Take 5

Anna Calvi is a powerhouse. A virtuoso guitarist from a young age, it took her a while to gather confidence to get behind the mic; but when she did, the world took notice. In the last decade, Anna has released three acclaimed albums, she’s toured Australia, and she’s consistently pushed the boundaries, sonically and lyrically. I’ve had the pleasure of meeting Anna a couple of times before, and it’...

For many of us who came of age in the 90’s, Dave McCormack was a familiar voice. As lead singer of Custard, his husky voice atop some truly whimsical indie rock drew us out of the angsty guitar scene of the time; they made songs that were playful and were a beacon beaming out of the Brisbane scene. The band called it a day right after their most successful album Loverama. Dave would go on to play...

Georgia Barnes grew up in raves. As the daughter of Neil Barnes from Leftfield, she seemed destined to make music herself, and her formative years where her childhood bedroom was also their studio certainly helped her along the way. These days, we know her simply as Georgia. Her second album Seeking Thrills came out in early 2020, and we were well acquainted with her talents. She’s got an incredib...

Sydney singer Ngaiire is a powerhouse. I remember the first time I heard her voice, I was a goner. The way her voice curled around every lyric was one thing, but her songwriting craft showed a promise that would pay off in the EP’s and albums that would follow. Music has always been a big part of Ngaiire’s life. As a child of the 90’s, she grew up listening to pop songs in Papua New Guinea and New...

There’s a family tree of modern music and one of its biggest branches is New Order. The Manchester band, formed in the wake of Joy Division’s untimely end, have fed into the sound of almost every band and artist you’ve loved for, for forty years. Even if you’re not a fan, you can trace their blueprint across all you hear. Their transformation from post punk to electronic music, swept up kids who w...

I still remember the first time I heard Hot Chip, and I distinctly remember the yellow sleeve their first album came in. It didn’t reveal much about the band, except that they made this comforting electronic music, they seemed like nerds with a heart of gold, and their lead singer’s voice was an instant friend. By their second album Hot Chip had added a whole lot more party to their sound, and fro...

It’s Girls to the Front on the Take 5 podcast! A Frankensteined special of some of my favourite recent conversations with incredible women. Celebrate International Women’s Day with some incredible humans, sharing their favourite songs by some amazing creators over the past decade. Yumi Stynes on Janelle Monae - ‘Pynk {ft. Grimes}' Eleanor Dixon from Kardajala Kirridarra on Emily Wurramara - Lady B...

If you came of age in the 2010’s, the sound of Hayley Mary’s voice would have been a tonic. As the lead singer of The Jezabels, she soared over big, dramatic pop songs, and drew a dedicated fanbase from all over Australia. In early 2020, Hayley stepped out on her own with her debut solo EP; and while the sound of it showed another side of her, one thing remained the same. That voice. Always cuttin...

American artist Natalie Mering didn’t always sing folk music. Back in the day she was into noise rock; she played bass with the kind of heavy bands you see late at night before she re-emerged as Weyes Blood. Once Natalie got on the mic, we all melted. It’s not just her incredible 70’s pop-folk vocal, but the worlds she takes us into; whether on her breakthrough album Front Row Seat to Earth, or la...

Leigh Whannell is a guy who likes to scare you. Back in 2004 he wrote and starred in Saw; it was a horror movie done on a budget, it’d go on to make millions, and it got Hollywood’s attention. Pretty soon, Leigh and his mate James Wan were on a role; they’d make sequels and new horror films, and these two guys from Melbourne were all of a sudden the talk of the town. Fast forward to 2020, and Leig...

It’s been almost 20 years since we first met Clare Bowditch. Back in 2003 she grabbed our attention with her brooding debut single “Human Being”. This writer was one we wanted to hear more from, and over the years we’d hear Clare craft many more beautiful songs, star on TV in “Offspring”, and become a leader in the music community as a collaborator and mentor. Until now though, we didn’t really kn...

Pennywise are Cali punk legends. From backyard parties in Hermosa Beach, to touring the world over the past quarter of a century, the band have built a huge fan base; particularly in Australia. So when they came back again to celebrate the 20th anniversary of their “Straight Ahead” album, I asked the guitarist Fletcher Dragge, to Take 5. Fletcher has always been a good chat, as up for a party as h...

