Zowie Powie!

I produce four radio programs on our local station. Sounds Like Australian music (SLAM) which plays exclusively contemporary Australian Indi music occasional digressions into the past. POPZ which is a three hour program of Australian and International Pop music. New Kids on the Block (NKOTB), which I do in collaboration with the Grade Six from our local primary school, which features school news and the children reading their own creative writing augmented with a bit of post production. I also produce Songs To Aging Children (STAC) which is the programme most dear to my heart. The music ranges from early sixties to the present. It is the programme that reflects my taste in music.
I am always on the hunt for music. I get sent quite a few review tracks/discs and demos which mostly end up on SLAM. I don’t live near any record stores (closest decent one is two hours away) so trawl the net.
I was very lucky today. Progressive Rock has always been big for me and I found online an old sampler album in ‘The World of’ series (remember those). I had the embarrassing title of The Zowie Powie World of Progressive Rock. I used to own a copy. Anyway on it was a track by a band called ‘Touch’ – ‘Down at Circe’s Place’. When I was 18 I thought that that track was really cool. ‘Touch’ broke up in the early seventies and i forgot about them until today. I went on a hunt and finally chased a copy of their only album down which was self titled. It is great music. The new release (2008) has extra tracks of previously unreleased material.
Not only that but while I was chasing them down I ran into an Australian band called ‘Unitopia’ who are 21st C contemporary. The breadth of musician ship, sheer invention and richness of the Album I have managed to acquire (‘The Garden’) is beyond coherent superlatives, It is a double album that has to be listened to to be believed. I guess everyone knows about them and i am just slow but what great discoveries all in one day.
The other great musical news is Stonefield have released a new single that is a precursor to their second album. Those girls are currently one of my favorite Oz bands.
I don’t know why I am raving on while waiting for the potatoes to cook but there you go.