WAHOO! I just listened to the greatest ever 1970’s UK TV sit-com theme-tune that never was, brought into 2026 with an absolute banger of a mix! I was tapping me toes, nodding the head and smiling at I listened to the latest release by Tāmaki Makaurau musician Amelia Berry, known to us as Amameila. The lady is currently based across the ditch in Australia’s very own Detroit Rock City, Melbourne.

This is a deeply organic sounding dance track. As mentioned above, I was instantly transported in my mind’s eye to my early childhood in the UK, and the madcap sounds of things like Some Mothers Do ‘Ave ‘Em, Benny Hill, and that sort of thing. I got visions of speeded up keystone kop-style chases through the streets dressed in idiotic clothes, and the vibe continues throughout the track. This is not a dated sound, however. This is a 2026 track, with a retro vibe wrapped up in a highly elegant up-to-date mix. Melodic as all hell, and you WILL be ear wormed!

To explain, from the EPK:

“Theme From Living was the first song I wrote for the album and I needed something to set the tone. I knew I wanted sunshine pop, something a bit bubblegum and psychedelic,” reminisces Amelia.

“I came up with the vocal melody while I was waiting for the train at the Footscray station, I hid behind a pillar to sing it into my phone. It wasn’t until I got home that I realised it was in crazy shifting time signatures. I love a bit of a unison gang vocal so I called up my friends and everyone really pulled through!”

The song’s joyous vocal melody features a corps d’elite of Aotearoa’s underground with appearances from Carla Camilleri ((cc)tv), Moe McGlashan (Bandicoot, FIMO), Hannah Renwick plus Sunreturn label mates Madison van Staden (Van Staden & Bohm, Yarn) and Baby Zionov.

We’ve got some great whistling synth sounds, hand claps, acapella style vocal “la la la’s”, and a lovely, warm bottom end both anchoring it and driving it. This would sit well on commercial radio, but will go gangbusters on student and regional stations. It’ll be well received at parties, raves, clubs both upstairs and down. It’s a highly infectious, optimistic sound, and it will make you happy and will compel you to move parts of your body often allowed to remain dormant.

Melbourne, Wellington, Edinburgh, Berlin, Helsinki, Manila, Toronto. Some of the “cool” cities for this kind of sound, should definitely be seeing Theme From Living around the traps. What a winner of a release! Watch out for the album it’s on, titled The Joy Of Living, coming out on 17th April on all streaming platforms and vinyl too for those of us who know the difference.

Enjoy it you will!