Take 5

Jonathan Zawada may not be a name you’re immediately familiar with, but his work has covered the albums of some of your favourite Australian artists. He’s behind every album, single and EP cover from The Presets , designed the iconic album cover for Flume ’s second album skin, and has created the visual mood for music by Mark Pritchard , Baauer , Canyons and more. His visual art can be as small as...

Jenny Zhang was born in Shanghai, but raised in New York City. With a foot in each world, it’s was often a challenge to find a community and keep one. This perspective runs through her brilliant debut collection of stories, Sour Heart. It was a book that caught the attention of Lena Dunham, who chased it to ensure it’d be the first book published on her new ‘Lenny’ imprint. Seven stories, written...

Belle and Sebastian have been making us dance with whimsy, for more than two decades. Their indie-pop is etched on our hearts, and their song are beautiful vignettes of the every day. Lead singer and main songwriter Stuart Murdoch has always had a way with words, and his faith has played a big part in his writing as well. More recently, he’s been taking an interest in Buddhism and it is this and t...

Thirty four years after the world was introduced to Spinal Tap, you can still pull out a quote from their rockumentary and everyone knows who you’re talking about. Spinal Tap reflected the heavy bands at the time; ask any artist still making music today, and the adventures and conversations on screen cut painfully close to the bone. Nigel Tufnel, David St Hubbins and Derek Smalls were, and are, li...

Sampa the Great is a self fulfilling prophecy. When Sampa Tembo first started making music, she gave herself a moniker. She may have only been at the beginning, but it was a statement of where she would head. Where she would be. Sure enough, as soon as Sampa started performing, we all took notice. She was picked by Kendrick Lamar as support for his arena shows back in 2016 with just a few songs up...

Tom Waits is an icon. Since the early 1970’s he’s sung us late night piano ballads in whiskey soaked bars, taken us into garages of found sounds and mysterious stories, and presented avante garde theatre through his songs. Over many decades, he’s develop his own ragged style and continually pushes the boundaries of the music he makes. Back in 2011 I had the rare opportunity to interview Tom on the...

Peaches has been blowing minds for almost 20 years. The Canadian musician, performer, and trailblazer puts on the kind of show you’ll never forget; a transgressive, free, openly sexual and often political display of her own utopia. Everything she does, is designed to make an impact, start a conversation. In the two decades she’s been making art, concepts around gender, freedom and sexuality have m...

Just a few years ago Leon Bridges was a relative unknown in Fort Worth, Texas. A chance encounter brought his beautiful voice out of that town and across the world. Everywhere he plays, people flock to see him, Barack Obama is one of his biggest fans. In the last three years Leon Bridges has toured Australia annually. On his most recent trip, he came in to share five songs that carry the torch. Mo...

Angel Olsen has been making music for years. As a collaborator she played with Will Oldham, and then released her own music back in 2010, debuting on cassette. But it was her 2016 record My Woman, that made the world sit up and take notice. Acclaimed all over, it marked the arrival of an incredibly powerful songwriter and when we saw Angel Olsen live, we fell in love even more. Her life since has...

As founding member for Grizzly Bear, Ed Droste has shaped the sound of modern indie music. Across five albums, the American band have layered intricate and nuanced guitar music with choirboy vocals and a lot of heart. Their breakthrough album was Yellow House, but since then they’ve held fans enraptured and toured Australia multiple times over the years. Their latest album is Painted Ruins, a reco...

Kamasi Washington’s tenor sax is all over music right now. The LA musician has spent a good part of his career collaborating with artists like Lauryn Hill, Chaka Kahn, Flying Lotus and Wayne Shorter, but it was his 2015 three hour long album “The Epic” that made the world stand up and take notice. In the same year, he worked closely with his friend Kendrick Lamar on “To Pimp a Butterfly”, as arran...

Beck Hansen is a ground breaker. Over 13 studio albums he's taken us from slacker indie, to cut n paste folk hip-hop, to all out funk, and kaleidoscopic pop. “Loser” may have put him on the musical map, but he's continued to push the boundaries in what he creates. All while crafting an incredible soundtrack for all of our lives. When he came in to Take 5, the theme I gave him was leaps in music -...

Over six albums, Sarah Blasko has consistently pushed the boundaries of her art, all while anchoring what she does with one of the most transcendent voices in music. On the day her new album came out, she came in to play songs that for her had been breakthroughs. Tunes that had busted through a creative block, and led Sarah in new directions. From the ethereal to the shredding, and sheer raw power...

