Take 5

Darren Hanlon is one of Australia’s great troubadours. His music has charmed us for near on twenty years now, and he’s known as a songwriter’s songwriter; his skill at getting straight to the heart of the matter has built him a loyal following of fans and fellow muso’s alike. Daz is also one of those people who you want to pull up a pew and have a cuppa with. There’s a sense of calm that falls whenever I chat with him, and for all of these reasons I asked him to Take 5. From new friends, to unheard gems, to the songs that pull at the strings of homesick heart, this conversation is a beautiful exploration of how music saves us all.

Chastity Belt - Different Now

Emahoy Tsegue-Maryam Guebrou – Homesickness

The Honeys - Against the Elements

Magnetic Fields - 100,000 Fireflies

Warumpi Band - My Island Home

Virginia Trioli is a Walkley Award winning journalist. Her career began in print media in Melbourne, before she pivoted to radio and then TV; holding it down as host of ABC News Breakfast for more than a decade. Along the way she’s been at the helm of everything from current affairs to arts shows, and through it all her curiosity and commitment to holding those in power to account, shines through.

She’s also a massive music fan, and that part of her extraordinary life, just doesn’t get as much time. So that’s why Zan Rowe asked her to Take 5. 

From Kate Bush to Faith No More, Prince to Ruby Fields, what a joy to peel back the curtain on Trioli’s life. This is not only a brilliant Take 5, it’s also the best counselling session you’ll get for free; about finding your way and yourself in the potholes of life.

Virginia's song choices:

• Kate Bush - This Woman's Work
• Prince – Sign O’ the Times
• FNM - From Out of Nowhere
• The Sunday’s – Goodbye
• Ruby Fields - Dinosaurs {Live at Splendour in the Grass 2019}

One of the biggest and best voices in Australia, is Emma Donovan’s. As a little kid, Emma got a heap of practice in with her family band. The Donovans were a legendary country group, and whether her uncles were pushing her to the front of the stage to sing, or her mum was plopping her in front of crowds at Tamworth talent quests, her soulful voice was honed over years of  family support and self belief.

Emma would go on to form the Stiff Gins, she’d release solo records, join The Black Arm Band, then collaborate with Melbourne soul outfit The Putbacks.  Through it all, her love of music and family has guided her. From Mavis Staples, to Christine Anu, and the Koori King of Country – Roger Knox – this is a beautiful conversation about the bonds of music, family, and place.

Mavis Staples - Will The Circle Be Unbroken

Micko Donovan - Promised Land

Roger Knox - Bridge Over Troubled Water

Troy Cassar Daley - Back Home Again

Christine Anu - Island Home

Courtney Barnett is a national treasure. Ever since I started hearing her songs, around 2013,  she’s been one of my favourite storytellers. A dry wit, with a knack for writing very catchy indie rock songs and reflecting back on the world around her; big and small.

That talent has taken her around the world, and for a good part of the last five years, Courtney has been on the road; consistently touring around Australia, the US, and Europe. When coronavirus hit, that all stopped. And CB found herself back in her adopted hometown for the longest spell in quite a while. When I ask her to Take 5, Melbourne is in the midst of a coronavirus spike, the city is back in lockdown and feeling somewhat cut off and left behind from the rest of Australia. That’s one of the reasons I asked Courtney to Take 5 with HER Melbourne… the city, the songs, and the stories that have filled her heart since she first moved here.

Kee’ahn - Better Things

Nat Vazer -Higher Places

June Jones - Look at You Go

Alice Skye - Grand Ideas

Sampa The Great - Freedom

Rufus Wainwright is one of the greatest voices of our time. Hailing from a dynasty of incredible songwriters in Kate McGarrigle and Loudon Wainwright III, his life has stories and then some. From the get go, Rufus’ 1998 debut album announced an artist who stood on his own two feet. He would make a handful more, before stepping out of the pop realm and into the classics; performing opera and Shakespearean sonnets on stage for a decade.

In 2020, he returned to his old stomping ground, and on the day he released his new album of pop songs, he joined me to Take 5. Rufus was at home in LA, so you’ll hear his new puppy yapping in the background, and the bubble of his fountain in the background. To be honest, the silver lining of this strange year has been that we’ve connected with so many amazing humans that we wouldn’t have otherwise. Going into their homes, as they open their record collections, and hearts. From Blondie in the backseat, to the genius of Joni, and a song that rings painfully true more than fifty years after it was written, this Take 5 is a life story of one magical maker.

Blondie – Heart of Glass

Nina Simone – My Baby Just Cares for Me

Joni Mitchell – Blue

Kate Bush – Running Up That Hill

Bob Dylan – A Hard Rain's a-Gonna Fall

Susan Rogers, by her own admission, is a rare bird. A female producer and sound engineer in an industry dominated by men, her drive and commitment would land her side by side with Prince as his star soared. She came to work with him in Paisley Park as an audio technician right before he would begin Purple Rain, and she’d stay working with him and becoming his sound engineer through his commercial peak; recording Parade, Around the World in a Day, The Black Album, and Sign O the Times.

