Podcasts by The Music Show
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Podcast on the topic Musikinterviews
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Rap matriarch BARKAA and crossing the Borderlands with Van Diemen's Band's Julia Fredersdorff from 2022-04-16T11:05
Saturday 16 April: Tasmania's Van Diemen's Band explore the porous musical and cultural borders of the European baroque, and Malyangapa, Barkindji woman BARKAA talks about finding strength in rappi...
ListenJazz standards from 2022-04-10T11:05
Sunday 10 April: An exploration of the great 20th century jazz canon with music writer James Gavin.
ListenKae Tempest and passing the torch at the National Folk Festival from 2022-04-09T11:05
Saturday 9 April: English wordsmith Kae Tempest on their new album The Line is a Curve and young Gubbi Gubbi singer Layla Barnett on singing with Archie Roach.
ListenRuth Slenczynska's life in music from 2022-04-03T11:05
Sunday 3 April: The wunderkind pianist who became one of the great interpreters of the Romantic repertoire is still performing at 97.
ListenJude Perl&Chloe Lankshear from 2022-04-02T11:05
Saturday 2 April: Jude Perl on their musical comedy awakening, and Chloe Lankshear on Monteverdi and the legacy of Taryn Fiebig
ListenDrummer and curator Laurence Pike, and writers on the albums that shaped them from 2022-03-27T11:05
Sunday 27 March: The art of curating an accessible and multi-generational jazz festival, and The New Statesman's Tom Gatti on writers' favourite albums.
ListenKorngold's Symphony and Mara Schwerdtfeger's world of sound from 2022-03-26T11:05
Saturday 26 March: Benjamin Northey on Korngold's underplayed Symphony in F-Sharp, sound artist Mara Schwerdtfeger on improvisation and sonic spaces.
ListenKatie Yap's viola world and remembering jazz singer Barbara Morrison from 2022-03-20T11:05
Sunday 20 March: Wattleseed Ensemble's Katie Yap drops by to talk about the difference between a baroque viola and a modern one, plus an archive interview with jazz vocalist Barbara Morrison who pl...
ListenJenny Hval's musical language and Melissa Aldana's introspective jazz from 2022-03-19T11:05
Saturday 19 March: Norwegian singer, songwriter and novelist on the selflessness of singing. And Chilean tenor saxophonist Melissa Aldana talks about her Blue Note album 12 Stars.
ListenWOMADelaide 2022: Balkan Ethno Orchestra, Gaby Moreno&Dhungala Baarka from 2022-03-13T11:05
Sunday 12 March: rejuvenating Eastern European folk with Balkan Ethno Orchestra, the songs of the Americas with Gaby Moreno, and the songlines belonging to the Yorta Yorta and Barkindji rivers with...
ListenWOMADelaide 2022: Chikchika, Grace Barbé, Farhan Shah&Sufi-Oz from 2022-03-12T11:05
Saturday 12 March: Ethiopian groove with Chikchika, Kreol soul with Grace Barbé & Qawwalis with Farhan Shah and Sufi-Oz.
ListenPeter Gabriel and 30 years of WOMADelaide from 2022-03-06T11:05
Sunday 6 March: Peter Gabriel on the genesis of music festival WOMAD, plus highlights from The Music Show's live broadcasts from there.
ListenChineke! and Inni-K from 2022-03-05T11:05
Saturday 5 March: Chi-Chi Nwanoku on Britain’s Chineke! Orchestra; and Inni-K’s new interpretation of the sean-nós tradition.
ListenYoko Ono's Ocean Child and Olivia Davies'In Waves from 2022-02-27T11:05
Sunday 27 February: Death Cab For Cutie's Ben Gibbard on love, frustration and the music of Yoko Ono, and WA composer Olivia Davies on pendulum waves and analogue synthesis.
ListenNigel Butterley remembered from 2022-02-26T11:05
Saturday 26 February: Vale Nigel Butterley (1935-2022)
ListenMatthew Locke’s flat consorts and Kym Pitman’s songwriting in the Australian landscape from 2022-02-20T11:05
Sunday 20 February: Fretwork’s Richard Boothby on 17th century composer Matthew Locke and Kym Pitman’s new album Stones Mumma Kissed.
ListenJaime Martin picks up the baton at the MSO and Jamie Perera sonifies the Anthropocene from 2022-02-19T11:05
Saturday 19 February: Jaime Martín on his new gig at the MSO and why his previous life as an orchestral player sets him up well, and composer Jamie Perera on how he turns reams of climate and socio...
ListenTonya Lemoh uncovers Raymond Hanson, and John Adams at 75 from 2022-02-13T11:05
A neglected Australian composer gets pianist Tonya Lemoh’s attention and we celebrate John Adams’ 75th birthday in sound and colour.
ListenChanteuse Carla Lippis, remembering George Crumb and meeting the musette from 2022-02-12T11:05
Saturday 12 February: A versatile singer on switching characters and musical styles, an unheard interview with American composer George Crumb who died this week, and Simon Rickard brings a musette ...
ListenFolk legend Norma Waterson remembered, Maria Moles’ kulintang inspired album, and the future of classical record labels from 2022-02-06T11:05
Remembering English folk singer Norma Waterson, looking to the future with Deutsche Grammophon President Clemens Trautmann, and a spacious electroacoustic album from drummer Maria Moles.
ListenForenzically analysing Split Enz, and real deal Grace Cummings from 2022-02-05T11:05
Saturday 5 February: Split Enz's back catalogue gets a makeover from Tim Finn and Eddie Rayner, and Melbourne songwriter Grace Cummings on her second album Storm Queen.
ListenPioneering women screen composers and Piazzolla's accordion from 2022-01-30T11:05
Sunday 30 January: doing the Argentinian tango with accordionist James Crabb and uncovering pioneering female screen composers with Felicity Wilcox.
ListenElvis Costello, and conducting a musical on the fly from 2022-01-29T11:05
Saturday 29 January: Elvis Costello and The Imposters' blistering new album, and answering 'the call' to conduct Girl From The North Country with a few hours' notice.
ListenJoni Mitchell's Blue at 50 and the uncategorisable Hiatus Kaiyote from 2022-01-23T11:05
Sunday 23 January: Kate Fagan listens closely to one of the best albums of 1971, and Nai Palm from Melbourne’s Hiatus Kaiyote shares the band's creative process.
ListenZiggy Ramo and Tapestry from 2022-01-22T11:05
Saturday 22 January: Ziggy Ramo's powerful reworking of Little Things and 50 years of love for Carole King's Tapestry.
ListenMama Alto and Caroline Shaw from 2022-01-16T11:05
Sunday 16 January: Jazz singer and cabaret artiste Mama Alto talks about community, connection and voice. And NYC composer Caroline Shaw on working with soprano Dawn Upshaw, pianist Gilbert Kalish ...
ListenFemi Kuti's music and message, and Martha Marlow's stunning debut from 2022-01-15T11:05
Saturday 15 January: Fela Kuti's son and grandson continue the family legacy of writing political songs you can dance to. And a singer songwriter who's inspired by Randy Newman and Emily Dickinson.
ListenQueer electropop in Auslan, and Easter Island's first concert pianist from 2022-01-08T11:05
Saturday 8 January: Perth electropop band Alter Boy blend sound, movement and activism to create music that is accessible to Deaf and hearing audiences alike. And why concert pianist Mahani Teave r...
Listenk.d. lang's makeover and Charlie Parr's sung poems from 2022-01-01T11:05
Saturday 1 January: k.d. lang looks back on her career and Charlie Parr talks about his album of poetry and Piedmont blues.
ListenSam Lee and the nightingale, Helen Svoboda's double bass from 2021-12-26T11:05
Sunday 26 December: Folk singer and environmentalist Sam Lee's musical affinity for the nightingale, and Helen Svoboda pushes the boundaries of the double bass with experimental techniques, vocals ...
