It’s Aus music month and while we’re all about Courtney Barnett and her J Award winning debut album Sometimes I Sit And Think And Sometimes I Just Sit, there are a handful of new artists that have a J Award winning album in them - we can just feel it.
Here are 10 tracks we’re spinning right now from new Aussie artists that need to grace your earwaves stat.
Romy - Wild Heart
When you think of R&B Australia is not really the first place you look to but that may all be about to change thanks to LA-based, Aussie songstress Romy. Romy has just dropped her debut single Wild Heart and it’s a seductive, uber-cool numer reminiscent of US R&B queens Kehlani and Tinashe.
Her vocals slip ‘n slide through the tracks already slinky instrumental as she establishes herself as an artist to watch in 2016. It may be her first single but it feels like she’s been tapping away at this music things for a while and has established a strong artistic vision. If you’re looking for confirmation of that look no further than the video for Intro which we’ve conveniently included below.
Kita Alexander - Like You Want To
If you’ve been listening to triple j/not living under a rock, you should already be in love with Port Macquarie-grown singer Kita Alexander who burst onto the scene with My Own Way. Like You Want To is the follow-up to that and it’s proof that she’s got an arsenal full of killer tunes. It’s got one foot on the beach and one foot in the club, combining chilled-vibes with electronic-tinges which make for the perfect summer earworm.
When we spoke to Kita a few months ago she described this song as being, “next level,” and we have to agree with her. It’s really carves her a path as a natural artist who will simultaneously draw in Instagrammers and musos who want to hang out with her and generally be her.
Here’s a cheeky spoiler. We’ve heard her EP which is out in December and if you love this track chances are you’re going to have three more tracks to add to your “bloody love it” playlist once it drops.
Jaala - Salt Shaker
If you were one of those ones that ignored the warnings two years ago that Courtney Barnett was going to be huge and have only just caught on, we’re giving you another chance to be ahead of the curve. Melbourne four-piece Jaala possess that same earth-born honesty that Barnett does and have delivered an absolute cracker of a song in Salt Shaker.
“I lick the salt right off my hand, helps me to feel like I’m still that ocean,” Frontwoman Cosima Jaala sings over crunching, raw guitars. The whole track unfolds as an unfiltered narrative with endearingly honest insights. Jaala’s voice is interesting and whimsical holding you captive in a trance for the full three minutes.
The good news is that if you’re digging this, they have a full album called Hard Hold that is out today which is really convenient.
Young Tapz - Killa
Ok, young rapper Young Tapz is actually a Kiwi but let’s not get into the whole Kimbra/Crowded House/Lorde debate. For us on the east coast New Zealand is closer than Perth so we’re just going to go right ahead and claim his as our own. Killa is impressing people not only locally but also in the heartland of hip-hop (the U S of A) and we wouldn’t be surprised if Tapz spends most of 2016 in planes and hotel rooms abroad.
It’s got that dark attitude that Travis $cott and Vic Mensa have popularised this year along with a sort of haunted Tapz vibe. Before this track, he made two features of Hermitude’s Dark Night Sweet Light record which is a pretty great introduction to the scene but it looks like he’s more than equipped to go it on his own now.
He’s only 21 BTW.
Wishes - I Want To Be Alone With You
Remember 2009 when Passion Pit was the band of choice and Phoenix were the best thing since sliced bread? There were a plethora of indie bands slicing and dicing their sound with electronic influences and serving up together beautifully euphoric music. That scene has died down a bit now but Sydney artist Wishes is bringing it back with his tune I Want To Be Alone With You.
It’s his first track as Wishes and it’s a confident, anthemic track made specially for neon-drenched live audiences. He’s going to get the chance to try his tunes out for said audiences next month when he support Neon Indian for his Meredith Festival sideshows. It’s a perfect pairing given that both of them are serving up highly danceable alternative tunes that go down well live but could also be easily slotted into a DJ set.
Palace - Can’t Stop (Feat. GodWolf)
Electronic music just continues to blossom in this country and Palace is at the forefront of the current movement. The Perth producer who is called Jeremy Smith by his parents has paired a sombre, woozy beat with the melancholic but soulful vocals of GodWolf on Can’t Stop.
It feels like the drunk soundtrack to the early AM when tiredness sets in, the lights start to blur and reality begins to make less and less sense. It’s the perfect antidote to all those trop-house bangers that are going to eventually drive you mad throughout the course of this summer festival season.
Kuren - Love Lost EP
And the prize for making everybody over 20 feel bad about their accomplishments is Kuren. The country NSW producer is only 17 and he’s already churned out an emotionally flawless EP of expansive electronic tunes far beyond his years.
The highlight of the EP is the stunning It Still Hurts which will hit you right in the heart. The entirely instrumental track rushes with synth-driven immediacy while sporadic keys flutter in the background.
The whole EP is free meaning you have no excuse to ignore it, even if you’re a little jealous that he’s managed to achieve this and also complete the HSC this year.
Vanessa Elisha - Out Of Time
We said at the start of this list that Australia wsa not known for its R&B but with Romy and now Vanessa Elisha, we’re starting to prove ourselves wrong. Elisha has teamed with LA producer XXYYXX for her latest cut Out Of Time - a seductive, sexy and attitude-driven track with a strong artistic vision.
XXYYXX took production duties on SZA and Chance The Rapper flawless Child’s Play track and he gives another impressive backdrop here for Elisha to flaunt her vocals over. She’s got an impressive voice that trickles through the melody with ease never sounding like she’s trying too hard but at the same time sounding confident.
It’s a song destined to do big things not only here in Australia but overseas as well and given that the internet has broken down geographical borders that’s what we should be expecting from all our artists.
Jordan Rakei - The Light
If you recognise Jordan Rakei’s name it’s probably because you picked up the Disclosure CD and noticed that he features on the final track Masterpiece. As it happens that track title is deceiving because the real masterpiece is right here - his solo track The Light. Sounding deceptively soulful for a white Australian male, Rakei recalls old school soul masters.
The Light sounds complete organic like it was plucked from the Motown studios decades ago and then remastered for 2015. It nods its head to D’Angelo’s Black Messiah but also carves out its own identity, purely because Rakei’s voice is so unique.
This is not the type of tune that’s going to soundtrack your festival season but it probably will sit on one of your favourite albums in the near future.
Amateur Dance - It’s Really Something
There isn’t a lot of electronic music coming out of this country that sounds like Amateur Dance. 21 year-old Melbournite Joseph Cookson is making slow-building, expansive electronic music that’s really beautiful. It doesn’t concern itself with vocalists or hooks rather using vocal samples to add emotion to pulsating beats.
It’s Really Something is the title track of his latest EP and it encapsulates all the things mentioned above. It goes for 10 minutes and throughout it just continues to tap away at your heart until it turns to slush. In the middle it builds to a rousing climax and then pulls it all back in preparation for the even more stunning finale.
It’s so emotional and if Adele’s new album doesn’t bring you close to a tear then surely this will.
Words by the interns' Sam Murphy.
