Interviews

The world of claire rousay is one of irregular, overlooked and intimate beauty. Over the course of her ever-growing body of work, she has charted a musical terrain that remains utterly personal while resonating on a deeply communal level. Following her intimate solo voice and piano Studio 5 Live performance, Hannah catches up with claire to discuss her Australian tour, and how she's finding Melbourne.

Built on the bedrock of jazz and the jazz-adjacent, On-Ly is the brainchild of pianist/producer Joshua Smeltink. Across On-Ly’s new album ‘BURN’, improvisation electrifies evolving backdrops, while the ensemble expands and contracts through colossal arrangements, ambient intervals and tightly coiled groove music. Tune in to hear about the album launch happening at High Note on August 7, with special guest Standing Circle.

'Intentionally Left Blank’ is the latest release from The Plain Black T-Shirts, and for the second half of Black Wax today, Adam will catch up with Tim Nikolsky from the band. As Tim puts it, this new album is “guaranteed human made”, with the record capturing humans in a room vibing, listening and responding in real time. Adam catches up with Tim about the making of this record, and when we can next expect to see The Plain Black T-Shirts perform live.

Joining Ajak on Come Together today is remarkable individual, Lele - a refugee, singer, proud West Papuan woman, mother of four daughters, and the wife of music star, Mitch Tambo. A passionate advocate for refugee women in Australia and a dedicated decolonisation activist, Lele will be chatting about her new single ‘Border Crosser’. Tune in from 1pm for a catch up between Ajak and Lele. 

Wild At Heart are celebrating 20 years of music, creativity and disability pride with a live event at Northcote Social Club on July 24. Featuring an electrifying lineup including June Jones, Rhys Renwick, GwotLik, Edward Roussac, Andrew Nicolaides, Fantasma & Tusi, Paul Shorten and Kitty Kat Mac (Sass Kat), it will be a night of bold original music across genres. Ahead of the show, Wild At Heart founder Phil joins Jordan on the show, along with Rhys Renwick, who’ll perform a few live songs.

Catching up with Helen Jennings this morning is locally based blues and soul singer-songwriter Andrea Marr. Her current projects include the Andrea Marr Band, The McNaMarr Project and Urban Praise Gospel Choir. She's also a vocal coach and songwriting teacher, and is the Coordinator for 'Melbourne Blues Appreciation Society Women In Blues'. Tune in to Roots of Rhythm to hear about her upcoming 'Blues Guitar Roadshow’s Victoria' tour. 

Coming into Roots of Rhythm this morning is vocalist, guitarist, and songwriter Kaliopi Stavropoulo, from local group Kaliopi & The Blues Messenger. Following their award-winning 2024 album 'The Devil’s Voodoo Curse' - which charted in the ABARAC Top 25 for twelve months and earned VIC/TAS Blues Award recognition, the band entered a defining chapter with the release of 'How The Caged Bird Sings' (2025). Tune in to hear about the band's new album.

Formed in 2023, Sydney darkwave band INAUGURAL channel the perspective of two biblically accurate angels navigating late-stage capitalism. Tune in to Bleeding Black Hearts Revue as they discuss their musical roots, songwriting process and their EP 'Stone Tapes' ahead of their live performance at Nighthawks on July 25.

The darkwave project of Brisbane artist Jed A. Walters, Chiffon Magnifique has evolved into a full live band drawing from post-punk, goth rock, and minimal wave to create a dynamic live show. Ahead of their debut Naarm/Melbourne show at 'Black Planet', Jed joins Bleeding Black Hearts Revue to talk about his influences and surviving the dark subculture in sunny Queensland.

Renowned for her elegant, elastic voice, singer-songwriter, producer and classically trained pianist Agnes Obel is coming to Naarm/ Melbourne. Performing at Hamer Hall on September 26, Obel's poised, melancholic chamber pop draws from the same atmosphere-heavy well as cinematic spellcasters, but with a distinctly Scandinavian sense of refinement. Ahead of her Australian tour, Lauren Plant catches up with Agnes Obel on Down By The River.

Coming on to Junkyard this evening is Finn Andrews from Aotearoa/ New Zealand band The Veils. Returning to the spotlight with 'Fragile World', the new album marks a striking shift in tone and energy for the band. Recorded live to tap, 'Fragile World' captures The Veils in an urgent and instinctive mode.
With an album release show taking place at Northcote Social Club on August 21, tune in for an intimate discussion between Michael Mulholland and Finn Andrews about the new record.