ListenVíkingur Ólafsson's Mozart, 40 years of music from Central Australia from 2021-12-25T11:05
Saturday 25 December: Víkingur Ólafsson rethinks Mozart, and country star Warren H. Williams and music manager Laurie May on the importance of Aboriginal-owned label CAAMA.
ListenVisualising and teaching rhythm, and Ukraine's new musical generation from 2021-12-19T11:05
Sunday 19 December: Percussionist and educator Greg Sheehan on what numbers and symbols can teach us about rhythm. And Alina Pash is a Ukrainian musician blending traditional beats with electronic ...
ListenRita Moreno from 2021-12-18T11:05
Saturday 18 December: Rita Moreno’s big 90th birthday, and remembering Frederic Rzewski, Louis Andriessen, and Mikis Theodorakis
ListenLong lost 1960s Vietnamese rock, and music for two fortepianos from 2021-12-12T11:05
Sunday 12 December: the international treasure hunt for lost ‘60s Vietnamese rock and roll records, and are two fortepianos better than one?
ListenImprovisation, notation and stillness, and violinist Charmian Gadd at 80 from 2021-12-11T11:05
Saturday 11 December: Pat Jaffe and Callum Mintzis's A Sanctuary of Quietude explores stillness, and one of Australia's finest on a lifetime of teaching and playing violin.
ListenThe albums that shape us, and composer Georgia Scott from 2021-12-05T11:05
Sunday 5 December: A collection of essays from writers like Deborah Levy, George Saunders, Ben Okri and David Mitchell on personally significant LPs, and how composer Georgia Scott uses music to br...
ListenJeremy Sams remembers Stephen Sondheim, and Braille music with Ria Andriani from 2021-12-04T11:05
Saturday 4 December: Remembering a giant of music theatre and learning how a Braille music score works
ListenEllie Lamb and Liza Lim from 2021-11-28T11:05
Sunday 28 November: Ellie Lamb on their Melbourne International Jazz Festival commission Between Worlds, and Composer Liza Lim on writing operas
ListenThe sound of angels and the godfathers of Australian ska from 2021-11-27T11:05
Saturday 27 November: Strange Tenants' Bruce Hearn on the politics and music in the Australian ska scene, and Joseph Nolan talks choral music at St George's Cathedral ahead of carol season.
ListenJeannie Lewis and Fiona Hill from 2021-11-21T11:05
Sunday 21 November: storied Australian singer Jeannie Lewis on her life in music, and electroacoustic composer Fiona Hill on writing for dancers.
ListenTerence Blanchard and Vikki Thorn from 2021-11-20T11:05
Saturday 20 November: How Terence Blanchard's roots as a jazz trumpeter come through in his Metropolitan Opera debut Fire Shut Up In My Bones. And The Waifs' Vikki Thorn on going solo and exploring...
ListenThe composing worlds of Sia Ahmad and Joe Twist from 2021-11-14T11:05
Sunday 14 December: We hear from a composer and arranger who's hitting his stride, and a stalwart of Canberra's underground music scene.
ListenAjak Kwai on Red Sands and Dean Stevenson on a deadline from 2021-11-13T11:05
Saturday 13 November: Sudanese-Australian song woman Ajak Kwai and MONA’s composer in residence, Dean Stevenson
ListenLiyah Knight and Adelaide Chamber Singers from 2021-11-07T11:05
Sunday 7 November: Liyah Knight’s dreamy EP Travellers Guide, and the Adelaide Chamber Singers legacy and future.
ListenTex Perkins, and percussive soundscapes from Antarctica from 2021-11-06T11:05
Saturday 6 November: Australian rock legend Tex Perkins on his creativity and longevity, percussive soundscapes from the icy continent, and a postcard from a Summer of concerts in Europe.
ListenThe spooky (and ubiquitous) Dies irae, and David Lumsdaine's Australian soundscapes from 2021-10-31T11:05
Sunday 31 October: The surprising ubiquity of an ancient chant in spooky soundtracks, and a significant Australian composer has a significant birthday.
ListenBritish folk from a Yorkshire valley and Shakespeare’s Globe from 2021-10-30T11:05
Saturday 30 October: Toby Martin’s folk album I Felt the Valley Lifting and the pop music of Shakespeare’s plays
ListenBilly Bragg from 2021-10-24T11:05
Sunday 24 October: Billy Bragg returns to the show for his covid album and a collaboration with his son.
ListenCaitlin Yeo composes for television and James Mangohig throws a Pinoy street party from 2021-10-23T11:05
Saturday 23 October: Screen composer Caitlin Yeo on creating her soundtrack to SBS gold rush mystery New Gold Mountain, and James Mangohig on his ARIA-nominated debut album, the role of a producer ...
ListenThe American Musical from 2021-10-17T11:05
Sunday 17 October: the story of a uniquely American art form and where it came from.
ListenRemembering The Chieftains'Paddy Moloney, and Brian Jackson on Gil Scott-Heron and beyond from 2021-10-16T11:05
Saturday 16 October: Paddy Moloney on taking traditional Irish music to all sorts of new places, and Gil Scott-Heron's collaborator on jazz, politics and his Fender Rhodes piano.
ListenA Motown Records revue from 2021-10-10T11:05
Sunday 10 October: We celebrate the golden age of pop music recording with interviews from artists on the Motown Records label including the Temptations, the Four Tops, the Supremes, the Miracles a...
ListenGeorge Martin’s island studio&I Hold The Lion’s Paw from 2021-10-09T11:05
Saturday 9 October: Exploring George Martin’s Air Studios Montserrat with documentary makers Gracie Otto and Cody Greenwood, and retro sci fi meets experimental jazz with Reuben Lewis & I Hold the ...
ListenIndian Classical from 2021-10-03T11:05
Sunday 3 October 2021: a beginner’s guide to Indian classical music.
ListenMindy Meng Wang's guzheng, and Sufjan Stevens&Angelo De Augustine's movie music from 2021-10-02T11:05
Saturday 2 October: Mindy Meng Wang's exploratory approach to the ancient Chinese guzheng, and two film loving musicians write a suite of songs based on Hellraiser III, Bring It On Again and Silenc...
ListenSketches of Miles from 2021-09-26T11:05
Sunday 26 September 2021: A portrait of the legendary trumpeter on the 30th anniversary of his death courtesy of bandmates Herbie Hancock, Chick Corea, Wayne Shorter, Gunther Schuller and many more.
ListenVíkingur Ólafsson's Mozart, Diana McVeagh's Finzi, and Lady Blackbird from 2021-09-25T11:05
Saturday 25 September: Víkingur Ólafsson rethinks Mozart, Lady Blackbird finds her sound, & Diana McVeagh introduces us to Finzi
ListenQueer electropop in Auslan, and a new approach to the double bass from 2021-09-18T11:05
Saturday 18 September: Perth eletropop band Alter Boy blend sound, movement and activism to create music that is accessible to Deaf and hearing audiences alike. And Helen Svoboda pushes the boundar...
ListenScottish guitarist Sean Shibe and a debut album from Punjabi Australian singer Parvyn from 2021-09-12T11:05
Sunday 12 September: Sean Shibe tackles the musical borderlands of Spain and France, and Punjabi and Australian influences blend beautifully on Parvyn's debut album.
ListenMusical memorials for 9/11, Noriko Tadano from 2021-09-11T11:05
Saturday 11 September 2021: Remembering the 9/11 attacks through musical memorials; shamisen player Noriko Tadano performs live
ListenEmmylou Harris'lost concert and a Noongar language songbook from 2021-09-05T11:05
Sunday 5 September 2021: An unearthed concert of an Americana musician at the height of her powers. And 'Kalyakoorl, ngalak warangka (Forever, we sing)'—a Noongar language songbook from Gina Willia...
