Take 5

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Gary Calamar's songs he's put on the screen May 06, 2022

Show notes

We all know songs hold a lot of power. When they pair with iconic scenes from film and television, they become etched in our memory; and sometimes elevate a piece of music to the stuff of legend. Think Green Day’s 'Good Riddance' in the final moments of Seinfeld, Underworld’s 'Born Slippy' in Trainspotting, 'Don’t Stop Believin’' by Journey, in The Sopranos…

And the person that places these songs in just the right moments, is a music supervisor.

Back in 2012 I asked Gary Calamar to Take 5. He’s a music supervisor for shows like Six Feet Under, True Blood, Dexter, House, and Entourage. He’s the one who has made scenes sing, and brought some truly beautiful sounds to TV and film. It was a conversation I loved then, but has never made it’s way onto the podcast, until now. From Peter Gabriel to Sia, this is a powerful reminder of the magical marriage of sound and vision.

‘Season Of The Witch [Ft. Donovan]’ - Karen Elson

‘Me And The Devil’ - Gil Scott-Heron

‘Cold Wind’ - Arcade Fire

‘My Body Is A Cage’ - Peter Gabriel

‘Breathe Me’ - Sia

Kae Tempest's songs that speak their language Apr 29, 2022

Show notes

Kae Tempest is one of the most powerful voices speaking today. A poet, playwright, author, and musician, they capture their world of South East London and bring it to us. And within that, explore the big themes of the world, and how we deal with it.

They’ve has just released their fourth album; it comes after a period of great change for Kae, who recently came out as trans non-binary and is speaking publicly for the first time about what they’ve really been feeling for most of their life.

Communication and connection is at the heart of this record, so I gave Kae the theme “songs that speak their language”. They embraced it and then some. From wild sounds courtesy of Buffy Saint-Marie to life changing debuts from Jay Electronica, this is a poetic conversation about the power of words.

'God Is Alive Magic Is Afoot' – Buffy Sainte-Marie

'Gatekeeper' – ESKA

'Solstice' – Confucius MC

'Gabriel' – Roy Davis Jr feat. Peven Everett

'Eternal Sunshine' – Jay Electronica

Aldous Harding's voices Apr 01, 2022

Show notes

Aldous Harding is one of the most compelling voices of our time. Across three albums she has shapeshifted in every song, her voice bends and changes almost like stepping into a different character, with each story.

Aldous is a spellbinding human in person too; on stage and in other interviews I’ve read and seen. But I learned more about her from this Take 5 than I ever have before. These songs reveal a lot about Aldous, as a performer, as a songwriter, and as an artist. This is one of those conversations where I could frame just about everything she said. From El Perro Del Mar to Nina Simone, this is the voice.

God Knows (You Gotta Give To Get) - El perro del mar

Stars (Live At Casino Montreux, 3rd July 1976)- Nina Simone

Diana - Alexander ‘Skip’ Spence

Houses - Elyse Weinberg

Janitor - Suburban Lawns

Steven Oliver's life in song Mar 25, 2022

Show notes

Steven Oliver has been lighting up stage and screen for years now. A proud descendent of the Kuku-Yalanji, Waanyi, Gangalidda, Woppaburra, Bundjalung and Biripi peoples, he’s popped up on ABC TV’s Black Comedy. Hosted Faboriginal on SBS. And taken the stage as a poet and a playwright.

His own story has been told in song, in Bigger and Blacker; a cabaret telling of his life. After traveling across the country with the show over the past three years, Steven brings it next to the Melbourne International Comedy Festival, and I invited him to Take 5.

His show is full of songs he sings, of his own experiences, but I was curious to hear the tunes by others that soundtracked his life. From Mariah to Janet to Yothu Yindi, this is a beautiful conversation about comedy as a messenger and the uplifting power of shakin’ your cheeks.

Always Be My Baby - Mariah Carey

It’s Not Right, But It’s OK (Thunderpuss Remix) - Whitney Houston

Rhythm Nation - Janet Jackson

Treaty (Filthy Lucre Remix) - Yothu Yindi

Man In The Mirror - Michael Jackson

Que Minh Luu's songs that bond Mar 18, 2022

Show notes

As this episode of the Take 5 happened, everyone is talking about Byron Baes. The first show commissioned for Netflix Australia is a glorious hate watch, full of influencer culture, questions about belonging, and some singular characters.

The woman who commissioned it, is Que Minh Luu, she’s the Head of Content at Netflix Australia and her job is to find stories that are uniquely ours. Que has loved stories her whole life, and told them in shows like The Heights, Frayed, Diary of An Uber Driver, and Harrow.

But Que’s story is just as compelling. A child of Vietnamese refugees who grew up in Sydney’s southwest and went on to nab one of the biggest jobs in TV.

Finding community and connection is central to everything she does, and the core of her Take 5 songs. From Smashing Pumpkins to Missy Elliot, to Dave Dobbin, this is a revealing and beautiful conversation.

