Interviews

On this episode of Sunglasses After Dark, Phil MacDougall will be joined by Licorice Pie Records merchant Gavan Purdy, who'll be sharing some of his all-time favourite vinyl records. Back in the day, Gavan ran ELVIS RECORDS, who released the early TISM records, along with two compilation albums, 'Asleep at the Wheel' and 'A Slab of Vic', both of which he'll be featuring on the show. Tune in to hear his selection of punk, 60s garage, alternative sounds, and some killer hip hop grooves.

Local sludge/hardcore band Class Traitor have released their sophomore album 'The Images Aren't Mine’, and they’ll be coming on to The Doom Saloon to chat with JRoc about the new record. Spanning a dynamic mix of blackened hardcore, noise-rock, and sludge, the band are about to go on tour with Lily of the Valley, who are known for their crushing riffs and atmospheric intensity. Tune in to hear about their show in Frankston on June 19, then at The Evelyn Hotel the following night.

Growing up in the backstreets of St Kilda, Alex Hamilton will be taking it back to where it all began at the Memo Music Hall on June 13. Raised on Neil Young and Bob Dylan, with some Nebraska-era Bruce Springsteen thrown in for good measure, Alex writes folky-country-rock songs that feel weathered, warm and unmistakably lived in. Alex joins Myles on the show, tune in to hear about the Southside Winter Warmer event, featuring Alex Hamilton & The Highway, Chelsea Hotel and Mr Sippy.

Locally based fingerstyle guitarist Rose Marie Gonzalez performs regularly as a soloist in her curated residency Guitar Kingdom, and as a member of the Melbourne Guitar Quartet. In 2025, she released her debut album 'Reach Down Low', which reflects her musical influences, blending classical guitar traditions with contemporary Brazilian and Latin sounds. Rose visits the Global Village, tune in for a live performance, and to hear about the Guitar Kingdom show at Bar 303 on June 20.

Improvisational duo Driftwood have expanded their distinctive sound world and will release their new album 'Maps' on June 12 on Room40 Records. Working with clarinets (Aviva Endean), guitars (Nick Ashwood), and microtonally retuned pump organs, they have added synthesisers to their second album, creating a truly unique record. Stopping by The Sound Barrier this Sunday, they'll be chatting with Ian Parsons about the album and their launch tour across Victoria and New South Wales.

For the second half of The Sound Barrier, Ian Parsons will catch up with Miranda Hill, the Artistic Director of Homophonic!, along with percussionist Niki Johnson. They will be chatting about the 2027 Homophonic Composer Pride Prize: a competition for a new work to be composed for percussion by an Australian LGBTQIA+ composer. Find out more about the annual competition and its $2,500 prize, as well as the opportunity for the winning composer to work alongside Niki Johnson.

Centered around live improvisation, collaboration, and the studio as an instrument, Tony Soprano Band are coming into Studio 5 Live during Deeep Space. Drawing from the language of breaks, sampling, and loop-based composition, every sound on the record 'Downtempo 1' originates from live performance. Lloyd Briggs chats to band members Daniel Rock (bass), Lucky Pereira (drums), Robert Downey (sequencer, drum machine) and Winton Findlay (synthesizers) about their new record.

Rivers of Nihil are still riding high off the back of 2025’s hugely successful self-titled fifth album. Playing a show with Tasmanian export Psycroptic at Max Watt’s on August 15, the Pennsylvanian group have booked in a headline Australian tour, stopping off at Necrosonic Festival in Meanjin on August 22. Adam Biggs, vocalist and bassist for the progressive technical death metal band joins Ryan on the show, tune in to hear about the theatrics the band have planned for the tour.

It’s been seven years since Melbourne band Roller One released their third album, 'Better Than Fine'. A pandemic got in the way of life and art during those intervening years, but the good news for fans of dark alt-country and electric acid folk is that the quartet are back with their new album, 'Fate Done Nice'. Adam and Fergus swing by Radio City for an interview with Crispi about the new album, and to chat about their launch show at The Tote on June 25.