ListenMikis Theodorakis, Brisbane Festival,&Diane Warren from 2021-09-04T11:05
Saturday 4 September: Greek composer and politician Mikis Theodorakis remembered, Brisbane festival goes local with 190 suburban gigs, and Diane Warren on her songwriting career.
ListenGeorge Gershwin and Thomas Tallis from 2021-08-29T21:05
Sunday 29 August 2021: Two books about two very different composers—from Elizabethan England to the birth of New York City.
ListenThe story of the New Romantics from 2021-08-28T21:05
Saturday 28 August 2021: An oral history of the New Romantics, from Eurythmics to Soft Cell, Adam Ant to The Human League.
ListenSinger Jess Hitchcock, and Rob Cowan on wartime concert recordings from 2021-08-22T11:05
22 August 2021: Versatility is the key to Jess Hitchcock's success, plus the complicated legacy of one of the great twentieth century conductors.
ListenVillagers and remembering the father of soundscape from 2021-08-21T11:05
Saturday 21 August: Irish muso Conor O’Brien aka Villagers, preparing the piano for Tabula Rasa, and R Murray Schafer remembered
ListenClassical music and the Holocaust from 2021-08-15T11:05
Sunday 15 August: How does classical music reckon with the horrors of WWII and the Holocaust?
ListenShaft and the Blaxploitation soundtracks, Charlie Parr's sung poems from 2021-08-14T11:05
Saturday 14 August 2021: From Isaac Hayes to Marvin Gaye—the legacy of Blaxploitation film soundtracks, and Charlie Parr's new album of poetry and Piedmont blues.
ListenHiatus Kaiyote and Param Vir from 2021-08-08T11:05
Sunday 8 August 2021: Uncategorisable music from Melbourne’s Hiatus Kaiyote and British composer Param Vir
ListenVika&Linda&The Who from 2021-08-07T11:05
Saturday 7 August: Vika & Linda's new album The Wait - after 19 years of waiting - plus The Who's Who's Next and Victorian Opera's Tommy
ListenAlice Skye and Moya Henderson from 2021-07-31T11:05
Saturday 31 July: Strength in vulnerability with a Wergaia and Wemba Wemba singer songwriter. And a versatile Australian composer at 80.
ListenMama Alto and Public Practise from 2021-07-25T11:05
Sunday 25 July 2021: Two sets of Melbourne artists tell Andrew about finding community and connection in music during lockdown
ListenNew traditions—Northern Irish trio TRÚ and Buryat singer Namgar from 2021-07-24T11:05
Saturday 24 July 2021: Traditional songs brought into the 21st Century by Northern Ireland's TRÚ and Buryat band Namgar.
ListenElectronic Yiddish cabaret, the Supremes'Mary Wilson from 2021-07-18T11:05
Sunday 18 July 2021: Yiddish poetry given an electronic soundtrack and the late Mary Wilson on being a Supreme.
ListenJoseph Tawadros and Marcus Corowa from 2021-07-17T11:05
Saturday 17 July: Hope in an Empty City - a new album from Joseph Tawadros, and First Nations opera singer Marcus Corowa on singing for his community
ListenLouis Andriessen remembered, and Katia Beaugeais’ saxophone from 2021-07-11T11:05
Sunday 11 July 2021: Composer Louis Andriessen remembered by Lyndon Terracini and Damien Ricketson, plus Katia Beaugeais on composing for sax.
ListenUB40's Robin Campbell&Gamilaraay songwriter Loren Ryan from 2021-07-10T11:05
Saturday 10 July 2021: Reggae superstars UB40 keep it fresh after four decades, an emerging songwriter on how music can heal Country, and 50 years since the world lost Louis "Satchmo" Armstrong.
ListenSea shanties and whalesong—the music of the ocean from 2021-07-04T11:05
Sunday 4 July: Uncle Bunna Lawrie shows us the coastline and whales of Mirning Country, we hear the sea shanties of the 19th Century and find out why they are still sung in pubs today.
ListenBartók, Rzewski&Akala Newman from 2021-07-03T11:05
Saturday 3 July: Remembering Frederic Rzewski and Louis Andriessen, Richard Piper on Bartók, and Wiradjuri and Gadigal singer Akala Newman
ListenArranger and conductor Nelson Riddle and slide guitarist Ellen McIlwaine from 2021-06-27T11:05
Sunday 27 June: How Nelson Riddle transformed the sound of Nat King Cole, Frank Sinatra and Ella Fitzgerald. And remembering the pioneering slide guitarist and blues singer Ellen McIlwaine (1945 - ...
ListenJoan Armatrading&Bizet’s Carmen Uncovered from 2021-06-26T11:05
Saturday 26 June: Joan Armatrading’s one woman band and one of the world’s most famous operas revealed.
ListenJoni Mitchell's Blue at 50, and songs for asylum seekers from 2021-06-20T11:05
Sunday 20 June: Kate Fagan listens closely to one of the best albums of 1971, and the Scattered People band who performed for asylum seekers in detention.
ListenSongs for Protesters and Songs for Hermits from 2021-06-19T11:05
Saturday 19 June: The Art of Protest charts the history of the protest song and composer Samuel Barber’s musical life beyond his Adagio
ListenASO highlights women's voices, and the power of a song with Buffy Sainte-Marie from 2021-06-13T11:05
Sunday 13 June: Celebrating women composers across centuries, and the veteran singer songwriter on her protest hit 'The Universal Soldier'.
ListenZiggy Ramo and Alexander Gavrylyuk from 2021-06-12T11:05
Saturday 12 June: Ziggy Ramo's powerful reworking of Little Things and pianist Alexander Gavrylyuk
ListenWASO goes Rusty, and Joan Baez revisited from 2021-06-06T11:05
Sunday 6 June 2021: Joan Baez revisited, and the West Australian Symphony Orchestra's professionals side-by-side with amateur players.
ListenMandolinist Chris Thile goes solo, and the Black Summer rock opera from 2021-06-05T11:05
Saturday 5 June 2021: Mandolin virtuoso Chris Thile on his new album Laysongs, ABC Illawarra's Nick Rheinberger responds to bushfires through music.
Listen40 years of music from Central Australia, and a Requiem for the Vietnam War from 2021-05-30T11:05
Sunday 30 May: country star Warren H. Williams and music manager Laurie May on the importance of Aboriginal-owned label CAAMA. Plus Chris Latham's most ambitious work to date, with a focus on the p...
Listenk.d. lang's makeover and Jack Buckskin's orchestral Acknowledgement of Country from 2021-05-29T11:05
Saturday 29 May 2021: k.d. lang looks back on her career and Jack Buckskin talks about Adelaide Symphony Orchestra's new Acknowledgement of Country
ListenSir John Eliot Gardiner, and Marvin Gaye's masterpiece at 50 from 2021-05-23T11:05
Sunday 23 May: Marvin Gaye's seminal 1971 album What's Going On turns fifty, and Sir John Eliot Gardiner's life in music, from Bach to Weill.
ListenAn Irish-Scandinavian folk collaboration, and the forgotten songs of Samuel Coleridge-Taylor from 2021-05-22T11:05
Saturday 22 May: Runa Cara's multi-instrumental folk fusion, and Elizabeth Llewellyn sings the forgotten songs of Samuel Coleridge-Taylor
ListenThe Nightingale and the Night Parrot from 2021-05-16T11:05
Sunday 16 May: Folk singer and environmentalist Sam Lee's musical affinity for the nightingale; composer Jessica Wells' song cycle The Night Parrot and a new work inspired by MC Hammer and the Noki...
