'The quality of music is really high,' says RPM Challenge co-ordinator

"They don't even seem real," said an awestruck Elling Lien, as he dumped a large bag of CDs on the table in the Weekend AM studio.

Lien said local musicians of all ages and skill levels created more than 100 albums of original music for the 2017 RPM Challenge.

Lien, who co-ordinates the local event with non-profit group Unpossible NL, said he was especially impressed by the number of children who took part.

Laura Winter, who is a member of the Juno-award winning group The Swinging Belles and a teacher, did an RPM challenge this year with her Grade 1 class at Bishop Feild Elementary School.

She said collaborating with a classroom of six-year-olds presented her with a new challenge.

"The songs are changing all the time. They're pretty dynamic."

Lien and Winter brought some of their favourite tracks from the 2017 RPM Challenge into the Weekend AM studio for a First Listen. Lien said the albums will eventually stream.

"The pressure is low, but the quality of music that comes out of this is really high."

Have a listen to their conversation with Weekend AM host Heather Barrett here.  

Do you have a new album of music that Weekend AM should know about for First Listen? Email us [email protected] and tell us about it.

You can hear First Listen Sundays on Weekend AM from 6 a.m. to 9 a.m. (5:30 a.m. to 8:30 a.m. in Labrador) on CBC Radio One.