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 food writer, a podcaster, and now, a debut novelist. They capture it all in their memoir Raised By Wol...
Sep 02, 2022•37 min
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 has a hugely broad musical palette, which we learned when I asked him to Take 5. From Kimbra to Spi...
Aug 26, 2022•35 min
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 wanted to hear about their highlights in an epic career in show business. From Def Wish Cast to Amy Wine...
Aug 19, 2022•33 min
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 asked the main character and her bandmate Kram to Take 5. This is one of the wildest collections of ...
Aug 12, 2022•38 min
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 songs that have been guiding lights for her? That have led Casey through an extraordinary life, and ...
Aug 05, 2022•36 min
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 entertaining fella in the room. So I was stoked to finally have him Take 5. The catalyst was Phil J...
Jul 28, 2022•27 min
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 where it all began; here in your ears on the Take 5 podcast. And what a return we have, with Joy Crookes...
Jul 22, 2022•29 min
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 where it all began; here in your ears on the Take 5 podcast. And what a return we have, with Joy Crookes...
Jul 22, 2022•29 min
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 relationship and you can hear it in every second. Lykke recorded it in a totally different way; stripping ...
Jun 03, 2022•30 min
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. There’s something very magnetic about Joan. Which is why I will always be excited to talk music with...
May 27, 2022•31 min
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. There’s something very magnetic about Joan. Which is why I will always be excited to talk music with...
May 27, 2022•31 min
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 for a weeklong Takeover, Briggs immediately sprung to mind for a Take 5. Shepp is on the lands of th...
May 20, 2022•53 min
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 for a weeklong Takeover, Briggs immediately sprung to mind for a Take 5. Shepp is on the lands of th...
May 20, 2022•53 min
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 one of those conversations that has always stayed with me; we bonded over these five songs and it le...
May 13, 2022•27 min
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 one of those conversations that has always stayed with me; we bonded over these five songs and it le...
May 13, 2022•27 min
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 in just the right moments, is a music supervisor. Back in 2012 I asked Gary Calamar to Take 5. He’s ...
May 06, 2022•29 min
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 in just the right moments, is a music supervisor. Back in 2012 I asked Gary Calamar to Take 5. He’s ...
May 06, 2022•29 min
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 speaking publicly for the first time about what they’ve really been feeling for most of their life. Commun...
Apr 29, 2022•36 min
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 speaking publicly for the first time about what they’ve really been feeling for most of their life. Commun...
Apr 29, 2022•36 min
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 reveal a lot about Aldous, as a performer, as a songwriter, and as an artist. This is one of those conv...
Apr 01, 2022•39 min
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 reveal a lot about Aldous, as a performer, as a songwriter, and as an artist. This is one of those conv...
Apr 01, 2022•39 min
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 the country with the show over the past three years, Steven brings it next to the Melbourne Internat...
Mar 25, 2022•32 min
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 loved stories her whole life, and told them in shows like The Heights, Frayed, Diary of An Uber Driver,...
Mar 18, 2022•40 min
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 loved stories her whole life, and told them in shows like The Heights, Frayed, Diary of An Uber Driver,...
Mar 18, 2022•40 min
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 Justice. It was post Napster, but before Spotify, and it was the wild west of music. 15 years on, blog...
Mar 11, 2022•41 min
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 Justice. It was post Napster, but before Spotify, and it was the wild west of music. 15 years on, blog...
Mar 11, 2022•41 min
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 when they talk about the music they love, I’m all in. Which is why I asked them to Take 5 with their...
Mar 04, 2022•27 min
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 when they talk about the music they love, I’m all in. Which is why I asked them to Take 5 with their...
Mar 04, 2022•27 min
Nancy Bates is a proud Barkindji song woman, a mentor, and a curator. She recognises the power of song in sharing stories; particularly the songlines that tell the stories of First Nations peoples in Australia. During the Adelaide Fringe in 2022, Nancy is also behind the soundtrack for a huge and beautiful performance piece called Sky Song. It’s all about light, so I thought I’d marry the two ideas in her theme, and ask her to share songs that bring stories to light. What she shared, will stay w...
Feb 25, 2022•32 min
Nancy Bates is a proud Barkindji song woman, a mentor, and a curator. She recognises the power of song in sharing stories; particularly the songlines that tell the stories of First Nations peoples in Australia. During the Adelaide Fringe in 2022, Nancy is also behind the soundtrack for a huge and beautiful performance piece called Sky Song. It’s all about light, so I thought I’d marry the two ideas in her theme, and ask her to share songs that bring stories to light. What she shared, will stay w...
Feb 25, 2022•32 min
