Interviews

Known as the Queen of Australian blues, Fiona Boyes’ life changed when she became the first artist outside North America to win the prestigious Memphis International Blues Challenge. Today, she is the only artist to have been nominated four times for a Blues Foundation award and won the US Blues Critics Award for Best Live Album in 2008. Tune in to Roots of Rhythm as Fiona chats about her next live show, happening at the Wesley Anne on August 23.

Local band Vault Hill produces heavy, thrash music laced with menacing, metal-core intensity. Lead guitarist Adrian O’Brien stops by Tyrannocoreus to chat with Ryan about the band’s latest single, 'Break the Silence,' and what we can expect to see from Vault Hill later this year.

Byron Bay band In Hearts Wake have been in the metalcore music scene since 2006. With five studio albums in tow, their lyrics tackle topics such as environmental justice, global warming, and other social issues. Vocalist Jake Taylor stops by Tyrannocoreus to chat with Ryan about the band’s latest album, ‘Incarnation,’ and their Australian tour with support from Paleface Swiss, King 810, and Gravemind.

Depressive black metal band Austere formed in East Corrimal in 2005, and since then have released four albums, with their latest one ‘Beneath the Threshold’ coming out earlier this year with more hooks, melodic harmonies, and multi-layered guitars. Tune in to Burning Bitumen as band member Tim Yatras chats with Kene about Austere's unexpected tour with Harakiri for the Sky and his time living in Siberia.

Swiss musician Thomas Gabriel Fischer aka Tom Warrior is a prominent multi-instrumentalist in the metal scene. Having founded metal bands Hellhammer, Celtic Frost, and Triptykon, age doesn’t stop Tom from continuing to influence black metal music. Tune in as Tom chats with Kene about his three bands and his thoughts on the current metal scene.

Heavy metal band Aardvark have been rocking the Melbourne stages since they formed in 2021. ‘Tough Love’ is the name of their latest guitar heavy album, and the band are playing at The GEM on August 17 for a special charity show, along side Fly! and Loathario. The band come in to play a Studio 3 session on Pojama People.

This year, Melbourne International Film Festival (MIFF) hosts the latest iteration of Hear My Eyes, which brings its sonic reinterpretation services to the festival by presenting the classic Australian film Wake in Fright. Local soul-seekers Surprise Chef take the stage therewith, tasked with broadcasting new frames of reference over revitalised imagery. Hear My Eyes' Founder Haydn Green and Surprise Chef's Lachlan Stuckey drop in to PBS for a Breakfast chat with Milo about this screening.

Brisbane band Nice Biscuit recently released their third single, 'Fade Away,' a fuzzy and hypnotic rock song with 90s nostalgia hooks. Ahead of the release of the band's forthcoming sophomore album, SOS, in October, frontwoman Billie calls in on Homebrew to tell Brooke about the song and the feeling of burn-out and dreaming of exploding like a star that has inspired it. Tune in on Monday afternoon from 3pm.

Naarm musician Hannah McKittrick is equipped with a voice that instantly hushes a room. Her latest single ‘Utensil’ was written when Hannah found herself hungrily searching for clues on how to live, and found them in the air, in the perusal of health, and in connections with people. Hannah joins Milo on The Breakfast Spread to play a live, stripped back version of ‘Utensil’ along with some of her other gently powerful songs.

Renowned for their boundary-defying compositions and instrumental virtuosity, Koi Kingdom’s third and most ambitious self-titled album is a tale of transformation and resilience. This latest release delves into themes of friendship, loss, grief, rebirth, and joy, showcasing the special musical connection and shared creative vision they have nurtured over years of collaboration. Tune in to hear the band perform a memorable Studio 5 session, and a chat with Gerry about their latest album.

Experimental indie rock is the sound Mercury Rev has been creating for the past 30 years. Named after the majestically rippling sixth track on their latest album, 'Born Horses' is a luscious blend of psych and jazz, to baroque and ambient folk. Tune in to Radio City for an exclusive interview with band member Grasshopper as he chats with Crispi about the upcoming album.

Bernadette Novembre is the Melbourne musician making music that draws inspiration from 1960s rock, but with an avant-indie, dreamscape twist. ‘Another View from Dystopia’ is her latest single, and she’ll be joined by a lively 10-piece orchestra at The Night Cat to launch it. Bernadette drops into Radio City to chat with Crispi about her music and the single launch taking place on August 15.

On August 16th, Naarm-based music company AANTHOLOGIES will celebrate its fifth birthday by taking over The Tote, with a big lineup of friends and all proceeds from the show to be donated to the Global Empowerment Mission (GEM) Palestinian Civilian Relief Fund. Performing alongside such artists as Romy Vager, Bananagun and Kee’ahn, Melbourne's after-dark pop artist FERLA plays a solo set of new and old songs. FERLA joins Milo on Breakfast to talk about the show and to play Musical Chairs.

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.