It has been one of the many blessings in my life to call Nicholas, and many of his extended family, my close friends. When first we met he was around 14 and on a trip with his mother Liz and stepfather Baz to England. To London in fact, and to the grey, run-down, beautiful shit-hole that is the East End (where I lived with his step-brother Leon and two other medical school pals Tommy and Pete) where I faintly remember meeting him somewhere on the Isle of Dogs.

There’s a faint irony there, for that could be a song from his on-hiatus/defunct band Graveyard Train. Although the title would most likely be ‘Murder on the Isle of Dogs’ or something similar.

Nicholas has done from quiet but whip-smart slender teen to quiet but whip-smart musician, father and life partner (to Megan) and it has been a source of great pleasure to witness his success. Taciturn and humble, he nonetheless lives a fascinating, large, (in the best possible way), life. He’s the antidote to flash and dumb acquiescence to consumerism and TV talent shows. And his family feels like they are mine too.

This interview is the sound of two musicians riffing, and the North Melbourne home of Liz and Baz, surrounded by books and warm intelligence, was a wonderful venue.

36 Chambers is my favourite punk record. it’s experimental, angry, was completely cutting edge and obviously hugely influential. The 90’s was a golden age for hip hop but this record really stands out for me. I love hip hop but really REALLY dislike the mix of business and ego and music, which lots of hip hop seems to embrace. Although Wu Tang would go on to embody corporate music, becoming a successful corporation as well as band, when they put out 36 chambers they were just making proper angry art. It has been a hugely influential album on all of my music, particularly graveyard train – we were always essentially trying to be a country version of Wu Tang.

I love psychedelic music; Love’s Forever Changes is one of those examples of a proper hopeless artistic genius. They could have been The Doors but never toured, hit the drugs way too hard and half of them ended up in jail – story of the making of this record and the disintegration of the band are great – and at the end of the day it is an absolute cracker that to me shines as bright as Pet Sounds or Sgt Peppers as a 60’s psych pop record.

This record captures melancholy really well. It was Morphine’s last record but was never officially released as Mark Sandman (singer/bassplayer) died on stage at a festival in Italy i think just after it was mixed. As they could no longer tour and promote the album it was shelved. We came across a japanese bootleg and flogged it at prudence where i worked for quite a long time. I love every song, but the opener – the nigh