Episodes
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Sarah Blasko has a voice that never lets you go.
Her debut album The Overture & the Underscore was released 20 years ago, and she’s been a constant presence ever since. Always pushing the boundaries of her art and anchoring everything she does with that transcendent voice.
Two decades on from her debut, and 6 years since her last album, Sarah Blasko is back with new music.
It's the perfect excuse to revisit a wonderful conversation from 2018, when she’d pushed through a rough period of writer’s block to get her sixth album Depth of Field out into the world.
It was on the same day the album was released, that she came in to Take 5 with her breakthrough songs. Tunes that busted through a creative block and led her in new directions.
PJ Harvey - 'To Bring You My Love'Björk - 'Venus As A Boy'Tori Amos - 'Pretty Good Year'Mazzy Star - 'Into Dust'Sonic Youth - 'Swimsuit Issue'This episode was originally broadcast in 2018.
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There's no other artist quite like DOBBY.
The proud Filipino and Murrawarri artist (real name Rhyan Clapham) is a composer, rapper, producer and drummer. He's been performing and releasing music for years, but only just released his debut album.It’s called WARRANGU; River Story, and it’s about the plight of the Murray-Darling river system. The artistry on this album is magnificent. DOBBY expertly weaves together his own compositions with field recordings and stories from elders, all while documenting the history of these pivotal water sources and the devastating impact water theft has had on them.This Take 5 falls in NAIDOC Week, and the theme in 2024 is ‘Keep the Fire Burning! Blak, Loud and Proud.’In keeping with this theme, DOBBY shares his songs of fire. The music that lights him up inside and keeps the stories burning.
Miss Kaninna - 'Blak Britney'No Fixed Address - 'We Have Survived'Snotty Nose Rez Kids - 'RED FUTURE [Ft. Electric Fields]'Mo'Ju - 'Change Has To Come'Kobie Dee - 'Warriors & Storytellers' -
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Who knew cooking competitions would take over Australian television?Back in 2010, the finale for the second season of MasterChef became the most watched non-sporting event of that year. And the winner? Adam Liaw.
He'd been working in Japan when he decided to enter the TV cooking comp, and he quickly became a firm favourite. After his win, everything changed. He published cookbooks, became the host of Destination Flavour on SBS, started a family, took people on foodie tours, and now hosts The Cook Up. Full disclosure – I’ve been on it and it was a dream come true.
Adam has also joined me to Take 5 – twice. He was so brilliant the first time in 2013, I invited him back, six years later. And his theme? Songs that set it off.
Adam’s had a lot of big, life-altering moments that have all happened in the public eye, so I wanted to find out about the other turning points in his life. When the cameras weren’t rolling.
Whether it was playing tennis air guitar in a childhood bedroom, or bonding with his wife over a new fave, this Take 5 will make you love Adam Liaw even more.
Starship – ‘We Built This City’Smashing Pumpkins – ‘Bullet With Butterfly Wings’Beastie Boys – ‘Ch-Check It Out’Montaigne – ‘I'm A Fantastic Wreck’Wiley, Stefflon Don & Sean Paul – ‘Boasty [Ft. Idris Elba]’This episode was originally broadcast in 2019.
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If you don’t know Susan Rogers by name, you’ll know her work. A female producer and sound engineer in an industry dominated by men, her drive and commitment landed her side by side with Prince as his star soared. She was his audio technician right before he started recording Purple Rain, and was his sound engineer through his commercial peak – capturing Parade, Around the World in a Day, The Black Album, and Sign o' the Times. Susan had a front row seat to the creative genius and intense work ethic of one of the greatest artists of our time.
2024 marks the 40th anniversary of Purple Rain, so to celebrate, I’m bringing you a Take 5 for the ages.
When we first spoke back in 2020 I was blown away. Not only does Susan have this incredible legacy with Prince, but after they parted she would go on to produce some of the biggest hits of the 90’s. Then she became a Professor at one of the world’s most prestigious music schools.
Her feelings about the emotional connections we have to sound, and what it means to be a good listener, resonated deeply with me, and I know they will with you too.