ListenMartha Marlow's stunning debut, and Alison Lester's musical road trip from 2021-05-15T11:05
Saturday 15 May: A singer songwriter who's inspired by Randy Newman and Emily Dickinson. And music for Alison Lester's beloved children's book Are We There Yet?
ListenStriking a pose: the musical world of the New Romantics from 2021-05-09T11:05
Sunday 9 May: An oral history of the New Romantics, from Eurythmics to Soft Cell, Adam Ant to The Human League. And a final word from producer Penny Lomax who's finishing up a 30 year career with T...
ListenTectonic forces in new music, and Paavali Jumppanen takes the reins at ANAM from 2021-05-08T11:05
Saturday 8 May: Konstantin Koukias's fossilised soundscape Primordial is premiered in remote South Australia, and Paavali Jumppanen looks back at his music education as he takes over the Australian...
ListenLiz Stringer's fearless new album, and a festival of bells in Bathurst from 2021-05-02T11:05
Sunday 2 May: The long road to Liz Stringer's sixth album of personal, profound songwriting. And we meet one of Australia's 19 carillonists ahead of a bell ringing festival in Bathurst.
ListenMusic for Gandhi, and the Schumann's women from 2021-05-01T11:05
Saturday 1st May: Australian jazz supremo Sandy Evans has taken Gandhi's words as her latest musical inspiration and Robert and Clara Schumann's take on 19th women courtesy of Carolyn Sampson
ListenWilliam Barton and Hilary Geddes from 2021-04-25T11:05
Sunday 25th April: Didg and guitar virtuosos back at work.
ListenJazz vocalist Gretchen Parlato, and'shoegazing'with My Bloody Valentine's Kevin Shields from 2021-04-24T11:05
Saturday 24 April: Gretchen Parlato's new album Flor takes us from Bach to Bowie to bossa nova, and Irish guitarist Kevin Shields on how 'shoegazing' fits between grunge and Britpop.
ListenPercy Grainger's Free Music experiments, and the voice of a countertenor from 2021-04-18T11:05
Sunday 18 April: How Percy Grainger's chance meeting with physicist Burnett Cross changed him and his Free Music experiments. And countertenor Russell Harcourt on that magnificent voice.
ListenDame Ethel Smyth and A Moving Sound from 2021-04-17T11:05
Saturday 17 April: composer, conductor, suffragette; all in a Dame's work. And East meets East in today's Taiwanese music.
ListenIgor Stravinsky from 2021-04-11T11:05
Sunday 11 April: The 20th century's most famous composer
ListenRhiannon Giddens contemplates home and a jazz suite inspired by a family's escape from 2021-04-10T11:05
Multi-instrumentalist Rhiannon Giddens has sought comfort from traditional songs during the pandemic, and they form her new album with Francesco Turrisi. And how Matt Keegan's great grandfather's j...
ListenMusical mavericks Laurie Anderson and Ross Bolleter from 2021-04-04T11:05
Sunday 4th April: From The Music Show's 30th anniversary collection, Laurie Anderson's enduring appeal and Ross Bolleter's love affair with ruined pianos
ListenTom Lehrer and The Topp Twins from 2021-04-03T11:05
Saturday 3 April: Two gems from archives— satirist Tom Lehrer on why you can't be bitter and funny at the same time, and two of New Zealand's greatest yodelling singer songwriters.
ListenThe Glory of Gershwin, Valerie June's joyful voice from 2021-03-28T11:05
Sunday 28 March: George Gershwin's brief but bountiful life, and Valerie June's merging of folk, blues and pop
ListenReal deal Russell Morris, and electronic music's unsung women from 2021-03-27T11:05
Saturday 27 March: The Real Thing rocker is back on the road (and in the studio) and reflects on five decades in the biz, plus the women who pushed the boundaries of electronic music using theremin...
ListenJimmy Webb's confessions and Chris Williams orchestral manoeuvres from 2021-03-21T11:05
Sunday March 21. Confessions of a legendary songwriter and Chris Williams song for new worlds
ListenConducting through the silence, and how global are the Grammys? from 2021-03-20T11:05
Saturday 20 March: Conductor Jessica Cottis on the deafening silence of COVID-19 in the UK, and the return of music in Australia. Plus a fresh take on the Grammy Awards from an expert in reggae.
ListenThomas Tallis the survivor, and improviser Tom Donald from 2021-03-14T11:05
Sunday 14 March: Being a composer in Elizabethan England could have you burnt at the stake, but Thomas Tallis deftly avoided that. And Tom Donald on the dark art of improvising.
ListenEaster Island's first concert pianist and music school, and a new Australian Requiem from 2021-03-13T11:05
Saturday 13 March: Why concert pianist Mahani Teave returned to Rapa Nui to open a music school. And Paul Stanhope composes one of the biggest things you can: a Requiem.
ListenSarah McLeod out front, and vale Michael Gudinski from 2021-03-07T11:05
Sunday 7 March: The Superjesus vocalist shifts from fronting a rock band to sitting in front of a piano. And the life and gambles of the titan of Australian music.
ListenIgor Levit, and Ieramagadu songs from 2021-03-06T11:05
Saturday 6 March: The Life of Igor Levit and Ieramagadu/Roebourne Songs for Freedom
ListenJulien Baker's unflinching songwriting, and Kim Williams'festival within a festival from 2021-02-28T11:05
Two guests return to their roots: a Memphis songwriter gets heavier on album number three, and a media executive programs Australian chamber music.
ListenMidnight Oil with First Nations collaborators, and the Heifetz of the organ from 2021-02-27T11:05
Peter Garrett passes the mic to First Nations musicians on latest Midnight Oil project. And Dame Gillian Weir at 80 on her remarkable career at the organ.
ListenFemi Kuti: the music is the message, and the many voices of Linda Ronstadt from 2021-02-21T11:05
Sunday 21 February: Fela Kuti's son and grandson continue the family legacy of writing political songs you can dance to. And Linda Ronstadt on her many musical styles and collaborators (including D...
ListenTapestry and Zappa from 2021-02-20T11:05
Saturday 20 February. 50 years of love for Carole King's Tapestry, and myth-busting the Frank Zappa story.
ListenThe Music Show and three decades of change from 2021-02-14T11:05
Sunday 14 February: The afterparty to the The Music Show's 30th birthday— we reflect on the big changes in music and culture over the past three decades with Robyn Archer, Richard Tognetti, Felix C...
Listen30 years of The Music Show from 2021-02-13T11:05
Saturday 13th February. Yoiks and yodels, plainchant, punk, serialism and salsa; if it's music, we've got it covered for The Music Show's 30th birthday bash.
ListenComposing for strings: The National's Bryce Dessner and reeds player Paul Cutlan from 2021-02-07T11:05
Sunday 7 February: Bryce Dessner on scoring for dance and film, and being a performer-composer. And reeds player Paul Cutlan's string work that reflects on war.
ListenAdès&Reich, modern music half a century apart from 2021-02-06T11:05
Saturday 6th February. Thomas Adès's Shanty and Steve Reich's Drumming, half a century apart.
ListenWagner as poster boy, the Irish harp then and now from 2021-01-31T11:05
Sunday 31 January. The cultural reach of Wagner or Wagnerism as a new book titles it, and the Irish harp then and now.
ListenCaroline Shaw's new song cycle and the recorded legacy of Nadia Boulanger from 2021-01-30T11:05
Saturday 30 January: NYC composer Caroline Shaw's Narrow Sea features soprano Dawn Upshaw, pianist Gilbert Kalish and S? Percussion. And an exploration of Nadia Boulanger's musical legacy as a teac...
