Take 5

If you talk about country in Australia today, one name comes immediately to mind. Troy Cassar-Daley. The proud Gumbaynggirr and Bundjalung man is one of our most celebrated artists; he holds the record for Golden Guitar Awards and has been making music and telling stories for more than 30 years. Many of those stories are of Australian life, from people in towns big and small, and so I asked him to...

One of the most exciting bands of the last five years, is IDLES. The Bristol group grabbed our attention early, and have held it; prolific in their output, profound in their outlook. Joe Talbot is their lead singer, and it’s his life experiences that fuel their songs. Loss, mistakes, gratitude, redemption and joy fill their four records, and their latest is all about forks in the road. In Australi...

She's one of Australia's best songwriters

He’s the guy that famously brought Nirvana to Australia on their one and only visit, he toured bands like Beastie Boys and Sonic Youth, and put on the Summersault Festival in 1995.

Join Zan as she travels to Los Angeles, Nashville, and Melbourne, and sits down with extraordinary people to hear about the songs that made them who they are today. Guy Pearce, Keith Urban, Missy Higgins, Tony Armstrong and Tori Amos join Zan as Take 5 premieres on ABC TV and can be heard exclusively on the ABC Listen App.

I still remember the first time I heard Santigold. It was like a bolt from the blue, an upload to Myspace that sounded like nothing else around. The trilling high vocal, that deep bassy ownership of song. She came onto the scene demanding to be noticed, and I stood to attention with my ears wide open. Her debut album would be a big hit, and I’d soon learn her backstory; in punk bands, working at l...

One of the most beautiful voices performing today, is that of Marlon Williams. The New Zealand singer has been a rising star over the past few years, not only with his music but increasingly on screen with roles in A Star is Born, The Beautiful Lie, and True History of the Kelly Gang. It’s been around four years since his last solo record, but he’s just returned with My Boy. And it’s quite the fli...

If you’ve ever worked in hospitality, you’ve seen things. The long hours, the patrons, those blurry lines between work and play, and, if you’re Jess Ho, the complex world of what is good and bad taste. Jess has game in hospo. They may have started off as a waiter, but would become one of the most iconic gatekeepers at Melbourne’s coolest restaurant, would go on to be a venue owner themselves, a fo...

Alexisonfire have been releasing brilliant albums for more than twenty years, but it’s been a good thirteen since their last. That changed recently when they returned with Otherness, a brilliant capture of a band renewed, and still holding the raw power and soaring beauty they always did. Dallas Green is one of three lead singers in the band, and one of the friendliest fella’s you’ll meet. He also...

Hilltop Hoods are legends. For more than twenty years they’ve dominated the local scene, with multiple Hottest 100 entries, ARIA’s and the record for the most #1 albums in Australian music. When they play a show, it’s an arena, and they’ve brought that energy to every one of their performances; on stage and on record. Those are the accolades you hear about… but when I invited them to Take 5 I want...

It’s not overstating it to say that Spiderbait are one of Australia’s most loved bands. For more than 30 years, this power trio have ripped it up on stages and albums alike, and held a tight bond of friendship the whole way through. Their latest venture is a compilation album celebrating their bassist and singer Janet English. It’s called Sounds in the Key Of J, and off the back of it’s release I...

Casey Donovan, is one of Australia’s greatest voices. We first met her as a 16 year old on Australian Idol. Her audition grabbed us immediately, and she would go on to win the second series. Since then, she’s been a star on musical theatre stages, written a memoir, made podcasts, and become our official Queen of New Years – belting out the biggest songs on ABC TV’s big broadcast. But what are the...

Where do you start with Phil Jamieson? If you grew up in Australia, he’s been part of the musical fabric for decades. His band Grinspoon were the first band to ever be Unearthed by triple j, they dominated festival line-ups and made more than a few appearances in the Hottest 100. His music with Grinners has soundtracked our lives, and whether on stage or having a chat, Phil has often been the most...