James Brown - 'Papa's Got a Brand New Bag'Prince - 'Let's Go Crazy'Geggy Tah - 'Whoever You Are'Barenaked Ladies - 'One Week'Wilson Pickett - 'In the Midnight Hour'This episode was originally broadcast in 2020.
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Vika and Linda are national treasures. We first met the Bull sisters alongside the Black Sorrows, doing backing vocals for Paul Kelly, and then bursting out on their own with their debut album. That record turns 30 this year, and to celebrate, I’m taking you to a glorious Take 5 from the archives with Vika and Linda.
The year was 2019, and their theme was “sibling songs”. They picked it too, and you’ll see why. Families singing together is the very backbone of what they do.
The Andrews Sisters - 'Boogie Woogie Bugle Boy'The Pointer Sisters - 'I'm So Excited'The Staple Singers - 'I'll Take You There'Bee Gees - 'Islands In The Stream (Live At The MGM Grand 1997)'Crowded House - 'It's Only Natural'This episode was originally broadcast in 2019.
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Adam Hills has lived an extraordinary life. From getting his start in stand up comedy to beaming out to millions on The Last Leg and Spicks and Specks. He's been awarded an MBE and even been immortalised on an Australian postage stamp. When he’s not on stage and screen, Adam is out on the field playing disability rugby, or smashing a tennis ball. He has a boundless energy and passion for living life.
On Spicks and Specks each episode, he asks his panellists to share stories. But no one ever asks him for his, and Adam Hills has stories. It’s why I asked him to Take 5. As the beloved music quiz show returns to ABC and ABC iview, we’re taking a wander through Adam’s Hall of Fame. Settle in for laughs, tears, and a lot of valid name dropping from an absolute legend.
The Flaming Lips - 'Do You Realize??'
Little Shop Of Horrors [Soundtrack] - 'Suddenly, Seymour'
Dan Sultan - 'Nyul Nyul Girl'
Bobby McFerrin - 'Don't Worry Be Happy'
Elbow - 'One Day Like This'
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Back in 1989, Neneh Cherry released her debut album. Raw Like Sushi was a smash in the UK and here in Australia. This young Swede based in London caught all of our attention, and through the 90’s she’d release two more albums before taking a breather from music. But her creative life began way earlier. With an artist mother and jazz legend Don Cherry as her stepfather, Neneh’s childhood was a life less ordinary. She split it between commune-style living in rural Sweden and loft apartments in New York, and when she moved to London as a teen, she fell in with some of that city's most creative punks – people she remains friends with to this day.
Her story is wild, which is why - back in 2019 - I invited her to Take 5. As we mark 35 years since that debut, I'm dusting this gem off to share it again with you. Settle in for a convo with one of the greats, and an extraordinary chat about the power of song.
Tanya Winley - 'Vicious Rap'Stevie Wonder - 'Living For The City'Frank Ocean - 'Seigfried'Dice Ailes - 'Otedola'Nina Simone - 'Mississippi Goddam'This episode was originally broadcast in 2019.
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Can you remember when Ill Communication first came out? If you came of age in the 90’s like me, it was a huge album. Bursting outta the gates with 'Sure Shot', with hits like 'Get it Together' and 'Sabotage'... it’s one of Beastie Boys most varied and loved albums, and in 2024 it turns 30 years old.
The sound of this album is as fresh as it was in 1994, and to mark this big anniversary I dug into the archives to dust off one of my favourite conversations of all time. The one and only Mike D. Take a trip around New York City with a fella who knows it better than most.
Notorious B.I.G. - 'Juicy'
The Strokes - '12:51'
Nas - 'N.Y. State of Mind'
ESG - 'Moody'
Wu Tang Clan - 'C.R.E.A.M.'
This episode was originally broadcast on triple j in 2014.
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Brooklyn band Grizzly Bear helped shaped the sound of modern indie music. Across their five albums they layered intricate and nuanced guitar music with choirboy vocals and a whole lotta heart.