ListenBrad Mehldau: a day in the life, Alma Mahler's life, loves and lieder from 2021-01-24T11:05
Sunday 24 January: the polymath improvisor who moves easily into the classical realm, and Alma Mahler's life, loves and lieder
ListenIrish multi-instrumentalist Susan O’Neill, and songs from islands across the Indo-Pacific from 2021-01-23T11:05
Saturday 23 January: A songwriter, multi-instrumentalist and singer with “pipes that would give Janis Joplin a run for her money”. Plus, we explore the music and shared heritage of islands from Mad...
ListenSongs from behind bars and Judy Collins'Amazing Grace from 2021-01-16T11:05
Saturday 16 January: A touching album of songs written and recorded in prisons across NSW. And Judy Collins' extraordinary voice and life, and her enduring connection to the song Amazing Grace.
ListenHitmaker and 10cc member Graham Gouldman and singing in Yugambeh language from 2021-01-09T11:05
‘I’m not in love, so don’t forget it . . .’ and other earworms from Graham Gouldman. And how Candace Kruger's Yugambeh Youth Choir is making waves on the Gold Coast.
ListenBettye LaVette and the history of electronica in India from 2021-01-02T11:05
How does the 'singer's singer' approach a cover of Bob Dylan or Billie Holiday? "They're just songs, now" she says. And the story of how a chance finding of tapes at a design school in Ahmedabad, I...
ListenMighty Mavis Staples and Radiohead's Ed O'Brien from 2020-12-27T11:05
Mavis Staples continues to release acclaimed albums of protest soul music in her 80s, and a guitarist in one of the world's biggest bands puts out a solo record.
ListenThe Fab One Two Three Four and Grace under fire and pandemic from 2020-12-26T11:05
Craig Brown's fresh and thorough look at the Beatles and the incidental characters that make up their story. And three's not a crowd on the album Seasons by Candelo based trio The New Graces.
ListenBeethoven at 250 — the late works from 2020-12-20T11:05
Following his early and "heroic" periods we delve into the late works of one of the greatest and most influential composers, Ludwig van Beethoven, born 250 years ago this month.
ListenVivaldi meets climate change and Fanny Lumsden's year of fire, Fallow and fortune from 2020-12-19T11:05
Vivaldi's Four Seasons gets a 21st century make-over using the latest climate change data and how a new set of songs survived COVID to give back to another crisis; last summer's bushfires.
ListenBeethoven at 250 - the middle years from 2020-12-13T11:05
Part two of our Beethoven exploration: 'this time it's heroic!'
ListenThe power of 1:1 Concerts, and teaching tomorrow's performers from 2020-12-12T11:05
Inspired by performance artist Marina Abramovi?, 1:1 Concerts are a unique listening and performing experience. But are we moving away from the 1:1 model for teaching music performance at university?
ListenPiano legend Ruth Slenczynska from 2020-12-05T11:05
The wunderkind pianist who became one of the great interpreters of the Romantic repertoire, and still performing at 95.
ListenBeethoven's Beginnings&the infinite variety of Australian composers from 2020-11-29T11:05
Jeremy Yudkin on Beethoven's beginnings and three different Australian composer voices
ListenFrom MP3 to vinyl — listening to music in the 21st century, plus Archie Roach's ARIA gongs from 2020-11-28T11:05
We're spoilt for choice with ways to listen to music these days — CD, MP3, streaming, Bandcamp, vinyl, and even cassette tape. So which formats are here to stay? Plus, we celebrate Archie Roach's A...
ListenFrom Melba to Sutherland and Grainger in between from 2020-11-22T11:05
For Ausmusic month, a century of Australian music history from Dame Nellie to Dame Joan, and a walk through Percy Grainger's Hoard House.
ListenTim Minchin and Miriam Hyde from 2020-11-21T11:05
For Ausmusic Month: two very different pianists and musical minds.
ListenBill Henson and Katie Noonan from 2020-11-15T11:05
For Ausmusic month Katie Noonan's song-cycle for our first female convicts and Bill Henson on music and photography.
ListenKev Carmody and Brian Cadd from 2020-11-14T11:05
Interviews from the archive with two veteran Australian songwriters: Kev Carmody and Brian Cadd.
ListenAnne Boyd and Dick Hughes from 2020-11-08T11:05
For Ausmusic Month, composer Anne Boyd and jazzman Dick Hughes.
ListenEmma Donovan and Chrissy Amphlett from 2020-11-07T11:05
Two mighty singers to kick off Ausmusic Month: Emma Donovan on her brand new album Crossover and Divinyls' frontwoman Chrissy Amphlett from the archives.
ListenThe Virus and the Damage Done&Remembering Spencer Davis from 2020-11-01T11:05
Caroline Sharpen, Matthew Hindson and Alex Masso on the virus and the damage done to music. And we remember Brit bluesman Spencer Davis
ListenJoachim Cooder, and Tanya Sparke on why we sing from 2020-10-31T11:05
The devastating impact of COVID-19 on choirs makes it as important as ever to sing again. And Joachim Cooder's mbira tribute to Uncle Dave Macon.
ListenThe troubled life behind John Martyn's sweet voice, and women in Australian jazz from 2020-10-25T11:05
A new biography sheds light on the difficult life of 70s songwriter and friend of Nick Drake. And the Sydney International Women's Jazz Festival is right around the corner.
ListenMusic for Grand Final weekend and guitar shapeshifter Kaki King from 2020-10-24T11:05
Conductor Ben Northey on AFL team songs and the guitarist Rolling Stone calls a "genre unto herself"
ListenThe National frontman goes solo, and Leah Flanagan's songwriting palette from 2020-10-18T11:05
Matt Berninger releases Serpentine Prison and tells us why The National have lasted so long. And a suite of personal songs from a Top End singer.
ListenElvis Costello and Mohammad-Reza Shajarian from 2020-10-17T11:05
Elvis Costello's latest via Helsinki, Paris and New York is called 'Hey Clockface'. And remembering the late Mohammad-Reza Shajarian, who some people think is the most important Iranian singer of ...
ListenRobert Wyatt and Eddie Van Halen from 2020-10-11T11:05
The craft of rockers Eddie Van Halen and Robert Wyatt, involving innovative use of their hands.
ListenA Mass for our environmental crisis, and Margret RoadKnight remembers Helen Reddy from 2020-10-10T11:05
At the fore of 21st Century contemporary classical music is label boss and composer Sarah Kirkland Snider. And we revisit the soundtrack to feminism's 'second wave' courtesy of two Australian greats.
ListenBeethoven's late music from 2020-10-04T11:05
Following his early and "heroic" periods we delve into the late works of one of the greatest and most influential composers, Ludwig van Beethoven, born 250 years ago.
ListenRavi Shankar: sitar superstar and enigma from 2020-10-03T11:05
How Ravi Shankar brought Hindustani classical music and culture to the West, but also to India itself. And his legacy lives on in daughter Anoushka Shankar, a very fine sitar player and composer in...
ListenJanis Joplin&Pat Metheny from 2020-09-27T11:05
Myth busting Janis Joplin on the 50th anniversary of her death and jazz great Pat Metheny's musical culmination.
ListenSuzanne Vega's love letter to NYC, and a Western Sydney wordsmith from 2020-09-26T11:05
An intimate concert album from the 'Luka' songwriter, and poetry and music that captures the experience of growing up Egyptian-Australian.
ListenLuka Bloom's view from Ireland, and 50 years without Jimi Hendrix from 2020-09-20T11:05
The County Clare songwriter's take on everyday things, and we mark Jimi Hendrix's death on September 18th 1970.
ListenThe Apartments and Emma Swift from 2020-09-19T11:05
Peter Milton Walsh's new album of "chapters" with The Apartments, and Swift does Dylan
ListenBird Lives! at 100, and the sounds of mountain memories from 2020-09-13T11:05
It's been 100 years since the birth of Charlie Parker and his figure still looms large. Plus, Soundwalk Collective bring René Daumal's cult novel Mount Analogue alive with the help of Patti Smith, ...
