Take 5

It’s been a big time for Tool fans. They just released their first album in 13 years; it’s fair to say that anticipation was at an all time high when Fear Inoculum dropped. For the faithful, it’s been worth the wait, celebrating the precision and epic sound the American band have be known for. But even though it took a while for them to get around to new recordings, they continued to tour between...

Kasey Chambers is a living legend. Five number one albums, fourteen ARIA Awards, she recently became the youngest woman to be inducted into the ARIA Hall of Fame. Kasey grew up with music. As a kid she’d travel across the Nullarbor with her dad, at the end of each day the family would always gather around the campfire to sing songs. She’d end up playing with the family band, but it was her 1999 de...

Have you ever met a professor of punk? I didn’t even know such a thing existed, before I met Vivien Goldman. She lectures at New York University but way before she was an educator, Vivien was in the thick of it. She was writing about the scene back when it began; in fact she was one of the first people to explore the parallels between punk and reggae. And she lived in that realm too; Vivien was Bo...

If I told you to 'put a bird on it', you’d know immediately what I meant. This iconic sketch from Portlandia is the work of Fred Armisen. He’s a comedian who has filled our screens for almost 20 years; as a cast member on Saturday Night Live, alongside his best friend Carrie Brownstein co-creating Portlandia, and more recently on the mockumentary series Documentary Now. Music has been central to F...

Waleed Aly is the smartest guy in the room. Whether hosting The Project, writing editorials for major newspapers, or completing his PhD, it feels there’s nothing he’s not good at, and the Australian public agrees; he won the Gold Logie in 2016. We’re used to seeing Waleed dissect and make sense of the news every day, but sometimes you get a glimpse into his musical heart and you can see that it be...

Back in 2004, Andrew Stafford published a book called Pig City. It captured the Brisbane music scene, the politics that fuelled this artistic reaction and so much more. From the Saints to Savage Garden, it became a bible in music history. Fifteen years passed, and Staffo finally returned with his follow up. This time a personal memoir, taking us through the life of a quiet fan who always felt on t...

Jessica Mauboy is a ray of light. We met her on a singing show more than a decade ago and since then she’s been flat out being a renaissance woman with a helluva big voice. I’ve wanted to do a Take 5 with Jess for years; she’s one of those people you just want to spend time with. Her beautiful energy sucks you in and charms the heck out of you. She’s also always struck me as incredibly grounded; t...

Peter Hook is an architect of modern music. As bass player and founding member of Joy Division and New Order, his melodic high playing style changed the game. Hooky’s bands influenced countless other artists from all across the musical map. From the branches of post punk and electronic music, these two groups changed the game for all of us. Plenty of bands lifted from that blueprint too: Radiohead...

Adrianne Lenker feels things deeply. You hear it in every one of her songs; whether solo, or with her band Big Thief. Lucky for us, she shares it all. Over the past few years she's become one of the most promising and prolific songwriters around. Adrianne got her start early though, and it feels as though music has always helped her better understand the world. When she speaks about music everythi...

In the early 00’s The Streets burst onto the scene. Original Pirate Material was like nothing else around. Combining garage beats with everyday stories from a geezer we could all relate to. Mike Skinner wanted to literally push things forward, taking the garage genre in a new direction and using his lyrics to talk about what was really going on inside the hearts and minds of people in the clubs. I...

Where do you begin with Mark Ronson? 7 Grammys, an Oscar, and so many hit records over 15 years of writing and producing music. He may not sing, but he’s topped the charts in every other way; crafting 'Uptown Funk', co-writing 'Shallow' with Lady Gaga, and collaborating with musicians from right across the genre map. Ever since that debut album back in 2003, I’ve been a fan. The way he scooped up...

Jen Cloher is a beacon in Australian music. She’s one of our best songwriters, and a great champion of her peers. Whether it's running management workshops, or co-founding Milk Records, her sage advice and keen ears propel others. But what about the artists who light a path for her? From Patti Smith to Gareth Liddiard, Camp Cope to PJ Harvey, this is a conversation about so much more than music. A...

Warren Ellis’ music has been the soundtrack to my adult life. I remember when I first heard Dirty Three, they were like nothing else around; an instrumental band with a violinist who played like Hendrix, and epic songs that tore at the very fibre of your being. I listened to their albums and like many others put my own meaning into those wordless songs. In the mid 90’s we started seeing him more i...