They broke through in 2006 with their second album, Yellow House, but it was 2009’s Veckatimist which took Grizzly Bear to a whole new plane and became one of the most loved albums of the decade.
To mark its 15th anniversary, I’m throwing back to a brilliant chat I had with frontman and founding member, Ed Droste back in 2018. Ed is a gorgeous human, and I have such fond memories of this conversation. With Grizzly Bear’s layered music in mind, I gave him the theme “songs that unravel.”
Beach House - 'Master of None'Björk - 'Army of Me'Pavement - 'Fight This Generation'Aaliyah - 'One In A Million'Adele - 'Rolling In The Deep' (Jamie xx Shuffle)This episode was originally broadcast in 2018.
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Kasey Chambers is a living legend. Five number one albums, fourteen ARIA Awards, she is the youngest woman to be inducted into the ARIA Hall of Fame. Kasey grew up with music. As a kid she’d travel across the Nullabor with her dad, at the end of each day the family would always gather around the campfire to sing songs. She would go on to play with the family band, but it was her 1999 debut album The Captain that was her breakthrough to a solo career that has been rich and rewarding.
That debut turns 25 this year, and to mark the anniversary I dipped into the archives for a Take 5 we captured back in 2019. We were celebrating The Captain back then, and the other musical breakthroughs Kasey had experienced through her life. I loved this chat so much; Kasey is a ray of light with her feet firmly on the ground. And hearing her talk about the songs she loves was such a gift.
Emmylou Harris - ‘Boulder to Birmingham’Ben Harper - ‘Fight For Your Mind’J.S. Ondara - ‘Torch Song’Beyoncé - ‘Don't Hurt Yourself {Ft. Jack White}’Steve Earle - ‘Copperhead Road’This episode was originally broadcast in 2019.
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Angie McMahon is one of those artists that stops you in your tracks. She caught my attention back in 2017 with 'Slow Mover' and immediately I was asking, who is this? A debut album followed, then a few years later the follow up. And her second album has taken Angie into another realm, selling big iconic rooms like the Sydney Opera House and Melbourne’s Forum several times over.
I’ve wanted to Take 5 with Angie for a while, and the ideas around her latest album seemed perfect for exploration. Light, Dark, Light Again is about cycles, and I wondered which songs had the sense of revolution for her. From Bon Iver to Big Thief, this is a rich conversation about the very pulse of life, the cycles we go through, and the music that helps us through.
Bon Iver - 8 (circle)Sara Bareilles - Once Upon Another TimeJoni Mitchell - Circle Game (live at Universal Amphitheater, Los Angeles 1974)Janelle Monáe - TurntablesBig Thief – Not -
It’s a special Take 5 this week, as we mark 10 years of Double J! To mark our birthday, I thought it’d be fun to invite one of our biggest listeners on to Take 5. And he just happens to know about the power of radio to connect, and create a place for people no matter where we are.
Ryan “Fitzy” Fitzgerald is in radio himself, for almost 20 years he’s been with Nova, most of it in the primo Breakfast spot. And for most of Double J’s life he’s been sliding into our DM’s to let us know how much he loves the station. Fitzy will often tell me how much he loves each Take 5, and for a while I’ve wanted to ask him to do it.
So we did, and you’ll understand why I’ve been so keen to have him on. From Cosmic Psychos to God, this is a beautiful capture of a truly giant heart.
Cosmic Psychos - Nice Day To Go To The PubCourtney Barnett - DeprestonBad//Dreems - JackEddy Current Suppression Ring - Memory LaneGod – My Pal -
You know that question about who you’d invite to your dream dinner party? Beth Ditto is always at the top of my list. This sassy icon from the deep south grabbed my attention more than 20 years ago fronting the Gossip, and has held it ever since. From punk beginnings, to big hit bangers, gracing catwalks and the small screen, and carving out a space for those without that huge, powerful voice, she is legendary.
From day dot, Beth Ditto has been out and proud. A queer woman whose body positivity predates current conversations and whose activism makes its way into every one of her songs. The political and personal are always intertwined with Beth, and she’s always making us dance. Gossip took a break for more than a decade; most of us assumed they were done. But in 2024 they came back. With new album Real Power and plenty of fire still inside.
