This episode features Yamatji and Gumbaynggirr vocalist and songwriter, Emma Donovan. Growing up in a musical family, Emma first appeared on the stage with her renowned family band, the Donovans. She's since collaborated with artists such as Paul Kelly, the Black Arm Band, the Teskey Brothers, Paul Grabowsky, Spinifex Gum, the late Uncle Archie Roach and Aunty Ruby Hunter and The Putbacks. Recently, she was the executive producer for the award winning documentary, Wash My Soul in the Rivers Flow and appeared on PlaySchool, but in 2024, she's set to release her debut solo album 'Til My Song is Done'.

Clare Bowditch is an award winning vocalist, business woman, mentor, mother, actress, broadcaster, podcaster and author. Claire has won the coveted ARIA Award for Best Female for her music, the Rolling Stone Woman of the Year Award for her contribution to Australian culture, and has been nominated for a Logie Award for her role as Rosanna on popular television show Offspring. Her very first book, entitled “Your Own Kind Of Girl” won the 2020 Australian Book Industry Award for “New Writer of The Year”. As a songwriter and musician she has toured with artists such as Leonard Cohen, Paul Kelly, Missy Higgins, Gotye and John Butler, to name just a few. In August 2020, she released an Audible Original audio book entitled “Tame Your Inner Critic” which has remained at the top of the Audible Charts since the day of release. Recorded live at The Soundbox, as part of Always Live Festival, Chelsea and Clare chat about songwriting, body image, burnout and much more.

Zoe Hauptmann is one of Australia’s most in demand session musician’s who has recorded and performed with some of Australia’s most iconic artists including Paul Kelly, Neil Finn, Kate Ceberano and Peter Garrett. Zoe is also the Artistic Director of SIMA, Sydneys’ Improvised Music Association that presents a year round program of events as well as the Sydney International Women's Jazz Festival. In 2018 she won the Creative Leadership Award at the Australian Women in Music Awards. In this conversation, recorded shortly after the festival, I asked Zoe to tell us what she makes a great bandleader, how to negotiate performance fees, how she chooses what projects to work on and much more. https://sima.org.au/

Currently just 7% of live production technicians are female. 7%. Now imagine how many female technicians were touring in the 1970s - almost none. Our guest today was just 16 when she took her first job as a roadie with AC/DC in 1974. I’m talking to the first female roadie, the incredible, Tana Douglas. Since her first role in the live sector as a roadie, Tana has worked as a sound engineer, a lighting designer and logistics manager. she’s worked with acts such as Suzie Quatro, Status Quo, INXS and Elton John and has over 30 years of touring experience across three continents. Currently based in LA, Tana recently released her first book, the memoir titled Loud. In this conversation I ask Tana about inclusion in production crews, how she feels audiences have changed over the last few decades, and about that time Iggy Pop threw her favourite leather jacket into the crowd. We also chat about mental health - please note there is a content warning in this episode, there are some references to suicide and drug use. https://www.tanadouglas.com/home If you need help please contact the wellbeing hotline :1800 959 500 Supportact.org.au

Special Reminder: Always Live will present the Control podcast live at the Sound Box Monday 27 November. Hosted by artist/producer Chelsea Wilson, the session will feature two incredible Australian artists in conversation, Emma Donovan and Clare Bowditch. Housed in the Arts Centre Melbourne forecourt, the Soundbox Control session will comprise two back to back Control episodes recorded in front of a live audience. Soundbox Sessions are free, no booking required.