Tonight, Tonight - Smashing Pumpkins

Gossip Folks - Missy Elliot

Tusk - Fleetwood Mac

From Little Things Big Things Grow - Paul Kelly

Slice of Heaven - Dave Dobbin

Lina Abascal's bloghouse Mar 11, 2022

Show notes

Remember that time between the mid to late 00’s, when indie and dance clashed, when we scoured Myspace for the most exciting new tunes and remixes, and when the internet met the dancefloor to create one big party community?

Some call it indie dance or electroclash, and some refer to the era as bloghouse; a magical time that gave rise to big names like Diplo, Steve Aoki, Simian Mobile Disco, and Justice. It was post Napster, but before Spotify, and it was the wild west of music.

15 years on, blogger Lina Abascal has captured that scene in her first ever book. Never Be Alone Again tracks the rise and fall of bloghouse. It’s a brilliant read that is as much a fun trip down memory lane, as a document of how this scene reflected a very unique time in music, and gave rise to something massive.

From Crookers remixes, to Justice Vs Simian, and Does it Offend You, Yeah, this will catapult you back to every dance floor and worn out USB of your youth.

My Moon My Man - Feist (Boys Noize Remix)

We Are Rockstars - Does It Offend You, Yeah?

To Protect and Entertain - Busy P ft. Murs (Crookers Remix)

Pro Nails- Kid Sister ft. Kanye West

We Are Your Friends - Justice Vs. Simian

Beach House's reveries Mar 04, 2022

Show notes

Baltimore duo Beach House have been making epic, beautiful and dreamy music for eight albums. For the latest, they upped the pretty by adding a string section. And Once Twice Melody lands in the world just when we need it most.

I’ve long been a fan of Beach House, and I’ve chatted with them a few times. Every time I do, their insight into the music they make, has me glued to the conversation. And when they talk about the music they love, I’m all in.

Which is why I asked them to Take 5 with their reveries, and share the songs that take them away to another place, a dreamlike space, and give a sense of connection in that realm. From The Durutti Column to Aphex Twin, this is a poetic conversation about how sound can transport you.

The Durutti Column - Sketch For Summer

Suicide - Dream Baby Dream

Velvet Underground - Pale Blue Eyes

Aphex Twin - Xtal

Joe Hisaishi - The Path of the Wind (Instrumental)

Nancy Bates' songs that bring stories to light Feb 25, 2022

Show notes

Nancy Bates is a proud Barkindji song woman, a mentor, and a curator. She recognises the power of song in sharing stories; particularly the songlines that tell the stories of First Nations peoples in Australia.

During the Adelaide Fringe in 2022, Nancy is also behind the soundtrack for a huge and beautiful performance piece called Sky Song. It’s all about light, so I thought I’d marry the two ideas in her theme, and ask her to share songs that bring stories to light. What she shared, will stay with me forever. It’s a reminder of the power of sharing, but also of hearing, of really listening.

From Archie Roach to Electric Fields, and many discoveries in between, let Nancy Bates bring stories to light.

Archie Roach - There’s A Little Child

Allara - Rekindled Systems

Corey Theatre - Ngathuk Ngalina

Aimee Volkofsky - Buried

Electric Fields - Nina

Claudia Karvan's acts Feb 18, 2022

Show notes

Claudia Karvan has been a fixture on our screens for the last three decades. We watched her light up the screen on The Big Steal and The Heartbreak Kid, share-housed with her on The Secret Life of Us, and came of age as she did, on Love My Way.

When Claudia wasn’t acting in some of film and television’s biggest moments, she was working behind the scenes as a writer and director, and increasingly has been producing big shows like Bump on Stan.

Through all of this, I had a sneaking suspicion Claudia was a big music fan. And that was confirmed when I asked her to Take 5. From Sinead O’Connor to Pj Harvey to Warpaint, this is a brilliant capture of an artist and the songs that drive her.

Sinead O'Connor - Mandinka

PJ Harvey- 50ft Queenie

Liz Phair- Mesmerizing

Yeah Yeah Yeah’s- Down Boy

Warpaint- Undertow

Kelly Lee Owens' flow state Feb 11, 2022

Show notes

When you think of electronic music, do you think of the wild? Even as a synthetic creation, is it music that anchors itself in nature, in the sounds of icicles breaking or the feel of flow? Kelly Lee Owens is a producer who take you to all of those places. The Welsh artist may have begun her career as a nurse, and working in a record store, but these days she makes music that transports you; that is as at home in the club as a transcendental meditation.

Her second album Inner Song was big favourite of mine, and her collaborations with Jon Hopkins and remixes of Bjork reminded me of music’s power to get us into a flow state. So when she joined me to Take 5, I wanted to know the songs that did that for her. From Four Tet to Radiohead, Bjork to Nils Frahm, this is a very beautiful exploration of sound, of meaning, and how music can lift us into another realm.

Four Tet – Morning Side

The Knife – Heartbeats (live version)

Radiohead – Nude

Bjork – Sun in My Mouth

Nils Frahm – Says

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