It gave me the chance to tick off one from the bucket list, and ask her to Take 5. What followed is more than I could have dreamed of, a capture of everything I know keeps the flames lit inside, and a beautiful connection to the power of song. Take 5 is always about our heroes becoming fans, and it was a joy to witness Beth Ditto’s fandom and her rebel songs.
George Michael - Freedom! '90Nina Simone - Mississippi GoddamQueen - We Are The ChampionsMissy Elliott - She’s a BitchBikini Kill – Rebel Girl -
Bri Lee is an author, journalist, and activist. You’ve probably seen her pop up on telly, in panels, and online, because in just over 5 years Bri has carved out an acclaimed career, publishing the bestselling Eggshell Skull and another two books of non-fiction. Her work has interrogated how the legal system deals with sexual crimes, the realm of eating disorders, and the class structures within education, and all of it is written through a personal prism.
In 2024, Bri turns her hand to fiction for the first time in her debut novel The Work. It’s the story of New Yorker Lally and Sydneysider Pat; two people in the art world who are not artists themselves, but trying to curate a life better than the one they came from. In everything she writes, Bri has a fascination with power. And from DC to AC/DC, you'll hear why.
Destiny's Child - Independent Women, Pt. 1AC/DC - Back In BlackThe Preatures - YanadaKaren O & Danger Mouse - RedeemerChappell Roan - After Midnight -
Dave McCormack has one of those voices. As lead singer of Custard, his husky tones and the band’s playful indie rock beamed out of Brisbane in the 90s. They were a happy haven from the angsty guitar scene of the time. In 1999, after 5 albums and tonnes of shows as one of Australia’s favourite live acts, Custard called it a day.
Dave McCormack would go on to play in other bands, he began composing soundtracks for film and television, and his voice would become familiar to an entirely new generation playing Bandit, the blue heeler dad in the mega hit kid’s show Bluey.
Custard reunited in 2015 and have since released another 3 albums together. In 2020, during the first wave of lockdowns, I asked Dave McCormack to Take 5. His theme was cornerstone songs; the tunes he always returns to. And the reason I want to return to this wonderful conversation, is because we’re celebrating the most famous blue heeler in the world gracing our screens once again. This time with an epic 28-minute episode of Bluey. That’s like the Oppenheimer of the Bluey universe.
So settle in for this very fun chat from the archives. And if your kids are listening, sorry for the confusion. Now you have an excuse to play them your old Custard albums.
ABBA – S.O.S.Pet Shop Boys - Always On My MindBritney Spears - ToxicDevo – Peek-A-BooBob Dylan - Tangled Up In BlueThis episode was originally broadcast in 2020.
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Adrianne Lenker feels things deeply. You hear it in every one of her songs, whether solo, or with her band Big Thief. Lucky for us, she shares it all, and over the past few years has become one of the most promising and prolific songwriters around; making 6 albums on her own and 5 with her band.
Her latest is “Bright Future” and it’s another stunning record of genius songwriting, and the inspiration for me to head back into the Take 5 archives and share this wonderful conversation from 2019.
At the time, Adrianne was actually on holiday in Australia and it felt fitting, because her life had been a transient one, constantly on the road touring all over the world. But even when taking a break, she made time to share a conversation about music.
This ended up being so much more. It’s about connection, about how melancholy can filter through joy, and how you can find space in the most intensely crowded of sounds. Even if you don’t know Adrianne’s work intimately, this is a conversation that will speak to you. It’s one I haven’t stopped thinking about since.
It feels like, for Adrianne, music has always helped her understand the world around her. When she speaks about songs, everything slows down. She has a way of articulating what is often intangible, and when I watch interviews with her I find I’m drawn in to a kind of meditative state – she just has a way of seeing the world that is captivating. For all of these reasons, back in 2019 I asked her to Take 5. Her music gets under my skin, and I wanted to find out what got under hers. Dive in for this unforgettable and poetic conversation.
