Take 5

Brendan Huntley is a wild man. As the lead singer for Eddy Current Suppression Ring, many of us first met him as we watched, or heard him spit visceral lyrics and crawl across stages. One of the most exciting bands to see live, his pacing back and forth and the abandon he would approach each show with, made every Eddy Current gig memorable. He plays with Melbourne band Boomgates too, and when he’s...

If you ever asked me to recommend a live show that you could dance to, singalong with and that’d fill your heart with joy? I’d tell you to go and watch Mama Kin Spender. The duo of Mama Kin and Spender collaborated earlier this year on their debut album; combining rousing, heartfelt songs with group singing and driving drumbeats. They’ve both had a long history of solo music making but in 2018 the...

It’s fair to say there’s no one in the world like Bruce Dickinson. He’s the long time lead singer for Iron Maiden; a band who have been playing together for 40 years, who’ve sold 100 million albums and who still sell out arena’s worldwide. Being the frontman for one of the world’s greatest heavy metal bands would be enough for most. But over the past four decades, Bruce has dabbled in plenty more....

If you’re a fan of Australian music then Kevin Mitchell is like a big brother, or best mate. He fronted Jebediah for years, and with them, wrote some of the biggest anthems of the 90’s. Then Kev started making solo music, under the moniker Bob Evans. We got to see a pop and Americana side of him that we’d not witnessed before. And before we knew it, he’d been doing that for almost 20 years. When h...

Holly Throsby is one of my favourite people to chat with. As a prolific songwriter, she’s put out five solo albums, as well as a kid’s record and the Seeker Lover Keeper project; a collaboration with Sarah Blasko and Sally Seltmann. Over the years I’ve had the chance to sit down with Holly and talk music and writing many times, and she’s forever inspiring in the way she sees, and then writes about...

One of the joys of having such a long running segment like the Take 5, are the archives. Off the back of a handful of Take 5’s reflecting back on the 90’s, it got me thinking about all the conversations I’ve had with artists over the more than 12 years I’ve been doing this. People for whom that decade has had a lasting impact, as a performer, or fan, or both. So I Frankensteined a monster Take 5;...

If you were a teenager watching TV in the 90’s, then Recovery was like church. Every Saturday morning no matter what, you’d flop on the couch and watch this ramshackle live music TV show; three hours long, with characters like the Enforcer lurking about, shaky handheld camera shooting, and all hosted by an eyebrow ring bearing firecracker, called Dylan Lewis.  It was the kind of loose TV we hadn’t...

Christine Anu is a legend in Australian music. We first met her in the mid 90’s, when her debut album Stylin’ Up came out and went platinum. It was filled with hits like 'Monkey & the Turtle and Party', and featured Christine singing in English and traditional language on a pop record. This was 1995, and while Yothu Yindi and the Warumpi band had paved the way, singing in language was far from...

TISM were one of the biggest Australian bands of the 90’s. They were the godfathers of musical comedy, captains of satire and frankly, a band that when I listen to today, I’m still gobsmacked by. They hailed from Melbourne but played all over; masked men who would put on insane shows full of bizarre concepts and songs like “Defecate On My Face” and “Saturday Night Palsy”. TISM were the ultimate sh...

The Big Day Out was one of our most iconic festivals. Born in 1992 when the Australian festival calendar was way less crowded, this is where many of us return when we think about discovering our favourite bands, and our tribe, in the 90’s. It’d always be hot, you’d spend ages planning your outfit and organising your friends. And even if you had a mental list of the bands you were desperate to see,...

Tim Minchin is a bit of a renaissance man. An actor, singer, comedian, writer and the fella behind the hugely successful musical adaptation of Matilda. In between his time writing perfect songs on piano, Tim played Atticus Fetch on Californication, and has starred in Australian TV productions like The Secret River, and Squinters. After a decade away, Tim has returned home to Australia. So I asked...

Andrew W.K. is a man with a clear goal: to make the most of every moment we’re lucky to have. Through music, motivational speaking, writing columns, even starting his own political party he lives by and for the party. Beyond the glam and punk rock though, lies the heart of a fan. This is about the music that affected him from a young age, that really made him fall in love with music. From rock ope...

Neko Case is a powerhouse of song. Over twenty years she’s crafted some of my favourite lyrics as a solo artist dwelling in Americana, and as a soaring pop singer in The New Pornographers. On her own records, Neko’s songs often dwell in the outside; whether she’s singing of foxes, or wild weather, you can feel and see the atmosphere she creates in every story. But there’s a deeply human element to...

