-Zavala. Once the track takes off, it barely slows – offering only momentary respite in the breakdown – thanks to some tight, technical drumming and huge guitar riffs ready for a stadium. Beyond the pulse-racing instruments, Donato’s lyrics are self-reflective and exploratory, touching on ideas of doing right without gain or acting kindly without expecting reciprocation. Roll down the window and let this one echo across the neighbourhood by switching to Radio Adelaide and Triple Z in South Australia or Melbourne’s Inner FM in Victoria.

Tia Gostelow – #8 Amrap Metro

Tia Gostelow is one of those rare teenage talents, one that bursts onto the scene at such a young age but continues to grow and deliver the goods with no sign of slowing down. Phone Me is yet another example of Gostelow’s grasp of the sonic traditions of Aussie indie-rock as her hazy vocals are carried along perfectly by steady drums and strumming guitars. With the help of a few well placed piano keys and catchy songwriting, the tune builds to an anthemic chorus steeped in summery road-trip vibes. There’s a sense of freedom and movement – dreamy recognition for the lack of responsibility associated with being a teenager without any nostalgic lens. Check out Tia’s debut album, Thick Skin, by switching the dial to Brisbane’s 4ZZZ, Radio Adelaide in South Australia or Inner FM in Melbourne.

BATTS – #9 Amrap Metro

Melbourne based musician and self-described space enthusiast Tanya Batt (Aka BATTS) returns with Gun, her first piece of new music since the success of her debut EP 62 Moons in 2017. The track is an otherworldly ballad, steeped in folk-narrative traditions and more ethereal rather than earthy. There is something building in the vast expanse of this soundscape. Rolling cymbals and a distant keyboard echo throughout, while the lyrics have you staring down the barrel to remove any distance. BATT has a voice that cuts through the subtlety of her clever guitar work, spinning a tale worthy of inclusion on Nick Cave’s Murder Ballads – if it were rerecorded on the moon. Escape into the fiction with BATTS by tuning into Sydney’s 2RRR, Mount Gambier’s 5GTR FM in South Australia or RTR FM in Perth.

Kito – #7 Amrap Regional

Kito pulls back and strips down the production on her latest single, Creature Kind, with some help from NZ’s celebrated electro-pop duo Broods. The track bops with crisp percussion and layered, sweeping vocals from Kito but remains a more minimal offering in comparison to her previous releases. The production is masterfully off-kilter yet precise, blending ghostly lyricism and pounding bass synths for an eclectic and poppy sound. Creature Kind is the third single from her forthcoming EP, HANNI, set to create waves as a heavily collaborative body of work featuring the likes of Shy Girls, Trinidad James and Tara Carosielli. There will be plenty more coming from Kito on Perth’s RTR FM, Sydney’s FBi and Harvey Community Radio in WA.

B Wise – #10 Amrap Metro

B Wise hits us with some heat on his latest single, Actin’ Different, a tune that offers up a moment of well-deserved celebration for the south-west Sydney local. It’s a triumphant taste of his long-awaited debut album, Area Famous, which dropped through Elefant Traks earlier this month. B Wise embraces the present with levity and a carefree attitude as he bounces around on the beat with some help from producers Juve and DOPAM!NE. Heavy on the vocal modulation and bass riding snare-snaps, Actin’ Different is clearly a banger, yet B Wise still manages to showcase his songwriting expertise throughout. Bump the album by tuning into Sydney’s FBi Radio, Plenty Valley FM in Melbourne and 4ZZZ in Brisbane.

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 & online.