But Prince isn’t the only part of Susan Rogers’ story. In 1988 she left Minneapolis, and would go on to produce some of the biggest hits of the 90’s before taking the money from that to go back to school, and become a Professor at one of the world’s most prestigious music schools. Her name is synonymous with Prince, but the story of how Susan got there, and what she did after this legendary collaboration, is just as fascinating.

From finding her musical tribe as a kid in Orange County, to recording some of the most loved songs of all time, and diving into the neuroscience of why we connect with song, this is a brilliant conversation with a curious mind, and living legend.

• 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'

Ricky Powell is a collector of stories. Whether on the street shooting the daily comings and goings of his beloved New York, or on tour with Beastie Boys and RUN DMC capturing 80’s rappers in front of the Eiffel Tower, or Andy Warhol uptown, standing side by side with Basquiat in a singular moment of modern art. See you may not know Ricky Powell’s name, but you’ve seen his pictures. As a street photographer for the past thirty years, he’s one of those people who has always been at the right place at the right time. His first photo was of geese in a children’s zoo, and since that very first click Ricky’s work has always been rooted in the environment he finds his subjects in. A new documentary on Ricky’s life, called The Individualist, was why I asked Ricky to Take 5. It gave me a peek into a life I’d never heard about before, but felt so quintessentially New York. And as we connected on Zoom, it was clear he’s a quintessential New Yorker… a “lazy hustler” who took me on a wild ride through 30 years of stories. From George Benson to RUN DMC to The Animals, this is a time capsule of a singular life.

George Benson - Footin' It

Run-D.M.C - Peter Piper

Jimmy McGriff - The Bird

Vicki Anderson - Super Good (Pts 1 & 2)

The Animals - The Story of Bo Diddley

There’s only one person on the planet who has played Coachella, the New York Metropolitan Opera, and hit the stage at Eurovision; and that person is Kate Miller-Heidke. With her soaring voice, Kate’s talent has taken her to stages all across the world. And her talent has made her creative life a rich tapestry; writing musical theatre, performing in many different guises, and penning her own albums over the past fifteen years. With that in mind, I asked her to choose songs for the stages. Music that, through her life, had soundtracked or lifted her into another zone. From Joni Mitchell to Gurrumul to Annie Lennox, this conversation paints a beautiful picture of a polymath’s heart.

Joni Michell - All I Want

Divinyls - Science Fiction

The Ballad of Sweeney Todd: Attend the Tale of Sweeney Todd

Gurrumul - Waak (Crow)

Annie Lennox - No More I Love You's

I was 21 when I first heard Pnau. Their debut album Sambanova would become the soundtrack to pre drinks and after parties, it signalled a duo who knew how to bring it, with an exceptional debut of house music. Nick Littlemore was the producer behind it, and alongside Pete Mayes they’d craft many more records, reaching new levels of explosive, ecstatic pop music.  It wasn’t the only project Nick would excel at through. With Luke Steele, he formed Empire of the Sun, and topped the charts in Australia and the States. He’d dabble with Ladyhawke in a band called Teenager, and his latest collaboration is with Al Wright, as the duo Vlossom. Working with others is key to what propels him forward, and since he was a kid he’s sought out like minded creatives to bring his wild ideas to life. Nick Littlemore is one of those larger than life characters, and over the years I would hear him in interviews exclaiming loudly, distorting the mics with his reactions, and generally taking life by the horns. But recently, his mood has shifted. You’ll find out why pretty soon, as Nick shares his songs of enlightenment. From his adopted home of Los Angeles, in his home studio crammed with synths, amps, cords, and just gear, Nick shows a side of himself you’ve never heard before. From Frankie Knuckles to vedic chanting, this is a magical conversation about the power of song.

Frankie Knuckles - Your Love

Alice Coltrane - Om Shanti

Vangala Kasinatha Sarma & Nishtala Suryaprakash Rao - Saraswathi Suktham

The Electric Prunes - Holy Are You

The Terry Riley - A Rainbow In Curved Air

Every now and then I invite someone who isn’t a muso, to Take 5. It makes sense right; all of us are affected by music, and the songs that soundtrack our lives. Ben Shewry’s trajectory has been remarkable. He heads up Attica, acclaimed as the best restaurant in Australia, and one of only two that has made it into the world’s Top 50 Best Restaurant list. He appeared on that very first season of Netflix’s Chefs Table series, and has popped up on Masterchef as a special guest over the years. The early part of Ben’s life set the tone for who he would become though, as I discovered when he joined me to Take 5. Music, just like food, is a sensory experience. It can take you back to a particular moment when you hear that first note, or taste that first bite. Which is why I asked Ben to share his songs for the senses. From heading up north to find unique Indigenous ingredients, to having his favourite band dine in, we trekked through a culinary life that has always been filled with music.

New Order - Blue Monday

George Rrurrambu and Birdwave - Gating

Phranc - Take off your Swastika 

Yo La Tengo - Green Arrow

Fugazi - Epic Problem