Caiti Baker is one of my favourite Australian singers. I first came across her work as one half of Sietta. Then she stepped out on her own and cemented her spot as one of the great soul singers making music today in Australia. Caiti is a long time resident of the Northern Territory. As a kid she’d tag along on family road trips when her dad (also a muso) would drive from Adelaide to the Top End to...

Yumi Stynes is a name you know well if you grew up in Australia. She’s been on tv screens and in radio speakers for close to 20 years; as host on music network Channel V and MAX. These days she does a great podcast on sometimes taboo topics called Ladies, We Need To Talk . In between she’s also published a cookbook, written newspaper columns, and likes to do fun runs in her spare time. And, she’s...

Alex Kapranos is a Scottish national treasure. As lead singer of Franz Ferdinand, his frontman swagger has kept us dancing for more than a decade. As an interviewee, he’s an absolute delight; always generous, curious and charming every time he joins you behind the mic. On his most recent visit to Australia with his band, I knew he’d make the perfect Take 5 guest. And when I gave him the theme “mus...

Kimbra is a musical genius. From the moment I first heard her jazz vocals on her Unearthed profile, to seeing her explore wild ideas, sounds and personalities (and of course a few big collaborations), she is always someone who's music and ways of approaching it has fascinated me. Over the years, she's also someone who I've seen who thinks intensely about the art that she makes, and that her contem...

Eleanor Dixon is a born leader. I first met her a few years ago at a week long event called Bush Bands Business. It was a series of workshops for Indigenous bands throughout remote communities in central Australia, and Elly was the first woman to ever be involved, with her band Rayella. Her drive and grounded nature struck me from our first meeting, and so I wasn’t surprised to see her appear agai...

This is a Man’s Man’s World, sang Renee Geyer back in 1974. And despite equal numbers of women studying, making and showing a love for music, there’s still a vast inequality in the Australian music industry to this day. It’s a story often told, but in a brilliant new doco “Her Sound Her Story”, these tales are captured also as a celebration of the scene we have (both on and off the stage). Claudia...

I don’t think I’ve ever met anyone who doesn’t have a soft spot for Soulwax. The Belgian band have been making us dance for years – and are known as much for their own music as their incredible remixes. Way back when I first starting doing the Take 5, they were one of my early guests. The year was 2007. They were touring Australia and I asked them to pick songs that took us on a European vacation....

Filth. Glue. Porno. Trainspotting. All books that have made waves, and all books by Scottish author Irvine Welsh. Like many Scots I know, he has a black sense of humour. And he’s a quiet observer; you can imagine him sitting in the corner of a pub, or watching from the street just to see how humans interact. Back in 2014 he came to Australia to speak at the Sydney Writers Festival, off the back of...

Zola Jesus is an unashamed goth, with a huge voice. In 2012, she visited Australia to perform at the Vivid Live Festival. I loved Zola’s art but also had an inkling she’d be a great Take 5 guest, so I asked her to come in and co-host with me. It’s been a few years since, but as we hit the depths of winter and rug up in our best black attire I thought it’d be fun to dig this one out of the archives...

Ice Cube is a godfather of West Coast Rap. He joined NWA as a teenager, and penned their most powerful song when he was 17. One album later, he left the group and set off on a solo path, and succeeded again. His first two albums are still considered to be defining records of the 90’s and while that was going on, in 1991 Ice Cube starred in his first feature film “Boys N the Hood”. Through the 90’s...

Ben Quilty is one of Australia’s most celebrated artists. Whether he’s painting the portrait of fellow artist Margaret Olley, of Australian soldiers in Afghanistan, of Jimmy Barnes or even of his old Torana, his style finds a heart and depth not often seen. I first met Ben when he working closely with the Bali 9 (particularly Myuran Sukumaran) using art therapy to help Myu as he sat confined in Ke...

I take you back in the Take 5 time machine to 2007, when Ian Mackaye did the Take 5. The frontman for Fugazi, Embrace and Minor Threat, he has been in countless bands and was – at the time – touring with The Evens. In Washington DC he heads up the DIY record label Dischord, started to support the DC bands he loved. Everything Ian does has strong ethics at it’s core. Everything he is, is grounded i...