Norman Cook is a legend. Under the moniker Fatboy Slim the British producer and DJ has been making us dance for decades. His breakthrough album “You’ve Come a Long Way Baby” gave us ‘Right Here Right Now’, ‘Gangster Trippin’, ‘The Rockafella Skank’, and of course ‘Praise You’. Twenty years ago that song came in at #4 in the Hottest 100, but his popularity has never waned, and when he visited Austr...

It’s been a massive year for the Take 5. Since 2006 I’ve been having conversations that go well beyond music, but in the last couple of years I feel as though these co-hosts have gone deeper than ever. In 2019 alone, I had so many pinch myself moments, so I wanted to share them with you here in a frankensteined best of: a Take 10 to cap off a big year.  Over the next little while you’ll hear why t...

Ever since we first met American duo Best Coast, they’ve worn their love of California on their sleeves. Bethany Cosentino & Bobb Bruno have visited our coastal country a few times too and in 2012 they did the Take 5. The theme was “west coast is the best coast” and after listening to this, you’ll be convinced. Get ready for some California love, as the charming Best Coast take you on a holida...

Spiderbait are no strangers to triple j and Double J. They’re part of the fabric of Australian festival culture, they’re Hottest 100 champions, and drummer Kram has recently popped up again on stage in our annual One Night Stand gig in Lucindale. In 2012, when Kram did the Take 5, Spiderbait were gearing up to play a greatest hits set at Splendour in the Grass. He took us on a trip down memory lan...

The story of Refused is an interesting one. The Swedish hardcore punk legends had a strong fanbase and released three albums, the final of which was a modern classic. In 1998, The Shape of Punk to Come was just that: a forecast for how the scene would change, mashing genre and all the while bringing the fire they’d had from the get go. Soon after, they split up. Some members would go on to form Th...

Through the early to mid-noughties, Amanda Palmer’s voice cut through as frontwoman for the Dresden Dolls. Their cabaret pop filled the airwaves, and when she went solo fans were just as curious. Palmer is a woman of great conviction; she speaks often about the communities that form around art, and is unrelenting in her commitment to her own vision. She’s also great company. When she did this Take...

Elbow are one of those bands who hold a place in your heart. Maybe it’s the timbre of Guy Garvey’s voice or the stomping emotion they bring to their music. They’ve long been visitors to Australia and in 2011 made the trek to play Splendour in the Grass. When Guy Garvey and Pete Turner from the band did the Take 5 they’d just been nominated for the Mercury Music Prize for the third time and had a s...

Edward Sharpe and the Magnetic Zeros landed into the scene with their song ‘Home’. It was all over the radio, on soundtracks to films, you still hear it on TV advertisements. It was in 2012 that I asked Jade Castrinos and Alex Ebert from the band in to Take 5. They were wrapping up a huge tour with Mumford & Sons, and made some time to come by and share their songs from the road. Their song li...

There are certain bands that are part of the fabric of Double J and triple j. Powderfinger is one of them. As we trek through the Take 5 archives, I want to take you back to summer 2015, when triple j was celebrating our 40th birthday. It was such an amazing time: we got to connect to dots between the original Double Jay to triple j to our new Double J family. Former presenters jumped on air, we p...

Julia Jacklin now has two brilliant albums behind her, but three years ago she was just starting to get traction as a solo artist with her debut album. We’d known her as a member of the band Phantastic Ferniture, but her solo work stopped us dead in our tracks.  As the Take 5 dips into the archives here’s one from May 2017, when Julia Jacklin was back in Australia for a minute between a US and Eur...

For so many of us, My Chemical Romance soundtracked our angsty youth. Their theatrical music was mirrored by the wild shows, and Gerard Way was at the centre of it all. He wasn’t just a musician - he was an illustrator, a comic book author, and most of all a fan. In 2015 he was in Australia performing at the Soundwave festival off the back of his debut solo album Hesitant Alien and supporting the...

The Finns are a musical bunch. Neil has fronted the legendary Crowded House, sons Liam and Elroy play, and brother Tim led Split Enz and has made a heap of solo records. Back in 2011, Neil’s wife Sharon joined him on a record too. They called themselves The Pajama Club and together with Alana Skyring from The Grates on drums, they made an album. It was around then I asked them to Take 5. I remembe...

Tony Visconti is a living legend. For more than 50 years he’s been behind some of the most iconic albums of our time. His career began with T Rex, and later on he’d record with everyone from The Dandy Warhols, to Iggy Pop, The Damned to Angelique Kidjo. But his most enduring relationship was with David Bowie. They met in the late 60’s, both of them finding their way through music and the sounds, a...