Knife's trajectory has been relentless since forming in 2020. The band have cemented their reputation on Australian stages, appearing at 'Metal In The Mountains' and 'Essence Festival', supporting international acts and legends like Vicious Circle, and sharing bills across metal, grindcore, punk, and noise scenes. Tune in to Burning Bitumen as Kene catches up with Knife ahead of their 'Black Planet' appearance on July 25. 

One of metal's most uncategorizable acts The Amenta have been synthesising the ugliest aspects of death, black, and noise into a unique maelstrom for over 25 years. Well known across the world for their intense live shows, The Amenta combine speed, anger, and weird sound with smoke and strobes to create a brutal, overwhelming experience. Ahead of their 'Black Plant' show at The Bendigo Hotel and Nighthawks on July 25, Kene catches up with keyboardist Tim Pope on Burning Bitumen.

Tune in to Stone Love this afternoon for an organic, live performance from MISSING, the project of Tom Lyngcoln. Having spent decades carving out his own path through Australian underground music, Tom is known for his dissonant guitars, uncompromising expression, deep community ties and a lifelong suspicion of commodified art. Listen in to hear tracks from the new album 'Cities Without Rivers'.

In July 1996, as a follow up to their breakout weird-rock classic 'Chocolate & Cheese', Ween released the most unlikely, beautifully unhinged country masterpiece '12 Golden Country Greats'. This weekend on 5ft High and Rising, Weened (a Ween tribute band) will be joining Myles to play a couple of tunes from the Ween album '12 Golden Country Greats’, which celebrates its 30th anniversary this year. Find out about their show at The Corner Hotel on July 31.

Taking influence from Hindustani, Sufi, Afrobeat, and Anatolian rock, Adelaide band Maajela creates a powerful celebration of music through the different melodies, traditions, and rhythms these genres possess. Combining the sounds of the cultures they represent with contemporary, layered, and expressive writing, the band are coming to Melbourne on July 31 for a show at The Evelyn Hotel. Pradip catches up with the band on TBEG, chatting about their new album 'Man Ke Andar'. 

Join Flight 1067 to Africa this Sunday, as Stani Goma welcomes Ghanaian designer, educator, author and researcher Yaw Ofosu-Asare, who'll share his selection of favourite African artists and songs. Yaw's work spans decolonial design, critical pedagogy and African futures, and he also holds a PhD in Education. Tune in to hear how these themes resonate with the spirit of Flight 1067 to Africa.

Local three-piece Dumbhead will be taking their experimental electronica, trip hop and live beat-making to Studio 5 Live on Homebrew this July.  Formed by Maayan Barnatan, Billie Raffety, and Zach Salmon, the group are known for their genre-bending sound, creating bass-heavy music built for late-night movement. Tune in to hear them chat with Brooke about their latest single ‘White Knuckles’, and what they have in store for the rest of this year. 

Groovy organ trio Hook Turn, featuring Adrian Whitehead, Daniel Berry and Tim Nikolsky, will be sharing their funky and spacey original music with Tom Sianidis live on Jumpin’ The Blues this week. Named after Naarm/Melbourne's infamous intersection manoeuvre - where you swing left to turn right - Hook Turn takes the indirect route to the pocket, and that's exactly where they live. Tune in from 1.30pm to hear the band perform live on the show.

Melbourne's own dreamy goth/darkwave act Chiron are returning after a long hiatus with a new album 'A Dark Beauty'. Founded in 1997 by vocalist Michael Aliani (aka Carrodus), after he left popular cult dark wave band Ikon, Michael, Ivan and Dino will join Kristen on Bleeding Black Hearts Revue to discuss the new album. Tune in to hear about the making of the album, along with tracks from the new record.

Joining Ian Parsons for an interview after her Studio 5 Live performance is Finnish/Australian double bassist, vocalist and composer Helen Svoboda. Her new album 'Headwater' was a PBS Feature Album in July, and it explores notions of fragmentation, individuality and wholeness, shaped by disparate and complementary aspects of Helen Svoboda’s practice. Tune in to hear about the distinctive sonic world that Helen has created in this record.

Rooted in Latinx club sounds, community and underground energy, Now or Never is linking up with Chuleo Club on August 28, for a night of dance at Melbourne Town Hall. Built around pressure, rhythm and release, there will be sets from A.Chal (Peru/USA), Slim Soledad (Brazil/Berlin), LIZZ (Chile) and Dinamarca (Sweden/Chile), alongside Colombian-Australian DJ and Chuleo mother Zalina, along with Kiki House of Furia. Tune in for an energetic guest mix from Zalina on Headhunters with Elle Young.