Take 5

What do Tim Burton’s films, the Men in Black franchise, and The Simpsons theme all have in common? They’ve all been scored by Danny Elfman. Danny is a Hollywood legend, and his compositions have likely soundtracked your life. That score for Good Will Hunting? That was him too, not to mention the Fifty Shades films, and Sam Raimi’s Spiderman. For me, Danny Elfman is the sound of my formative years....

Do you remember the first time you heard Garbage? I do. It was 1995. Their debut single Vow. That opening guitar line, the stereo panning, and then Shirley Manson’s voice coming in. They exploded, in full flight, onto the scene. Grunge was well on the way out, and in it’s wake Garbage offered a high res view of the future, sounding like nothing we’d heard before. This combination of three producer...

This is a story that’s not often been told. Lindy Morrison is well known as the drummer for The Go-Betweens. Over a decade, her drumming shaped the sound of one of most acclaimed acts, and her unconventional style made beautifully written poems into earworms. But before she was in a rock band, Lindy was an activist, she performed theatre, and she travelled the world. After her time with The Go-Bet...

Gruff Rhys is a legend of the Welsh music scene. As frontman for the Super Furry Animals, he took his band to global success. Gruff was at the centre of the Cool Cymru scene at the dawn of the new millennium, and he’s collaborated widely with everyone from Gorillaz to Boom Bip to Sparklehorse. He’s also had a prolific solo career, and on the day he released his 7th album, Gruff joined me from Wale...

Annie Clark is one of the most exciting musicians working today. As a songwriter she’s jumped from indie balladry, to layered, ambitious sounds, and into spiky, angular territory. She shreds as a guitarist, and when Annie is not working on her own St Vincent songs, she’s producing for others. It’s been about four years since her last record, and in that time Annie has been through some personal st...

Julia Stone is one of Australia’s most successful musicians. With her brother Angus, they gigged hard for years before cracking it internationally. The songs she’s written have topped Hottest 100’s, and packed out massive shows across the world. Alongside her sibling outfit, she’s also released two solo albums. But it’s been about nine years since her last, so a new Julia Stone solo record? Everyo...

When I say the name Ed Kuepper, what comes to mind? The Saints? Laughing Clowns? The Aints? Maybe his prolific solo career, or his work crafting beautiful soundtracks for the big and small screen. Born in Germany, and raised in Brissie, Ed Kuepper is a living legend of the Australian underground, and his impact on the artists that have followed stretches decades. In 2021 he marks 45 years as a rec...

I first heard Kate Crawford’s work in the late 90’s; she and Nicole Skelty’s made music as B(if)tek, and it was playful electro that was always future focused. So it’s not that wild to know that Kate went on to explore this world of machine learning and artificial intelligence. What’s remarkable, is that today she’s one of the world’s leading voices on the subject. When you read Kate’s work, or se...

When Ariel Rechtshaid fronted a ska pop band called The Hippos, I doubt he had any clue where his musical path would take him. They had a big hit in 2000 with “Wasting My Life”, which scored a spot in the Hottest 100. But playing on stage wasn’t to be his destiny. After some time in the band Foreign Born, he stepped back and started crafting other people’s songs. As a writer and producer, his CV h...

Have you ever wondered what it’d be like to live with a comedian? You’re about to find out. Anne Edmonds and Lloyd Langford both make people laugh for a living. You would have seen Eddo on stage and screen over the past ten years, she reached a whole new audience as her alter ego Helen Bidou, and is part of the hugely popular podcast The Grub. Lloyd Langford hails from Wales, and has popped up on...

If I say Afrobeat, what’s the first name that comes to mind? Fela Kuti. The polyrhythmic prince who coined the term, and pioneered a movement that would stretch it’s tentacles far beyond Nigeria and into the decades, and genres, that would follow. Afrobeat was a swarm of sounds. Western African highlife, American jazz and funk, and a big dose of Black power. It came to life with Fela but continues...

Eskimo Joe are a band that need little introduction. If you grew up in the late 90’s or noughties they were all over the radio, a trio from Fremantle making catchy indie guitar rock that stepped up to stadium sounds as their career progressed. They were voted into Hottest 100 countdowns, they toured consistently around Australia and became one of the best known bands from the West Coast scene. The...

