Take 5

Sufjan Stevens is one of the most prolific songwriters working today, and it feels as though his drive to write songs is as much about the creation of music, as it is the understanding of creativity itself, and finding different ways to explore it. He first heard Angelo De Augustine a few years ago, and when you hear Angelo’s voice you’ll understand why Suf signed him to his label. And why they de...

It’s a special Take 5, as we mark the 30th anniversary of Nirvana releasing Nevermind. This was the record that brought grunge into the mainstream, it changed the game not just for the Seattle sound, but catapulted it into a worldwide movement. To celebrate this iconic moment, I dug up some of my most treasured conversations from the Take 5 archives, with the people at the centre of the scene. You...

Matthew E White is a jack of all trades. A producer hailing from Richmond, Virginia, he’s worked with everyone from Sharon Van Etten to Natalie Prass, Justin Vernon to The Mountain Goats. A few years ago he set up Spacebomb, a studio and label which also acts as a community space for artists to experiment. This all feeds off his own work, as a multi-instrumentalist, former jazz player, and songwri...

The AIR studios in Montserrat are the stuff of legend. Back in the 80’s, Sir George Martin set up a place to record in the middle of the Caribbean. It was an escape for the likes of Paul McCartney, Elton John, Stevie Wonder, and Dire Straits. The Police captured one of their biggest albums there, and Duran Duran hung out for a spell too. This haven in the West Indies was short lived though; a hurr...

Comedian Steph Tisdell is here to help. Literally. The proud Ydinji woman may be up on stage telling jokes these days, but a few years ago she was at uni, and looking ahead to a career in human rights law. That all changed one fateful day, and what led her to stand up comedy is a story you’ve gotta hear yourself. The comedy path has seen her win multiple awards, and appear on TV and radio across A...

John Parish has crafted some of the indie music’s most acclaimed albums. The Bristol producer has been behind Aldous Harding’s last two records, he co-wrote and produced Eels “Souljacker”, and Giant Sand’s “Chore of Enchantment”, and recently he’s been working with The Goon Sax and Parquet Courts. He’s a composer and musician too, releasing his own works and soundtracking beautiful scenes on stage...

Danny Cohen is the creator of wild dreams. His music video’s have seen King Gizzard and the Lizard Wizard crawl inside a giant custom built vulture, his photography has beckoned Mac DeMarco into a bathful of cigarettes, and his video for Kirin J Callinan, with a screaming Jimmy Barnes over the hills, has clocked more than sixty two million views. The Melbourne based photographer and filmmaker has...

You might know Jack Steadman as frontman for British indie band, Bombay Bicycle Club. But for the past few years he’s stepped out as a solo artist, going under the moniker of Mr Jukes. It’s a project that’s allowed him to go beyond the indie realm and produce music that’s full of classic soul, funk, and hip-hop. And his latest album, features new young MC Barney Artist. On the day they released “T...

You know when someone comes along, and everyone who meets them falls under their spell? Tony Armstrong is that someone. The freshly minted sports presenter for ABC News Breakfast has been making waves for the past couple of years, commentating the footy on Triple M and the National Indigenous Radio Service, and making bad news more palatable, on The Weekly. But before all of this, Tony was in the...

Stephen Page is a force of nature. As artistic director for Bangarra Dance Theatre, he’s told the stories of Indigenous Australia through movement, for more than thirty years. Bangarra began in the late 80’s, but it was Stephen’s appointment as the first Aboriginal artistic director that shaped what it has become today. And the story of Bangarra is not only one of dance, but of brothers. Stephen c...

Rise Against have been at the forefront of socially conscious punk for the last 20 years. On the release of their 9th album, I thought it was a perfect time to get lead singer Tim McIlrath back on the radio, to Take 5. He’s one of the most articulate musicians I know, and our conversations in the past have always been rich ones. Rise Against’s new album is about the failure of the American dream,...

Sleater-Kinney have always been shapeshifters. Within that guitar forward, angular, and soaring indie rock sound they have always experimented and tried something new. When I listen to Sleater-Kinney’s songs, I feel on edge, and I like that feeling. As with their other nine records, their newest album shifts again, and so does the band. SK have returned to their foundations of Corin Tucker and Car...

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...