The South London singer joins Zan Rowe to Take 5. It’s so good to be back with a new Take 5 in the feed! ICYMI, over the last few weeks I’ve been off making Take 5 into a TV show. We’ve captured some incredible conversations with big names, everywhere from Melbourne to Los Angeles, to Nashville Tennesee. Take 5 will be coming to ABC TV later in 2022, and in the meantime, I’m stoked to be back wher...

Lykke Li has one of those voices that stops you in your tracks. It’s husky, it’s sweet, it can sound like love itself, then heartbreak in the next moment. From the first moment I heard it, I was a fan. And in her five albums since, Lykke Li has evolved as an artist whose depth as a songwriter and maker has mirrored her life experiences. Her latest album is EYEYE; it follows the end of a big relati...

Joan Wasser is prolific. As a musician, collaborator, and instrumentalist, she’s one of those people who needs to create to feel alive. Her career began in bands like The Dambuilders, before she lobbed in on records from Antony & the Johnsons and found her own voice as Joan as Policewoman. And what a voice it is; its warm snarl captures everyone who hears it, and it’s the same when she talks....

Yorta Yorta man Briggs is a real renaissance man. We may have met him first as an MC, but in the years since he’s shown his creativity knows no bounds. He’s an actor, a writer, a label head, an author, and one of the funniest people I know. Briggs grew up in Shepparton in regional Victoria, it’s a big part of his identity. So when the opportunity came up for triple j and Double J to head to Shepp...

Do you remember, around 15 years ago, when Bat For Lashes first broke onto the scene? This Pakistani-British singer created haunting, dramatic music. She descended from a squash playing dynasty, and her music inhabited an otherworldly quality in the indie music scene. In 2012 she had a huge hit with “Laura”, and a few months later when she was in Australia to tour, I invited her to Take 5. It was...

We all know songs hold a lot of power. When they pair with iconic scenes from film and television, they become etched in our memory; and sometimes elevate a piece of music to the stuff of legend. Think Green Day’s 'Good Riddance' in the final moments of Seinfeld, Underworld’s 'Born Slippy' in Trainspotting, 'Don’t Stop Believin’' by Journey, in The Sopranos… And the person that places these songs...

Kae Tempest is one of the most powerful voices speaking today. A poet, playwright, author, and musician, they capture their world of South East London and bring it to us. And within that, explore the big themes of the world, and how we deal with it. They’ve has just released their fourth album; it comes after a period of great change for Kae, who recently came out as trans non-binary and is speaki...

Aldous Harding is one of the most compelling voices of our time. Across three albums she has shapeshifted in every song, her voice bends and changes almost like stepping into a different character, with each story. Aldous is a spellbinding human in person too; on stage and in other interviews I’ve read and seen. But I learned more about her from this Take 5 than I ever have before. These songs rev...

Steven Oliver has been lighting up stage and screen for years now. A proud descendent of the Kuku-Yalanji, Waanyi, Gangalidda, Woppaburra, Bundjalung and Biripi peoples, he’s popped up on ABC TV’s Black Comedy. Hosted Faboriginal on SBS. And taken the stage as a poet and a playwright. His own story has been told in song, in Bigger and Blacker; a cabaret telling of his life. After traveling across...

As this episode of the Take 5 happened, everyone is talking about Byron Baes. The first show commissioned for Netflix Australia is a glorious hate watch, full of influencer culture, questions about belonging, and some singular characters. The woman who commissioned it, is Que Minh Luu, she’s the Head of Content at Netflix Australia and her job is to find stories that are uniquely ours. Que has lov...

Remember that time between the mid to late 00’s, when indie and dance clashed, when we scoured Myspace for the most exciting new tunes and remixes, and when the internet met the dancefloor to create one big party community? Some call it indie dance or electroclash, and some refer to the era as bloghouse; a magical time that gave rise to big names like Diplo, Steve Aoki, Simian Mobile Disco, and Ju...

Baltimore duo Beach House have been making epic, beautiful and dreamy music for eight albums. For the latest, they upped the pretty by adding a string section. And Once Twice Melody lands in the world just when we need it most. I’ve long been a fan of Beach House, and I’ve chatted with them a few times. Every time I do, their insight into the music they make, has me glued to the conversation. And...