KCRW’s Global Beat is a new series highlighting emerging artists from around the world. We’re kicking the series off with our friends in Australia by partnering with The Australian Music Alliance and the Australian Music Radio Airplay Project (Amrap), a uniquely Australian organization designed to support Australian music on public radio.
KCRW DJ Raul Campos hosts along with Amrap Manager Andrew Khedoori for weekly Aussie artist spotlights. This week brings with it a cornucopia of exquisitely produced tracks blending sounds and styles from all corners of the globe.
Pro-tip: This is a great playlist to accompany all of your Thanksgiving week activities. This is also our last episode of GBA in 2021. We’ll return with more Aussie treats in January, but in the meantime, savor all of the delicious morsels we’ve gathered for you so far (plus bonus tracks!) with our Global Beat: Australia playlist.
Rest For the Wicked - “Bones”
Rest For The Wicked is a classy, polished pop collaboration between Melbourne's Ben Townsend (aka Ivan Ooze), and Sydney-based experimental producer Tasker. Photo by James Hornsby.
Rest For the Wicked is one guy from Sydney, and another guy from Melbourne. Earlier this year, they supplied us with an ambitious first offering. “Bones” is loaded with a lot of pop polish, and craft. It's one thing to have the gear, but you've got to know how to use it right. They know how to use it right off the bat. And to that end, they've got some runs on the board. Well established Aussie producer Tasker is the half of this duo behind the controls. In the past, he's worked with some of the most recent big huge names in Australian music — we’re talking G flip, Alison Wonderland... but this feels like it's his space to get a little bit more unconventional while remaining irresistible. And the guys say that this song, “Bones,” is about not being afraid of what's coming next. And that's what the music exactly feels like. It puts you in this weird space, but you’re up for the journey and all the things that come your way throughout. It's such a cool, and individual pop song. We’re really glad that we can coast back a few months to bring this one to you.
Skeleten - “ Walking On Your Name ”
Sydney’s Russell Fitzgibbon produces sleek, and futuristic tunes as Skeleten. Photo by Imogen Grist.
This one's all about living in the present. It's from Sydney producer skeleton is known to his mum and dad as Russell Fitz Gibbon. Maybe his friends too, for that matter. I can't imagine they get together where one of them says, “Hey Skeleten, you want to beer?” But let's get back to the track which is called “Walking On Your Name.” It’s supremely cool. The laid back beat on it was apparently inspired by a late night session where he was looking to get a little looser, and take the foot off the pedal. This is the result — it achieves liftoff pretty quickly before moving into the best kind of cruise control.
Mister Ott - “ Gold Chain ”
Sydney based saxophonist Matthew Ottignon blends sounds of the projects he has worked on over the years, from jazz to Afrobeat, as he leads Mister Ott. Photo by Barnabas Imre.
Mister Ott is a group out of Sydney led by the versatile and dynamic saxophonist, Matt Ottignon. He’s been known to play in straight up jazz ensembles, and also in Ethiopian musician Dereb the Ambassador's band. But here he is in one of his own musical configurations, Mr. Ott. In this group, he takes all the reins that he's covered across the years, and he seamlessly blends them into his own funky package. We're going to hear “Gold Chain” off an album that he's just released called “In the Flow.” It's as apt an album title as you'll get. This one just moves. It’s all instrumental, taking in jazz, funk, disco, Afrobeat and Ethiopian styles to make them perfect sonic bedfellows. Much like the previous outfit that we heard from, Rest For the Wicked. This one's got a little psychedelic haze across proceedings, which never hurts in making this a really sweet trip to take. What a gem, arriving just in time to lift your Thanksgiving Day very nicely.