ListenProms, politics and prizes from 2020-09-12T11:05
The Proms and the US elections have put music at the barricades. And percussion gets a drum roll at the Art Music Awards.
ListenComposing with DNA in'Blak Mass', and modernism in Australian music from 2020-09-06T11:05
A haunting sound work for organ written using DNA code. And how composers such as Sculthorpe, Meale and Butterley brought an Australian accent to cosmopolitan modernism.
ListenBrìghde Chaimbeul's Scottish small pipes and the late philosopher and musician Roger Scruton from 2020-09-05T11:05
Brìghde Chaimbeul is the 21-year old musician from Skye who’s changing the audience and sound of bagpipe music. Her debut album The Reeling was recorded live in an old church and features arrangeme...
ListenMusic for a Nobel Prize winner, and WAAPA students making waves from 2020-08-30T11:05
A song for Kenya's Nobel Laureate environmentalist and WAAPA's Brave the Wave
ListenWashington embraces fun and fear, and a world tour from an Adelaide studio from 2020-08-29T11:05
Megan Washington on making new album Batflowers. And how folk musician Kaurna Cronin is on tour in a time of COVID-19.
ListenMusical dynasties, and the late Julian Bream from 2020-08-23T11:05
Loretta Barnard's new book on Australian musical families, and one guitar legend remembers another; John Williams on Julian Bream.
ListenSupreme song interpreter Bettye LaVette, and why Briggs puts music before message from 2020-08-22T11:05
How does the 'singer's singer' approach a cover of Bob Dylan or Billie Holiday? "They're just songs, now" she says. And we hear why melody and comedy are central to rapper Briggs' projects.
ListenRodgers and Hammerstein's WWII trilogy from 2020-08-16T11:05
Oklahoma! Carousel and South Pacific, ground breaking musicals
ListenThe Go-Go's — from punk to pop, and American old-time music meets Chinese folksong from 2020-08-15T11:05
Film director Alison Ellwood on music in LA: the punk scene that birthed the Go-Go's, and Laurel Canyon in the 60s and 70s. And Wu Fei and Abigail Washburn's collaboration takes us from hills of Ap...
ListenMusic in Rolf de Heer's films, and pianist Leon Fleisher (1928 - 2020) from 2020-08-09T11:05
Director Rolf de Heer on working with Miles Davis the actor and the importance of music in his films. And Sonya Lifschitz remembers her teacher and friend, the American pianist Leon Fleisher.
ListenGillian Welch and DF2020 Homegrown from 2020-08-08T11:05
Old songs made new and top end music for a real festival.
ListenListening to nature in a quieter world, and Heath Cullen's integrity and independence from 2020-08-02T11:05
Leah Barclay's microphones have been in jungles, river mud and oceans and it's more important than ever to listen to them. Plus, singer songwriter Heath Cullen's shift to a fair trade music model.
ListenThe sound of Joan of Arc, and music on the digital life raft from 2020-08-01T11:05
Julia Holter's Mediaeval world and bassist Kirsty McCahon's curatorial flair.
ListenLullabies meet jazz, and Brett Dean's 21st Century dialogue with Beethoven from 2020-07-26T11:05
Mindful, minimal piano music for our times. And a contemporary composer's relationship to Ludwig van B.
ListenThe mighty Maton, and music inspired poetry from 2020-07-25T11:05
The Maton guitar: an Australian invention up there with the Hills Hoist, Black Box and the wine bladder. And Martin Langford's poems in praise of music.
ListenSongs from behind bars, and a masterclass on the Iranian tar from 2020-07-19T11:05
A touching album of songs written and recorded from prisons across NSW. And an instrument that sounds like a banjo and is a staple of Persian classical music — the tar.
ListenThe ?ông S?n drum and Shirley Collins - continuing the tradition from 2020-07-18T11:05
Resounding the ancient preserved ?ông S?n drum and the comeback of 85 year old English folk singer Shirly Collins. And Brian Ritchie's Shout Out ...
The ?ông S?n drum and Shirley Collins - continuing the tradition from 2020-07-18T11:05
Resounding the ancient preserved ?ông S?n drum and the comeback of 85 year old English folk singer Shirly Collins. And Brian Ritchie's Shout Out to Kakadu's Black Rock Band
ListenThe double life of Ennio Morricone (1928-2020) from 2020-07-12T11:05
An audio retrospective on the legendary Italian's work as film composer, trumpeter, avant-garde performer and writer of a papal mass.
ListenRumours and rock'n roll with Margo Price, and the music of emotion and cognition from 2020-07-11T11:05
The 'country darling' channels her frustration into a blistering rock 'n roll album. Plus, how and why we use music and does it has any useful psychological purpose?
ListenPaul Cassidy gets Beethoven from 2020-07-05T11:05
The Brodsky Quartet violist's memoir is a dark but humorous ride from The Troubles of Northern Ireland to finding music.
ListenBrad Mehldau: a day in the life, and vaudeville and vocalese with Annie Ross from 2020-07-04T11:05
Two jazz greats: the polymath improvisor who moves easily into the classical realm, and a vocalese pioneer.
ListenThe Fab One Two Three Four, and big songs from small islands across the Indo-Pacific from 2020-06-28T11:05
Craig Brown's fresh and thorough look at the Beatles and the incidental characters that make up their story. Plus, we explore the music and shared heritage of islands from Madagascar to Rapa Nui (E...
ListenDylan's late works and Grace under fire and pandemic from 2020-06-27T11:05
Dylan's new album Rough and Rowdy Ways is a roll call of people who've shaped his world from musicians to presidents. Three's not a crowd on the new album Seasons by Candelo based trio The New Gra...
ListenPeter Porter — a poet who loved music from 2020-06-21T11:05
An Australian poet with an encyclopaedic knowledge of literature but considered music to be 'beyond meaning... offering an alternative universe'.
ListenBowie's books and Anna Goldsworthy's musical moments from 2020-06-20T11:05
The hundred literary heroes who changed David Bowie's life and pianist Anna Goldsworthy's first novel.
ListenIrving Berlin, a New York genius from Siberia from 2020-06-14T11:05
Irving Berlin’s sheer knack for creating catchy tunes helped the Jewish immigrant from Siberia become synonymous with American song.
ListenJudy Collins'Amazing Grace, and discovering lost tapes of 70s Indian electronica from 2020-06-13T11:05
Judy Collins' extraordinary voice and life, and her enduring connection to the song Amazing Grace. And how a chance finding of tapes at a design school in Ahmedabad changed what we know about the h...
ListenBeethoven and Napoleon, and Katie Noonan's soundtrack to the 80's. from 2020-06-07T11:05
Beethoven, Napoleon and Revolution with Cambridge University historian Christopher Clark, and Katie Noonan's guilty pleasures; 1980's pop.
ListenSarah Jarosz talks hometowns, songwriting and supergroup I'm With Her, plus an improvised duo blending synth and voice from 2020-06-06T11:05
Three-time Grammy award winner Sarah Jarosz on collaborating, mandolins and her tiny hometown in Texas. And the experimental, improvised performances of Sonya Holowell and Ben Carey.
ListenMusic in the time of plague and First Nations composer Brenda Gifford from 2020-05-31T11:05
Music in times of epidemic uncertainty and how a First Nations classical composer keeps 'country' in her music.
ListenKamasi Washington scores the Michelle Obama doco, and singing the Yugambeh language alive from 2020-05-30T11:05
The American tenor saxophonist on the state of jazz and the task of setting music to Michelle Obama's story. And how Candace Kruger's Yugambeh Youth Choir is making waves on the Gold Coast.