In the lead up to the 50th anniversary of Australian punk band X, the band drops in to The Tote on June 27th to play an exciting show with support from The Maggie Pills and Cat Crawl. Ahead of this show, founding member Steve Lucas chats with the Prince of Darkness about the band's history, his solo projects, and lots more. Tune in to Sunglasses After Dark on Thursday from 8pm.

Naarm-based duo Myles Mac and DJ Possum unite for Weaver’s first all-night-long duo performance. Known for their deep and eclectic sets across festivals like Pitch and Hopkins Creek, they’re taking over The Night Cat on June 27 for a four-hour masterclass in groove, before they depart for tours across Europe and the US. Ahead of the show, Myles Mac and DJ Possum drop in to The Breakfast Spread for a special guest mix on the Wheels of Steel.

Greg Kubacki is the guitarist and songwriter for Car Bomb. Formed in 2000, the New York mathcore group is heading to Australia in July for two shows in Perth alongside Karnivool and Tesseract. On the show, Ryan will chat with Greg about the band’s philosophy of less is more, and what inspires their music. Tune in to find out what else Car Bomb has in store for the rest of 2026.

Mark Sinton, Ian Freeman, Jeff Baker, Julian Chick and Matt Cotter are about to play their first show at The Gem on June 27. Performing only Beatles tunes, the band will be chatting with Crispi about their newly formed group, The Apple Scruffs. Tune in to hear how Mark is feeling ahead of their debut performance and what audiences can expect from the band on the night.

Joining Michael Mulholland for this episode of Junkyard is Harry Howard and David McClymont. Having worked on a track together in 2014, their on/off friendship goes back to the murky days of living in London in the mid-1980s - Harry as a member of Crime and the City Solution and David as an ex-member of Orange Juice. Tune in to hear about their two new releases, 'Under The World' and 'Blistersticks'.

Newly formed group Fancy Weapon is made up of Mick Turner, Claire Birchall, Joel Silbersher and Guy Maddison. An unexpected collaboration, the band sees a cross-generational group of Melbourne music perennials creating a singular brand of minimalist, incandescent, guitar-heavy rock in the tradition of other singular, minimalist, incandescent guitar-heavy rock bands that have been doing it for 50 years. Phil MacDougall catches up with the band, tune in to hear about their new self-titled album.

Bringing the rich tradition of classical Arabic instrumental music to life through a powerful contemporary performance experience, Ṣaltanah will transform the stage at Melbourne Recital Centre into an immersive celebration of Arab artistry, memory and musical innovation on July 2. Ahead of the show, they join Roger Holdsworth on the Global Village. Tune in for a traditional yet contemporary live performance from Ṣaltanah.

Acclaimed South African pianist, composer, healer, and philosopher Nduduzo Makhathini is releasing his new album, 'The Myth We Choose', on June 26. Co-produced by Makhathini and his 18-year-old son Thingo Makhathini, the album explores the awareness needed to create a legacy of love and healing in the present tense, and features special guests including Shabaka Hutchings. Tune in to Stars In The Static, where Greg Sher catches up with Nduduzo about the new record.

Fresh off the release of their debut EP 'Sicko', Naarm’s Jeane return to The Tote this July 24, with support from local bands Sonic Reducer and Gloomie. Led by front woman Jazz Johnston, 'Sicko' explores faith, femininity, vulnerability and self-expression through jagged guitars, hook-heavy songwriting and raw, unfiltered storytelling. Jeane stop by PBS, chatting with Brooke on Homebrew about their new EP and the release show.

'Under The Under' is the new sophomore album from local band Growth. Starting as a reflective space to explore the sorrows and sharp angles that come attendant with a lifelong diagnosis, Growth has found meaningful ways to channel the ugliest and most jarring fragments of the self. Opening for Rivers of Nihil at Max Watt's on August 15, tune in to Tyrannocoreus as Ryan catches up with the band ahead of their show with the US death metal group.

Link McLennan from Bagful of Beez and Ross McLennan from Heir to the Squandered Millions will be stopping by Radio City this week to chat with Crispi about their new singles. Link Meanie - aka Link McLennan - has always been known for his love of pop, even when screaming his guts out in the Meanies, while Ross McLennan is known for his power-pop outfit Snout. Tune in to hear about their release show at The Tote on July 16.