Sibylle Baier – DrivingBill Callahan – What Comes After CertaintyIthaca – Impulse CrushSheer Mag – Point BreezeLife Without Buildings – SorrowThis episode was originally broadcast in 2019.
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Well I hope you’re up for a laugh, cos this Take 5 is a special one. As comedy festival season kicks it around Australia, I’ve dug into the Take 5 archives and pulled out some of my favourite chats with comedians. Unsurprisingly, they’re great storytellers. And as we know from almost 20 years of Taking 5, everyone has a connection to music.
There’s another throughline to these tales too, they all speak to adventure; to shifting to a new place for a new perspective, and often a whole new beginning.
You’ll hear Celia Pacquola remember her early shows making it big in Edinburgh, Fred Armisen talk about his transition from music to comedy, Rose Matafeo’s Rastafarian parents, how Steph Tisdell was gonna be a lawyer before hopping on a plane to the UK, and Simon Amstell’s tip into teenage years onstage.
Belle & Sebastian – Step Into My Office, BabySleater-Kinney - Start TogetherStormzy – Cigarettes & Cush (Ft. Kehlani & Lily Allen)Kelis – Millionaire (Ft. Andre 3000)Patrick Wolf – The City -
Laurie Anderson is bucket list. The artist, violinist, and poet has been exploring the world in her unique way for decades. She caught our breath releasing O Superman, and has continued to bring play, humour, and curiosity into all she does.
Laurie was also the yin to Lou Reed’s yang, as a life and creative partner; putting on concerts for dogs, and most recently feeding her and his writing into a supercomputer to see what AI would spit out, in their voice.
That was the catalyst for me asking Laurie to Take 5; and her work in AI as an artist over the past few years explores all the questions we’re having today about machine learning. Settle in, this is such a poetic conversation, full of great wisdom and plenty of laughs as well. I loved speaking with Laurie about music, and loved how much she embraced the theme I gave her, of duality. From Marianne Faithfull to Maggie Rogers, this is an extraordinary conversation with an all time great.
Marianne Faithful – Falling in Love Again Ornette Coleman – Lonely WomanLou Reed – Magic And Loss (The Summation)Bob Dylan – Don’t Think Twice, It’s AlrightMaggie Rogers – AlaskaKate Crawford's atlas of sound.
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Jack Antonoff is one of the most celebrated producers working today. With 10 Grammys under his belt, including three in a row for Producer of the Year, he has shaped the sound of pop music over the last decade.
Taylor Swift, Lana Del Rey, The 1975, Lorde… these are just some of the names he’s produced and co-written with. And within the industry, he’s known as a brilliant collaborator – opposite to the classic Svengali directing himself into the story. Jack listens, guides, and celebrates the song. For him, it’s about the feel more than anything else.
Jack is also a muso himself; for years he’s played in bands and written songs. And you can tell what a fan he is, and how his big heart is filled with music. From R.E.M. to Joanna Newsom to Waterboys, this is a glorious celebration of songwriting, from a Jersey boy who followed his dreams.
R.E.M. – At My Most BeautifulSaves The Day – HoldJoanna Newsom – Sadie Tom Waits – Hold OnWaterboys – The Whole Of The Moon -
It’s fair to say, boygenius’ debut album was highly anticipated. But did you know that it was an Australian producer that helped bring it to life? Catherine Marks was born and bred in Melbourne, but made her way to the UK where she’s been working with everyone from PJ Harvey to Foals, The Killers to, yes, boygenius.
Her work is lauded across the world, winning awards and fans as one of the rare women to celebrated in the field. And while home in Australia for a hot minute, Catherine joined Zan Rowe to Take 5. The magic of what happens when crafting a song or an album can sometimes be intangible, and it’s made up of a million elements that bring music to life. You're invited into her studio to see the big picture of making five extraordinary songs.
Wolf Alice – Storms The Big Moon – Bonfire Manchester Orchestra - The Silence Roman Lewis - Mindless Townboygenius - Not Strong Enough - Show more