ListenComposing under Covid, and Moonlighting with Beethoven from 2020-05-24T11:05
Under the cover of the Covid-19 pandemic composers are making music directly related to the effects of the virus. Beethoven's Moonlight Sonata is a candidate for the most famous piece of classical ...
ListenDonny Benét — bass, synths and secrets, and music inspired by La Pérouse's voyage from 2020-05-23T11:05
The birth of 80s disco pop enigma Donny Benét, and Chris Cody's musical suite Astrolabe inspired by the sea voyage of La Pérouse.
ListenMusic and art with brothers Reg Mombassa and Peter O'Doherty, and electro innovators Kraftwerk from 2020-05-17T11:05
From Mental As Anything to Dog Trumpet to visual art — the endless creativity of the O'Doherty brothers. And a 'deep dive' into the sounds and story of German band Kraftwerk, with Australian dance ...
ListenLucinda Williams'doom and defiance and death of a showman; Little Richard from 2020-05-16T11:05
Brian Ritchie takes us through the rich and varied musical life of the late great Little Richard. Lucinda Williams sings of despair and hope on her new album Good Souls Better Angels.
ListenAfrobeat drummer Tony Allen remembered and Alma Mahler's life, loves and lieder from 2020-05-10T11:05
Brian Eno called Tony Allen one the greatest drummers who ever lived; Flea and Damon Albarn are adoring collaborators but probably Tony Allen's most famous musical period was putting the polyrhythm...
ListenLaura Marling's surprise new album, and piano prodigy Wilhelm Backhaus from 2020-05-09T11:05
The indie folk singer songwriter's seventh album, and the life and times of a prodigious German pianist.
ListenBeethoven at 250 — the middle period from 2020-05-03T11:05
Part two of our Beethoven exploration: 'this time it's heroic!'
ListenRockabilly powerhouse Tami Neilson + The Go-Betweens from 2020-05-02T11:05
As the coronavirus lockdown continues to wreak havoc around the world, we’ll hear the personal story of one musician whose plans and livelihood collapsed in a matter of hours. And how she’s respond...
ListenLakecia Benjamin plays the Coltranes, and remembering cool Lee Konitz from 2020-04-26T11:05
Two alto saxophonists: a rising star of jazz celebrates the legacy of John and Alice Coltrane, and an interview with the late, great Lee Konitz from our archives.
ListenAnzac voices in song, and breaking operatic glass from 2020-04-25T11:05
Chloe and Jason Roweth reveal songs and poems from the trenches and the home front written during the First World War. And composer Bree Van Reyk discusses her new opera “The Invisible Bird' and it...
ListenThe Beatles — the early years from 2020-04-19T11:05
It's been 50 years since the Beatles broke up, so let's go back to where it all began.
ListenRadiohead's Ed O'Brien, and Yola's powerful voice and debut album from 2020-04-18T11:05
A guitarist in one of the world's biggest bands puts out a solo record. And Yola's musical journey from Bristol's electronica scene to Nashville and the Grammys.
ListenVale John Prine, and the music of Orthodox Easter from 2020-04-12T11:05
We celebrate Easter Sunday by exploring the music and spirituality of Eastern Orthodox Christianity, focussing on the great chant traditions of the Greek and Russian churches, with composer and Ort...
ListenBill Withers'extraordinary, ordinary life, and Angélique Kidjo with an orchestra from 2020-04-11T11:05
Remembering the late folk and soul singer Bill Withers, an archival interview with Benin singer and activist Angélique Kidjo, and two new Shout Outs from Brett Dean and Paul Grabowsky.
ListenFiona Ross — tradition bearer of Scots song, and remembering Polish composer Krzysztof Penderecki from 2020-04-05T11:05
Fiona Ross on traditional Scots song, from murder ballads and rebel codes, to immortal songs by Scotland’s National Bard, Robert Burns. And the legacy of Poland's acclaimed composer Krzysztof Pende...
ListenNina Simone through the eyes of her daughter, and Tim Minchin on Roald Dahl's Matilda from 2020-04-04T11:05
Nina Simone never wanted her daughter Lisa to become a singer, but she ended up on the stage anyway. Tim Minchin explains how he adapted Matilda into a stage musical.
ListenThe keyboards that changed rock music, and Mississippi bluesman Cedric Burnside from 2020-03-29T11:05
The keyboards behind classic rock acts like The Who, The Doors and Emerson, Lake & Palmer. And the man who carries the torch of Hill Country Blues to modern audiences.
ListenAustralian music in crisis, and Patti Smith on friendship and influences from 2020-03-28T11:05
Two music industry specialists weigh in on the impacts of COVID-19. And a chat with Patti Smith about her friendships with Allen Ginsberg, Robert Mapplethorpe and guitarist Lenny Kaye.
ListenThe music and legacy of jazz icon Don Burrows from 2020-03-22T11:05
Celebrating the life in music of one of Australia’s greatest jazz musicians, Don Burrows.
ListenVanessa Perica — a new voice in big band jazz, and the prolific composer and pianist Yitzhak Yedid from 2020-03-21T11:05
Vanessa Perica - composer, arranger, conductor and a new voice in big band jazz. And pianist and composer Yitzhak Yedid unites ancient Jewish musical sources with contemporary Western art music.
ListenCanadian folk pioneers The East Pointers, and remembering legendary jazz pianist McCoy Tyner from 2020-03-15T11:05
The energetic folk trio from Prince Edward Island. And remembering the late, great jazz pianist who played with John Coltrane.
ListenIrish singer and multi-instrumentalist Susan O’Neill (SON), and rising star conductor Sam Allchurch from 2020-03-14T11:05
A songwriter, multi-instrumentalist and singer described as having “pipes that would give Janis Joplin a run for her money”. Plus, one of Australia's most exciting new choral conductors — Sam Allch...
ListenWOMADelaide on Sunday — Rhiannon Giddens&Francesco Turrisi, PNG rapper Sprigga Mek and the Blind Boys of Alabama from 2020-03-08T11:05
Two multi-instrumentalists blending American and Italian traditions, using hip hop as a tool for change in Papua New Guinea and the legendary gospel group The Blind Boys of Alabama. Recorded live...
ListenWOMADelaide on Saturday — Indian violinist L Subramaniam, Korean percussionist Kim So Ra and Finnish vocal group Tuuletar from 2020-03-07T11:05
Finland's premier 'folk hop' vocal group, maestro violinist L Subramaniam and traditional Korean instruments the janggu, jing and gayageum. Recorded live on stage at WOMADelaide 2020, under the fig...
ListenEleanor McEvoy sings the words of Irish poet Thomas Moore, and master of hokum C.W. Stoneking from 2020-03-01T11:05
Eleanor McEvoy, one of the finest voices (and songwriters) in Ireland today, turns her attention to the words and music of Thomas Moore (the colourful 18/19th Century Irish poet). And C.W. Stoneki...
ListenFolk legend John McCutcheon, and Sufi singer Abida Parveen from 2020-02-29T11:05
A much loved folk musician pays tribute to Woody Guthrie and Pete Seeger. And Abida Parveen, one of the foremost exponents of Sufi devotional music from Pakistan.
ListenBeethoven at 250 — the early works from 2020-02-23T11:05
To mark the 250th anniversary of his birth, we explore the music and the meaning of Ludwig van Beethoven.
ListenHit songwriter and 10cc founding member Graham Gouldman, and Pat Metheny's approach to jazz from 2020-02-22T11:05
‘I’m not in love, so don’t forget it . . .’ and other earworms from Graham Gouldman. And the 'jazz fusion' guitarist on his expansive career.
ListenA beatboxing master class from South London, and Nick Lowe still going strong from 2020-02-16T11:05
Beatboxing as a form of theatre, and (at 24 mins in) the musician's musician on songwriting (including penning a song for Johnny Cash).