The middle men of two of Australia’s most loved comedy trios, duet on the Take 5 co-host with the musical of their friendship. Hailing from Doug Anthony All Stars and Tripod, their almost two decade long friendship was forged off stage and in between moments of performance. Here they dedicate two songs each to one another, by surprise, and share the stories of their friendship and the music that i...

Founding member and vocalist for Slowdive, Rachel Goswell, shares songs by performers who have inspired her to take to the stage. From 7 year old Rachel dancing to Abba, to idolising Siouxsie (and taking her song name as a band moniker), the shoegaze legend shares stories of the 90’s British music press, and what is it that inspires her to make music today. A heartfelt conversation, dotted with ep...

For more than 25 years, Weezer have soundtracked our lives. Founding members Rivers Cuomo and Pat Wilson joined Zan to Take 5 while in the country supporting their mates Foo Fighters on their stadium tour. Over five songs they showed what fans they are, and the molecular process Rivers' takes with his own songwriting. It's a masterclass in creativity from two of the most captivating people in indi...

You may not know the name, but Simon Potts has been central to the careers of many muso’s we love today. From The Beat to Simply Red, The Thompson Twins to Fela Kuti, The Cure to Patti Smith.  On holiday in December in Hawaii, Zan stumbled upon Simon after booking a room at his Hanalei Bay guesthouse, and discovered he had more than a couple of stories to tell. From working at the Virgin Record St...

We flip he Take 5 as Zan farewells triple j, and shares five songs that have soundtracked her thirteen years on air. Yeasayer - "O.N.E."The Strokes - "Reptilia"David Bowie - "Heroes"Magic Dirt - "Ice"LCD Soundsystem - "Home"

In the country for Alison Wonderland's mystery Scarehouse shows, Ferg takes you through the soundtrack to an all nighter, and we dive deep into a love of disco along the way. GoldLink - Crew (feat. Brent Faiyaz, Shy Glizzy)Chic - Everybody DanceCalvin Harris - Slide (feat. Frank Ocean, Migos)Queen - Another One Bites The Dust Kanye West - So Appalled (feat. Jay Z, Pusha T, CyHi The Prince, Swizz B...

One of the greatest songwriters of all time sat down with Zan Rowe to open his songbook and dive deep into the making of five of his greatest. Paul McCartney has provided the soundtrack to billions of lives. His legacy in song is unparalleled; starting with The Beatles, who changed the game forever, he rolled on with his own solo career while building a new band in Wings, and collaborating with ev...

The Melbourne MC takes stock of 2017, recapping a massive year which saw him play an epic regional tour and win an ARIA for Best Australian Live Act, for his efforts. The highs, lows and all in between of a big 12 months, in this killer Take 5. Drake - "Can't Have Everything"Jay Z - "All Around the World"Kanye West - "Runaway" M83 - "Midnight City"Lorde - "Perfect Places"

After a year spent largely overseas, James Keogh - the man behind Vance Joy - shares the songs that cure his homesickness. From childhood stereo memories, to shiver down the spine songs, and a discovery that changed the way he thinks about music. you can hear what a huge music fan is across this Take 5. Paul Kelly - "Dumb Things"Sia - "Elastic Heart"Big Scary - "Falling Away"Johnny Flynn - "The Wr...

On the day of her guest appearance as a special guest at the Unearthed Live at the Steps gig, Bec shares some of her favourite features in song. From songs that reflect a perfect friendship, to internal tributes and strong work ethics. Bec shows her love of song, and the people who made them with more than a couple of classics. Frightened Rabbit and Manchester Orchestra -- "Architect"Beyonce - "Cr...

The namesake of the local band takes you through the tasty layers of his musical mind and heart. Across five songs we learn about the artists and music that have shaped Winston's life. Hiatus Kaiyote - "The Lung"Kaytranada - "Got It Good" (feat. Craig David)Amy Winehouse - "He Can Only Hold Her"Camp Lo - "Luchini"Prince - "If I Was Your Girlfriend"

Will Phillips, better known as UK producer Tourist, transports his fans with the music he makes. But with a name like that, what kind of music takes him away to other places? Across five songs this affable Brit reflected not only on what inspired him in the studio, but also won a lot of fans for his lovely demeanour. As he prepares to visit Australia once again in summer, we dive back to a great c...