Music Wrap: The must-listen to tracks from the last month

PHOTOGRAPHY BY GEORGIA WALLACE
WORDS BY ELIZA SHOLLY

Breathe new life into your playlists.

When I was researching for this month’s column, I stumbled on a collaboration so cursed that my eyes can’t unsee it. So, because I had to bear witness, my introduction this month is this cursed collaboration and this cursed collaboration only.

What is it with Macklemore trying to monopolise pain and suffering? Every time I hear a track of his, it’s like he is trying to convince me he is the only one that has ever felt sad, ever.

Looking for more music-centric content? Try our Music section.

Let’s also remember that this is the man who once won a Grammy over Kendrick Lamar, when his album featured the line “When I was in the third grade I thought that I was gay”. He then followed it up by facilitating a group marriage between hundreds of queer folks on stage. When I reflect on the greatest embarrassments of my generation, this is top tier. Anyway, onto this month.

Bellydance

I have been investigating a lot more early-wave Australian jazz for an upcoming project, and in the process, I landed on Bellydance – a nine-piece dance/funk outfit that formed in Sydney in 1987.

The song that piqued my interest was ‘3 Days Man!’, a collection of three tracks that really toe the line between something you’d comfortably hear in a pub and on a dancefloor. I can’t really find traces of much more, although I’ve read about multiple songs and albums and will happily procure a vinyl/tape off someone if they have one lurking in their collection.

I love the idea that they were just a group of nine guys (sometimes twelve) making music and seeing what stuck. So often I think of bands like Savage Garden, Silverchair and Midnight Oil soundtracking the Australian airwaves right before I landed on this earth, and while they’re undebatable icons, it’s nice to know there was some stuff like this, too.

Anything by Sampa The Great

My obsession with Sampa The Great has percolated in the background since the release of The Return in 2019. Lately, however, the Sampa-hole has gotten more intense, and I find myself so deep in her discography I wonder if she even remembers some of these features.

I know many will be reading this like, duh, she’s great, but it’s actually a huge deal for anyone to be tapped by some of these artists, let alone an Australian. People around the world have woken up to her talent, so much so that I think Australia doesn’t deserve her.

Some niche oldies

‘Flowers’with Remi

‘The Plug’ with Estelle

‘Doo Wop’ live at The Wireless

And some recent strengths

‘Ezinna’ with B Wise and Milan Ring

‘Free and Equal’with Angelique Kidjo

‘Black Balloons’ with Denzel Curry for Like A Version

DJ Rah on Rinse FM

I recently caught the set of Singaporean-born, Melbourne-based DJ Rah on a serendipitous night in Bali. I was immediately shook. It was a dancefloor meeting of the minds, even though she didn’t acknowledge my presence nor know I was feeling this way. I subsequently put her forward for a piece at FJ (which was recently published) and spent the remainder of my holiday consuming a myriad of her sets.

One of my favourites is her guest mix on Rinse FM. It gives the nostalgia of radio (think random interjections of talkback) with contemporary selections. Drum and bass, afrobeat, dancehall, UK garage – they really take you on a journey with this one. Once you’ve played that one to death, her Radio Raheem mix is another good – albeit different – one.

Stella Donnelly – Flood

Stella Donnelly is one of Australia’s most vulnerable and prolific artists. Her second album Flood, as Laura Snapes in Pitchfork perfectly puts it, “zeroes in on her guiding concern as a musician: how we seek and create safety”.

Her debut album, Beware Of The Dogs, made her a household name among those who appreciate some sad songs, a glass of red wine, and potentially a bit of doom-scrolling through Hinge on the Apple TV. And while that may sound like I am minimising her talents, I am truly trying to do the opposite. She is the voice of a generation.

On Flood, Donnelly really finds home on the piano, an instrument she supposedly hasn’t touched in years. Written in the depths of Melbourne’s dark winter lockdown (IYKYK) the songs feel like a melancholy adventure with high highs and low lows. ‘How Was Your Day?’ seems like the standout track so far.

Other notable mentions

‘Picture In My Mind’ – Pink Pantheress ft. Gellaitry

‘Change’ – Supershy

‘Miss The Days’ – SBTRKT

‘Cody Freestyle’ – Steve Lacey

‘Intimate Fantasy’ – Chaos In The CBD

‘Look To Him’ – Greentea Peng

‘Fell In Love’ – Jesswar

‘Is This What It Feels Like To Feel Like This?’ – The Wombats

‘Teddy’ – Teenage Dads

‘King Billy Cokebottle’ – A.B. Original

‘Ocean Blue’ – Kita Alexander