ListenMighty Mavis Staples, Strauss'shocking opera Salome and remembering Joseph Shabalala (Ladysmith Black Mambazo) from 2020-02-15T11:05
Mavis Staples continues to release acclaimed solo albums of protest soul music in her 80s, the enduring appeal of Strauss' bloody opera Salome, and remembering the man who brought a traditional Zul...
Listen100 eerie years of the Theremin, and the ins and outs of the concertina from 2020-02-09T11:05
It's a sound heard on countless sci-fi soundtracks; and the distinctive wail loved by rock bands and avant garde composers — we celebrate 100 years of the Theremin. And Irish concertina player Corm...
ListenCabaret and crowdfunding with Amanda Palmer, and jazz greats Wilson, Nock, Zwartz and Stuart from 2020-02-08T11:05
Pianist, singer, songwriter, performance artist, speaker and author — Amanda Palmer does it all. And the Australian jazz 'supergroup' perform from their album This World.
ListenThe curly history of the tuba, and an Indigenous choir meets beats in Spinifex Gum from 2020-02-02T11:05
From Vaughan Williams to Lennon-McCartney, many composers have written for the humble tuba. We explore how the instrument developed its shape, sound and musical identity. Plus, a teenage choir, ele...
ListenSounds of the Royal Australian Navy and Fred Smith's music after Afghanistan from 2020-02-01T11:05
What is the role of music in the Royal Australian Navy? And where does Morse code come in to it? Lieutenant Commander Cassandra Mohapp is the Navy’s newly appointed Director of Music and she's i...
ListenKim Salmon's claim on grunge and 200 years of shape note singing from 2020-01-26T11:05
How Kim Salmon's band the Scientists beat Nirvana to the sound of Grunge and the ancient art of Sacred Harp singing.
ListenScottish tradition bearers Breabach, and Gurrumul's Djarimirri (Child of the Rainbow) and bu?gul from 2020-01-25T11:05
Five-piece band Breabach share their rich musical heritage with an increasingly younger generation. And the making of Gurrumul’s award-winning posthumous final album Djarimirri (Child of the Rainbo...
ListenKind of Blue at 60, and Julia Jacklin's songwriting from 2020-01-19T11:05
Paul Grabowsky explains why the world's most well-known jazz album hit the right notes. And the Sydney singer-songwriter nails it with second album 'Crushing'.
ListenGwenno and Las Cafeteras live at WOMAD, and Jónsi from Sigur Rós from 2020-01-18T11:05
Ethereal pop music sung in Cornish, Son Jarocho music with an East L.A twist, and the singer and guitarist from Icelandic post-rock band Sigur Rós.
ListenMargret RoadKnight — 50 years in the business from 2020-01-12T11:05
Singer and guitarist Margret RoadKnight doesn't write her songs but she's had a long career singing other people's whether it's blues, gospel or spirituals, a somewhat controversial activity for a ...
ListenTwo very different virtuosos — Wynton Marsalis and Sharon Shannon from 2020-01-11T11:05
Wynton Marsalis has become a powerful and controversial figure in jazz for his comments about what jazz is and what it isn't. And Sharon Shannon's name has been synonymous with Irish folk music, bu...
ListenWilliam Barton's musical journey from 2020-01-05T11:05
The land and music that influenced one of Australia's finest didgeridoo players.
ListenLisa O'Neill's mighty voice, and thirty years of The Necks from 2020-01-04T11:05
An Irish singer with a mighty voice who's armed with stories, traditional songs and sparse instrumentation. And the band that's part avant-garde, part minimalist, part ambient and lots else besides.
ListenDeborah Cheetham — composer, singer and ABBA fan from 2019-12-29T11:05
A long conversation with Yorta Yorta singer, playwright and composer Deborah Cheetham, where she brings together many influences both musical and non-musical.
ListenPiano worlds of Stalin&Crumb, and Gordon Koang's South Sudanese thom from 2019-12-28T11:05
Sonya Lifschitz performs the setting of speeches by artists and politicians (both famous and infamous) to music by Robert Davidson. And the story of how one of South Sudan's biggest pop stars is in...
ListenGould and Liberace's schtick from 2019-12-22T11:05
Liberace was a cape wearing, crystal piano playing showman, and he was no slouch at classical music. The Canadian pianist Glenn Gould was fascinated by Liberace. What did these two pianists have in...
ListenThe new generation of Scottish folk, and Caroline Shaw, her Pulitzer and Kanye from 2019-12-21T11:05
A piano/fiddle duo and their album inspired by wild, remote islands in Scotland's Outer Hebrides. And this Pulitzer Prize winning composer has an impressive list of collaborators.
ListenFolklore, folk charms&folk songs with Ruth Hazleton, and The Four Tops as Motown turns 60 from 2019-12-15T11:05
A ‘Daisywheel’ (also known as a ‘hexafoil’) is a compass-drawn circle with six petals within it, used as a folk charm to ward off evil. It’s also the title of the debut solo album for Melbourne-bas...
ListenHaunting harmonies from Charm of Finches, and the spark of modernism in Australian music from 2019-12-14T11:05
Mabel and Ivy Windred-Wornes are a sister folk duo who started busking Appalachian folk songs when they were 11 and 8. Songwriting followed, and now they’re regulars on the folk festival circuit. T...
ListenMau Power, Torres Strait Islands'first rapper, and the history of the piano trio courtesy of Seraphim Trio from 2019-12-08T11:05
Mau Power is the first rapper to emerge from the rich musical traditions of the Torres Strait Islands. His new album ‘Blue Lotus the Awakening' features the Yorta Yorta singer, songwriter and guita...
ListenBrìghde Chaimbeul and the extraordinary new sounds of Scottish trad, and the ecstatic rhythms and rituals of Sri Lanka from 2019-12-07T11:05
Brìghde Chaimbeul is the 20-year old musician from Skye who’s changing the audience and sound of bagpipes music. Her extraordinary debut album The Reeling was recorded live in an old church and fea...
ListenClive James the rock lyricist, and Finnish violinist Pekka Kuusisto from 2019-12-01T11:05
Clive James died this week aged 80 after a decade of failing health. Celebrated as a broadcaster, critic, poet, TV host and author, Clive was also a song lyricist. And we meet Finnish violinist Pek...
ListenSteve Poltz never loses his shine, and how Holly Herndon uses A.I. as a musical collaborator from 2019-11-30T11:05
An observant, witty singer songwriter can be just what we need in troubled times. Steve Poltz makes you snort with laughter and then punches you in the guts. He’s in for a chat and a couple of live...
ListenWhat were David Bowie's favourite books? Plus, The Narlis share the sounds of the Kimberley from 2019-11-24T11:05
Three years before he died, David Bowie made a list of the 100 books that had fuelled his creative life - from ‘The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie’ to ‘A Clockwork Orange’, from Orwell’s ‘Nineteen Eight...
ListenThe legacy of U2's The Joshua Tree, and ambassador of the Great American Songbook, Michael Feinstein, performs live from 2019-11-23T11:05
With U2 in Australia on the fifth leg of their Joshua Tree Tour, we explore the legacy of their 1987 classic album ‘The Joshua Tree’, and take the temperature of the group once regarded as ’the big...
ListenRobyn Archer's alternative American Songbook, and why Leonard Cohen is Deborah Conway's hero from 2019-11-17T11:05
Robyn Archer’s The (Other) Great American Songbook offers a different portrait of America, covering everything from the Civil War and the Great Depression, poverty, politics, drunkenness and desire...
ListenArchie Roach, the Armenian roots of Zela Margossian's jazz, and remembering John Curro from 2019-11-16T11:05
With a new double-album produced by Paul Grabowsky, and a memoir - both titled Tell Me Why - Archie Roach reflects on how the songs have changed (and changed him) over time. We meet the Beirut-born...
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