Interviews

American prog metal band Periphery is coming down under in November as part of Monolith Festival, the event that brings a bunch of prog, djent and metalcore's finest to venues around Australia. Ahead of this tour, guitarist Misha Mansoor speaks to Tomarch and Takla about what the band has been up to recently.

Five-piece rock band Rockafella came together inspired by the likes of Radio Birdman, AC/DC, and The Saints. Their sound reflects these influences but with their own rock'n'roll flavour. Band member Mick joins Chris on Pojama People to talk about the band’s new album and their upcoming tour.

New York psych pop band Crumb's third album 'AMAMA' is an impressive genre-blending effort that happens to be the band's most candid and emotionally resonant work yet. Frontwoman Lila Ramani chats with Milo about the band's eclectic fusion of styles, and the poignant lyricism and poetic abstraction that can be heard on the new album.

The music of trans folk artist and poet Sunny Morris has an air of familiarity and warmth while retaining its own distinctive contemporary flavour. Her lyrics meander through themes of gender, family, and love over layers of sparkling guitars and leisurely percussion. Tune into Homebrew as Brooke chats with Sunny about her upcoming album release, 'You’re a Liar, Girl,' out this August.

Texas psych-funk trio Khruangbin have just announced their return to Australia after massive shows back in 2022. Their current tour kicked off at Coachella, and they'll bring the show to Melbourne in Feb 2025. Drummer Donald ‘DJ’ Johnson, Jr. took time out of a hectic schedule to jump on Zoom with Milo to tell us all about the tour and what we can expect when Khruangbin hit Melbourne.

Led by Persian-Australian tar player and composer Hamed Sadeghi, Eishan Ensemble is an ARIA nominated group who draws on contemporary and classical music traditions of both the East and West. Eishan’s repertoire consists predominantly of Sadeghi’s original compositions with diverse improvisatory idioms featured powerfully. Hamed joins Roger on Global Village for a unique tar performance, and to chat about an upcoming show at The Bird’s Basement on August 17.

Four piece, honky-tonk/ rockabilly band Rhiz and the Sugar Plums have revived 1950s music in their original songs. Their self-titled debut album captures this nostalgic sound across all 12 album tracks. Tune in to 5ft High and Rising as the band performs live and chats with Myles about their upcoming shows at Moon Dog Wild West and Brunswick’s Retreat Hotel on August 3rd and 4th.

Based in Eora, producer Gi masterfully integrates sampled phone videos that capture everyday moments and personal reflections on their debut album ‘Orange Chorus Blonde Reveal’. Drawing influence from IDM, shoegaze, and techno, Gi's music creates a unique blend that is both introspective and innovative. Tune into Passing Notes as Penny chats with Gi about their debut album.

The making of The Vovos was a star crossed, comically predetermined event. Forming at one of the first Girls Rock! Melbourne Camps in 2017, the five piece are known and loved for their punk rock, DIY attitude. The band comes into Stone Love for a Studio 5 performance and to chat about their sophomore album ‘Lilla Gubben’, set to release on March 1 next year.

Way Dynamic is the namesake of Dylan Young, multi-instrumentalist, producer, and songwriter from Melbourne. His sophomore LP ‘Duck’ is a folk-rock odyssey, with nods to the Beach Boys, crafted with beautiful melodies and textures. Way Dynamic come into the Breakfast Spread for a Studio 5 live performance, and to chat with Milo about the latest record.

Gravemind are a death-core band hailing from Melbourne. Their debut album ‘Conduit’ is about dissociation, exhaustion and confusion, and they’re about to drop their sophomore album ‘Introsphere’ this August. Tune into Tyrannocoreus as Ryan chats with lead vocalist Bailey Schembri about his experience as the lead singer for the last two years, and what to expect from the band once their album has been released.

Since the band formed in Ohio in 2005, The Devil Wears Prada have been making metalcore music, releasing their 8th studio album in 2022. This August, the band return to Australian shores for the first time in six years, to support touring band Alpha Wolf. The guitarist of the band, Jeremy DePoyster, pops by Tyrannocoreus to chat with Ryan about their upcoming tour and their plans to drip feed new material throughout the year ahead.

Exactly one decade ago, Shellac frontman and recording engineer Steve Albini spoke in Melbourne at the Face the Music conference. In his keynote address, the author of seminal 1993 essay, The Problem with Music, talked about the advantages of the internet, the death of the major label system, and copyright law. During Albini's Melbourne visit, Chris Pearson was lucky enough to explore these subjects with him on PBS. Tune in to Pojama People on Tuesday night to revisit their conversation in full.

For the past 25 years, Japanese band MONO has explored themes ranging from darkness to light, hope in the face of disaster, and the duality of birth and death. Exploding with orchestral sunsets and instrumental rock breaks, their 12th album, 'OATH', was recorded with their longtime friend and collaborator Steve Albini. Band leader Takaakira, aka Taka, drops by Pojama People to chat with Chris about their latest album.

PBS Presents AROCKALYPSE NOW, an evening of bands, beers, and big bad riffs in San Remo. Melbourne garage rock band Foggy Notion will be there, unleashing their driving rhythms and blunt lyrics to the crowd at Westernport Hotel. Tune in to Firewater as Claire is joined by Foggy Notion as they share what to anticipate on the night.

Throughout August, the NGV will host three Friday Night after-hours events curated by PBS's very own Stani Goma. Across these three Fridays, The Melbourne African Traditional Ensemble, Fem Belling, and Kunjani Heita Afrika will perform live music alongside Music in Exile guest DJs, including Shah Sharafi, Aysu and Kgomotso Sekhu. To tell us about this program, Fem Belling - herself a beloved PBS fill-in announcer - chats with Milo on Breakfast. Tune in on Tuesday morning to hear more.

Ahead of his headline show at Angel Bar tonight, UK producer DJ Pipe drops in to PBS to chat with Edd Fisher about some of his latest work in the techno and house idioms. Tune in to Tomorrowland from 1pm to hear more.

Australia's leading chromatic harmonica player Chris Maunders drops into the Ports of Paradise to chat about his upcoming tribute to the reed players who collaborated with legendary Belgian harmonicist Jean "Toots" Thielemanswith. Titled "Reeding with Toots," this show will see Chris Maunders and his quintet take over the Basement at the Paris Cat on August 1st.

Appealing to more than just punk history obsessives, Tristan Clark's books ‘Orstralia – A Punk History 1977-1989’ and ‘Orstralia – A Punk History 1990-1999’ offer an unprecedented snapshot of an underacknowledged segment of Australian life and history. Tristan Clark comes in to chat with Phil about these detailed books he’s written for lovers of music history.

Iconic British band The Stranglers have been making post-punk new wave music for 50 years. In a PBS exclusive, lead singer and songwriter Hugh Cornwell stops by Junkyard to chat with Michael about an illustrious career in music.