Ione Skye has been on our screens for decades. As a teen she starred in the legendary high school movie “Say Anything”.  She’d pop up on “Fever Pitch” and “Arrested Development”, and behind the scenes directed her own short films and music videos. From the beginning, music has been a big part of Ione’s life. Her father is Donovan, and while he wasn’t around when she was a kid, her brother would be...

Max Richter is one of the most loved modern composers in the world. He’s sold millions of albums, and been streamed billions of times. Max’s work is just as likely to be heard in prestigious concert halls as through your tv speakers, and his scores for shows like Leftovers and Bridgerton, or films like Ad Astra, have been critically acclaimed. Richter’s compositions are as comfortable in the catwa...

Kate Mulvany is a professional storyteller. An award-winning playwright, screenwriter, and actor, she’s built a name for herself in her incredible performances, whether in The Great Gatsby, The Little Death, or opposite Al Pacino in the Amazon series Hunters. On stage she’s redefined roles like Richard III, and Kate is acclaimed for her writing, holding a knack for adapting and reinterpreting Aust...

What do Red Hot Chili Peppers, Ice Cube, Status Quo, and Neil Diamond all have in common? Tana Douglas. She’s recognised as the world’s first female roadie, and got her start as a teenager working with a young band who were about to release their debut album. The band was AC/DC, and that story is just one of hundreds that have filled her extraordinary life. Tana would go on to tech for The Who at...

Fat Mike from NOFX is a bit of a legend. As frontman for the band for almost four decades, he’s been the soundtrack to countless generations of punk fans. He set up Fat Wreck Chords, championing other bands for the past 30 years. And when he’s not doing that, he’s getting around with supergroup Me First and the Gimme Gimmes. If you know anything about Fat Mike, you know he doesn’t play by the rule...

There are only a handful of people I ask back to Take 5. Brendan Cowell is one of them. The actor, author, playwright, and poet is a master storyteller who lives a full life. And in the decade since we last met on air, he’s starred alongside Billie Piper in hit plays on Broadway and the West End, had a key role on Game of Thrones, written a book, and scored a major part in the two new Avatar seque...

I still remember the first time I heard Magic Dirt. The burning sounds of their single “Ice” captured my 16 year old heart, and I can still recall climbing the stairs of my favourite city record store to buy their “Life Was Better” EP. Adalita was the coolest woman I knew; she shredded on stage and exuded the ultimate rock n roll attitude. In the years that would follow, I’d see them play on stage...

So we’ve taken another trip around the sun, and before we have a short break – I want to leave you with the annual best of buffet, for the Take 5. It’s been a remarkable year for this podcast. When the borders closed, and the tours stopped, we – just like everyone else – had to figure out how to do things differently. What I realised pretty quickly, is that music was central to how we got through…...

American rapper Common is a renaissance man. Growing up on the south side of Chicago, his records reflected the world he saw; and the one he wanted to see. He’s an acclaimed poet, has featured on the silver screen as a lead actor, and taken to the stage as an activist; using his platform to rally against social injustice, and rally for unity, for peace, and for change. He does this all with love,...

Tara June Winch knows how to tell a story. In 2006 she released her first novel, Swallow the Air. It won a bunch of awards, and was added to the high school curriculum. Years passed. She released a collection of short stories, but it wasn’t until 2019 that she published her follow up. And oh what a follow up it was. The Yield is the tale of two generations, a Language that tells their story, and a...

2010 was a big year for bangers. The Australian dance music scene in particular, was thriving. Stalwarts like The Presets and Cut Copy were kicking it, and a new breed of beat makers were coming up, soundtracking hedonistic summer days and big festival party nights. This was the year Bag Raiders released their debut album, and on it’s 10th anniversary I invited the duo to Take 5 and go back. Jack...

I think we can all agree 2020 has been a YEAR. No one more so than country music singer Fanny Lumsden. Based in the tiny town of Tooma, on the western side of the Snowy Mountains, her release plans for her beautiful third album Fallow took a turn for the worse, when disaster and pandemic struck. But that didn’t stop Fanny. Her resilience, and optimism has carried her and her community through this...

Bjorn Stewart is a slashie. An actor, director, writer, and comedian; I became a massive fan seeing him doing Quarantine Cooking Challenges on the lockdown TV series At Home Alone Together. He’s also written and appeared on Black Comedy, and has been performing on stage for years. Recently Bjorn flipped to director, and will soon showcase his latest project, a comedy called All My Friends Are Raci...