There are times when I like to take the Take 5 on the road; heading to places where creative people gather, and the conversations around art and music are part and parcel of daily life. Dark Mofo in Hobart is one of those places. A festival set in the middle of winter, in the southernmost city in Australia. When the wind blows, it’s coming from Antarctica. The streets light up with red crosses eac...

It’s fair to say, Kirsha Kaechele has lived a life less ordinary. The American artist and curator lives in Hobart, but Australia is just the latest home for a woman who has sought out experiences her whole life. As a teenager, she left home and travelled to 50 countries in 7 years – a self-education in the furthest corners of the world. She lived with the Sannyasin cult, she dropped ayahuasca in t...

Megan Washington is one of my favourite people to talk to. Ever since we first met her ten years ago, she’s been an open book, who has an incredible perspective on creativity. On and off air, a conversation with Meg is never small talk, and you always feel richer for it. Washington’s music career began as a jazz singer, she morphed into a pop artist, and explored avant garde experiments in the yea...

It’s not overstating it when I say Jimmy Barnes is a national treasure. Everyone can sing along to a Cold Chisel song, you’ve undoubtedly seen him or them live at some stage of your life, and the harrowing story of his childhood has connected him to people who may have never even engaged with his music before. He also electric; the energy that comes off him is insane. Throughout this Take 5 I just...

Kacey Musgraves is the woman of the golden hour. At the Grammy’s she won every category she was nominated in, including Album of the Year. Her live shows, and candour, have made headlines. And her journey from Nashville country singer to crossover pop artist with that acclaimed album, has won her a whole lot of new fans. Whether speaking plainly about small town life, being open about doing drugs,...

For around a decade now, New Zealand artist Tiny Ruins has been singing stories to us. Across three albums, Hollie Fullbrook has sketched beautiful pictures of the world around her, and taken those tunes on the road. Hollie is the songwriter behind these tales, and these days she spends a lot of time trekking around. Whether it’s the US, UK, Europe, or across the pond in Australia, she’s built a d...

Vika and Linda Bull are legends of Australian song. Whether they’re backing Paul Kelly, or singing out front on their own, the sisters have brought warmth, and devastating harmonies to us for decades. It’s high time they did a Take 5. So I asked them, and before I had a chance to give them a theme, they picked their own. Sibling songs. Tunes that brothers and sisters harmonised together with… and...

One of my favourite artists is Kurt Vile. His music has been a friend to me for years; a familiar voice and drifting guitar that always makes you feel like you’re home. He’s been a frequent visitor to Australia too, and on his fifth visit I asked him to join me to Take 5. Kurt wears his heart on his sleeve, you’ve always been able to hear certain influences in his songs (both in the way he plays a...

Simon Amstell is a funny guy. That's literally his job; as comedian, TV host, and recent feature film maker. He got his start as the scathing host of UK TV show Popworld, and made a name further afield when he hosted Never Mind the Buzzcocks in the late noughties. But he's been a stage performer his whole life, and in between whippity quick barbs on set, he’s invited audiences into longer and deep...

Who knew cooking competitions would take over Australian television? Back in 2010 the finale for the second season of Masterchef became the most watched non-sporting event of that year. And the winner? Adam Liaw. This Malaysian-Australian lawyer had been working in Japan when he decided to enter the Masterchef competition. He became a firm favourite, and after that victory… everything changed. Ada...

Lucy Dacus is one hell of a songwriter. Her second album Historian, brought a whole heap of new ears to her songs, it was considered by many as one of 2018's best. Life has been pretty busy for Lucy Dacus. As well as her own music, she collaborated with Julien Baker and Phoebe Bridgers on the boygenius project, and has been recording a new EP of cover songs based around significant holidays. That...

Every now and then I like to dip into the Take 5 archives and share some gold. In the thirteen years I’ve been doing this, I’ve had the chance to speak with some incredible people, many of whom have shaped modern music. One of them is Butch Vig. As a muso, he drums with Garbage. But as a producer, he’s crafted the sound of some of the biggest records of our time. Sonic Youth’s “Dirty”, Smashing Pu...