This week I have a very special guest writer - the oracle Richard who is Tomatrax .
Tomatrax is a super reviewer on Triple J Unearthed and his music mantra states
"I am obsessed with music and am always on the look out for new music. I honestly believe that some of the best new music out there is from the unsigned bands; they’re the ones who are just starting up giving it everything they have to get noticed."
For those not familiar with TripleJ Unearthed this is the blurb from the unearthed site :
"new Australian music
Unearthed is triple j’s initiative to support independent, self-funded musicians and provide opportunities to those artists we believe show most potential. Since our beginnings in the 90’s unearthing a handful of acts from region to region, triplejunearthed.com now actively discovers new music every week providing exposure across radio, tv, online, podcasts, social networks, and mobile. With over 23,000 artists, 57,000 tracks and 175,000 registered users we are Australia’s top destination for the discovery of new Australian music.
At least 10 new artists are featured online weekly, and selected tracks from Unearthed receive daily airplay on triple j radio. Recent Unearthed success stories include, Art vs Science, The Middle East, and Washington. For more detail, read history.
Our ongoing aim is to maximise exposure for promising artists, and work with triple j supported partners and events to achieve this. Such as:
Run national comps to play at the biggest Music Festivals in Australia including Splendour in the Grass, Big Day Out, Homebake, Soundwave, Parklife, and Falls Festival.
Program Unearthed bands at state body music conferences including Fuse festival (Adelaide), NT Music (Darwin), WAMI live showcase (Perth), and Big Sound (Brisbane).
Run comps to play at regional music festivals including Grooving the Moo, Open Arms, Trackside, Fat as Butter, and triple j's annual One Night Stand.
Run our annual Unearthed High competition aimed to find Australia's best High School band.
Work with NIDA post grad student to produce live action music video clips for Unearthed bands.
Hold our annual Unearthed J Award recognising the top Unearthed artists of the year who have shown the most growth and potential since their exposure on triplejunearthed.com."
Tomatrax has kindly put together his top 10 Unearthed Tracks for your listening pleasure - go on - treat yourself to the sounds of some new undiscovered Australian musicians ! PS I have listened to every single track listed in this blog and loved every single one of them - long live Unearthed !
Tomatrax Top 10 Unearthed tracks
10 Cloud Control - Vintage Books
Sounds like Country meets punk, and it works rather well. The music has the dirty and simple punk like riffs with interesting country undertones. The end result is something quite different but very catchy. There is also some solid slightly distorted guitar work towards the end. These guys have created their own sound and pull it off brilliantly, they are onto something good here!
http://www.triplejunearthed.com/Artists/View.aspx?artistid=5675
9 Johnnie Mac - The Chant of Namatjira
A cross between Midnight Oil and Yothu Yindi. This is Australian rock as it should sound, full of energy, passion and interesting atmospheric sounds.Technically flawless. clever and creative. This is one of those moments where everything works!
http://www.triplejunearthed.com/Artists/View.aspx?artistid=16543
8 Sophie Hanlon/snowie - If you ain't got soul
A stripped back indie sound led with a solid jazzy vocal sounding something like My Bloody Valentine with Shirley Bassey on vocals. As the song progresses it takes on a more blusey feel with a solid blusey piano solo. Sophie Hanlon/snowie's are truly amazing and would give everyone from Shirley Bassey to Aretha Franklin. She is able to hit on all manner of notes and hold them for as long as she likes. This is backed with some exceptional atmospheric music that lies somewhere between indie and blues. This is one amazing performer that has a heap of musical talent and originality!
http://www.triplejunearthed.com/Artists/View.aspx?artistid=37287
7 Jess McAvoy - See How I Go
This song is absolutely beautiful! Jess has an amazingly powerful voice that acts as the dominant instrument in this song. It is back up well by the chilling acoustic guitar! The video clip for this is amazing too!
http://www.triplejunearthed.com/Artists/View.aspx?artistid=2300
6 Circle - The Suffocating Delay
A mellow piano driven tune with an occasional Mike Oldfieldesq lead guitar coming in and out. As the song continues more interesting sounds and effects come in and out while retaining a certain poppy vibe. This is a very creative piece that shows off all sorts of different ideas and experiments yet manages to contain them all together in a neat package. These guys are without a doubt a band that is worth taking note of!
http://www.triplejunearthed.com/Artists/View.aspx?ArtistId=4646
5 Streamer Bendy - Boy Oh Boy
A full on barrage of funk-rock energy, sounding like the Red Hot Chili Peppers with Chrissy Amphlett on vocals. The music is really tight and fast. The delivery of the lead guitar is amazing with a lot of interesting sounds exerted. Erinn Swan's dirty punk vocals top the song off especially with her sharp tongues lyrics. Oh boy this is awesome!
http://www.triplejunearthed.com/Artists/View.aspx?artistid=25464
4 Super Massive - Fists In My Pocket
Spacey and poppy all at the same time. It has all the pop elements and slick production to make it stand up to anything the commercial radio will play you. At the same time it has a interesting spacey background vibe giving it a strangely wonderful depth. Above all it is full of energy and would work well being played on the dance floor or in your bedroom. Awesome stuff!
http://www.triplejunearthed.com/Artists/View.aspx?artistid=20666
3 Stonefield - Foreign Lover
A cool smooth jazzy rock tune with elements from Deborah Conway to Jimi Hendrix. The 70s style riffs are infectiously catchy and full of energy. The song continues to impress with a psychedelic keyboard instrumental followed by a short but powerful guitar solo. This is topped off by some absolutely amazing vocals that have an abundance of range and strength hitting both soft and heavy notes with ease. This is a brilliant offering that sees all the members rock out with power and creative flair!
http://www.triplejunearthed.com/Artists/View.aspx?artistid=19942
2 Michael Cullen - transmission
Michael Cullen’s music is reminiscent of bands such as Joy Division, The Birthday Party and the Triffids to name a few. He manages to combine the best bits of each of these artists to come up with something distinctive of his own. This song has a fast energetic vibe with dark atmospheric undertones. The music alone creates vivid imagery while the cleverly crafted lyrics add the story in.
http://www.triplejunearthed.com/Artists/View.aspx?artistid=14291
1 Royal Chant - Coughing Fits
Royal Chant are easily one of the most interesting and innovating bands in Australia at the moment and this is one of the best tracks to appear on Unearthed! There is a good use of echoing vocals and dark atmospheric textures. There is a lot of energy throughout the song as well as all sorts of interesting background sounds. There is a phenomenal amount of emotion poured into this track and it results in an amazing rock anthem!
http://www.triplejunearthed.com/Reviews/All_Reviews.aspx?ArtistID=25251
Hungry for more ?
Checkout the online music magazine :
http://tomatrax.wordpress.com/
or join the Tomatrax Facebook page :
http://www.facebook.com/pages/Tomatrax/255925286750
or follow Tomatrax at myspace :
http://www.myspace.com/tomatrax
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