EP.8 January 5, 2025.
FRIDAY*, bad tuner, Miette Hope, Cherry Chola, Chzter, Tomasa del Real, xmunashe, Brent Faiyaz
episode 3 with fbi 94.5FM
LA based DJ and KCRW radio presenter Raul Campos joins Music Director Lindsay Riley from Sydney's fbi 94.5FM for the second of four episodes of Sonic Dialog.
In this episode Raul to Lindsay share new discoveries in pop music discussing reviving sounds from breakbeat, RnB, garage, dance and reggaeton music into today's progressive pop sounds across the US, Australia and beyond.
Hear tracks from Australian Tapestry pop artist FRIDAY*, Cherry Chola's fusion of electronica and reggaeton and composer and producer xmunashe, plus Brooklyn's bad tuner with Miette Hope, Mexico City's, Chzter with Chilean reggaeton artist Tomasa del Real and R&B sensation Brent Faiyaz.
About fbi 94.5FM: Sydney's community radio station fbi targets a demographic of 18-25 year olds and plays 50% Australian music with half of that from Sydney.
About KCRW: KCRW belong to Los Angeles, connecting diverse perspectives and the sounds of Southern California with curious communities around the corner and around the world. They are NPR’s flagship member station in Southern California and a community service of Santa Monica College.
FRIDAY*
Sydney artist FRIDAY* makes music that might play while you have your most profound epiphany. He released his single, ‘Dying In The City’, and it sounds like what a racing pulse feels like. It’s urgent, it’s demanding, and it’s captivating. Like most FRIDAY* songs: once you hear it, you won’t forget it. ‘Dying In The City’ was released as a single, and then went on to feature on his debut EP Darling.
FRIDAY* is genreless by compulsion. Ghanaian by heritage and Australian by citizenship, his compositions touch on identity-based self-conflict, long nights, good friends, bad heartache, and all things in between.
His free-flowing sense of self allows him to build unorthodox sonic narratives that unearth the true patterns and colours of both himself, his heritage and his home city of Sydney. Tapestry pop, hip hop, raw punk and more, FRIDAY* pushes boundaries and turns heads with a conviction not felt within the Eora scene in quite some time
bad tuner & Miette Hope
Brooklyn based bad tuner is a DIY producer that has become a rising star in New York’s underground dance music scene. Since his debut in 2018 - bad tuner has toured and released music with TOKiMONSTA, shared the stage with electronic tastemakers Bon Entendeur, Catching Flies, and Beshken, collaborated with New York Times journalist Ian Urbina by writing a score for The Outlaw Ocean, and has had his music placed on countless tastemaker playlists and radio stations globally. ‘in heaven’ is his collaboration with Brooklyn based singer songwriter Miette Hope.
“We wrote ‘in heaven’ this July at my studio in Brooklyn. It started as an iPhone sample that Miette sent me – we pitched it and chopped it up as Micah played some chords over the garage drum beat. After arranging the song so the ‘baby’ repeats over the drop, we knew it had to be released before the summer was up.” – bad tuner
Cherry Chola
Cherry Chola, a.k.a Fabiola, bears the resemblance to a modern day fairy crossed with a lifelike bratz doll, first launching onto the Melbourne music scene in 2022 with her debut EP exótica, honing a sound that she describes as “fantasy x reggaeton x futuristic hot girl music”.
Cherry Chola has since been captivating audiences with a fusion of electronica and reggaeton. Pioneering a genre almost completely her own, and drawing inspiration from her Venezuelan heritage, Cherry Chola infuses her music with vibrant rhythms and Spanish vocals, resulting in an irresistible blend of infectious beats and catchy melodies.
Her unique fusion of popular Latin dance music that blends reggaeton and Neoperreo, bringing with it a sound usually not heard in the Australian music world.
Chzter, Tomasa del Real, Waxxha, Tzunami
TKD is the collaboration between hip-hop artist Chzter from Mexico City, and Chilean reggaeton artist Tomasa del Real, produced by Waxxha and Tzunami.
Chzter's music is a welcome diversion from the norm, fusing traditional Hip Hop beats with experimental and varied sounds, creating a distinctive and genuine sound that embodies his native Mexico by incorporating emotive language and cultural allusions into his music. Drawing influence from his Mexican ancestry, his songs explore issues of identity, social justice, and personal development, and they connect with a wide range of listeners who value his openness and introspection.
Tomasa Del Real began working as a tattoo artist but started working on songs with the help of some friends, a laptop, and Wi-Fi. Born in Iquique, Chile, she was surrounded by reggaeton as it was one of the soundtracks of her hometown, and has become known as the queen of neo-perreo revolutionizing reggaeton music. Del Real’s side hustle soon became her main hustle when she released Bien y Mal, a compilation of songs that tracked her DIY evolution from reggaeton newcomer to neo-perreo queen flipping the genre’s machismo on its head.
xmunashe
A multi-talented musician, singer, composer and producer, Botswana-born, Perth-raised xmunashe has rapidly become one of Sydney’s most revered rising artists on the strength of his intimate, improvised musical happenings.
With no released music to date, aside from collaborations with Mali Jo$e, he is known for his live shows, each of them seems planned at the very last minute, when in reality, it has been envisioned months ahead.
At xmunashe’s shows, everything seems planned at the last minute. In reality, it has been envisioned months ahead.
Most of his performances are improvised – a back-and-forth tennis game between bandmates Josh, and Jonti. "The communication comes through intense eye contact and an innate ear for music." - he says.
Brent Faiyaz
International style icon & enigmatic R&B sensation, Christopher Brant Wood, more commonly known as Brent Faiyaz, solidifies himself as an artist for any era, hailing from Columbia, Maryland. Most of his music doesn’t have the typical measures of four beats that is associated with R&B music, having started in rap.
Faiyaz began uploading his music onto SoundCloud in 2014 and moved from his hometown Columbia, Maryland to Charlotte, North Carolina before ultimately settling in Los Angeles, California to further his music career.
‘Last One Left’ is lifted from his recent album Larger Than Life, and features DMV rapper Lil Gray, and Grammy Award winner rapper Missy Elliot.