In this episode we speak to Jasmine Moseley, Executive Director of the Australian Art Orchestra. A classically trained instrumentalist, Jasmine moved into arts management post music study, and has since worked for organizations such as Melbourne International Arts Festival, the Public Theatre in NYC,  the Australian Ballet and Monash University Performing Arts Centre. In this conversation I ask Jasmine about the duel management structure of the Art Orchestra and where she thinks art music sits in Australia. We also cover a lot of arts management practice - I ask how Jasmine approaches providing feedback and securing partnerships and how she approaches developing commissions. https://www.aao.com.au

Cat Hope is an award winning composer, sound artist, writer, performer, songwriter, artistic director and noise artist. Her work explores low frequency sound, drone, noise, glissandi and the use of graphic scores and alternative music notation. She is the director of Decibel New Music Ensemble, founder of the Low Tone Orchestra and the Australian Bass Orchestra and is a performer in noise duos such as Super Luminum and Candied Limbs. Currently based in Melbourne Cat is a Professor of Music at Sir Zelman Cowen School of Music at Monash University. In this conversation I ask Cat about graphic scores, her use of drones in composition, the role universities play in establishing the canon of popular music and much more.

Xylo Aria is an artist, producer and the CEO/Founder of Music Production for Women. Named in the Top 50 East London Innovators of 2020 and the Top 100 She Said So Alt Power List, Xylo is committed to improving the gender disparity in Music Production through positive action. In addition to her work with MPW, Xylo is also a Director and Treasurer for the Music Producers and Engineers’ Guild of Australia. In this conversion we chat about the women in production and how Xylo approaches managing a business whilst maintaining her own creative practice. MPW Website: https://musicproductionforwomen.com/front-page USC Annenberg Inclusion in The Recording Studio: https://assets.uscannenberg.org/docs/aii-inclusion-recording-studio2021.pdf

Neighboring Rights expert Susan Cotchin, is the Managing Director of Good Neighbour. Originally working for PAMRA in the UK, she set up International Royalties rescue in London, collecting unpaid royalties from around the world for artists such as Rhianna, Beyonce, Crowded House and many more. In this conversation, we hear about Susan’s journey from a child entertainer, to an educator, to the foremost Australian expert in Neighboring rights, to establishing a new venture with the late Michael Gudinski at Mushroom Group. Susan’s reputation in neighboring rights precedes her. With over twenty years in the field, Susan is indisputably recognised as one of the world’s most experienced people in the sector. At the turn of the millennium, Susan was Royalty Accounts Manager at P@MRA/PPL in the United Kingdom, securing income for PJ Harvey, Muse & Belinda Carlisle before P@MRA was absorbed by PPL. Wanting to stay performer focused, Susan established her own neighbouring rights agency in 2003, International Royalties Rescue (IRR). IRR housed many acts including Jet, John Farnham & The Temper Trap, before adding another office in London in 2007 which went on to represent Beyoncé, Radiohead & Rihanna for global collection of their equitable remuneration. After running IRR for 16 years, Michael Gudinski sought to acquire Susan’s pioneering company to bring neighbourng rights into the Mushroom Group. Good Neighbour Rights was formed with Susan leading the joint venture company as Managing Director and co-owner. Good Neighbour now acts on behalf of the IRR clients in addition to many new signings including Crowded House, Zedd, Vance Joy, Gang of Youths and Amy Shark.

In this episode we are chatting with COO of ARIA and  PPCA, Board Director of both The Copyright Council and Support Act, Lynne Small. With a strong background in finance, Lynne’s career started at Mushroom Festival Records. But for the past few decades she has worked across both ARIA - the Australian Recording Industry association and PPCA  the phonographic performance company of Australia. In this conversation I ask Lynne how Australian artists can achieve chart positions in the ARIA, how albums and singles get nominations for the ARIA Awards and how streams and downloads are counted towards the charts. We also talk about the Radio Fair Play campaign, the current record industry lobbying to change the government mandated caps on fees radio pays to recording copyright owners and the importance of being a PPCA member.

Powerhouse music executive Beth Appleton has unparalleled success as a leader and global music strategist. Named in the Top 100 Billboard Most Powerful Music Executives 2016 and recipient of Music Ally’s Outstanding Achievement Award, she is a 2023 nominee for the Australian Women in Music Leadership Award. Appleton’s previous roles include General Manager Australasia at Warner Music Australia (2018-2021), Senior Vice President of Global Marketing at Warner Music Group in the UK (2014-2018); Director of Digital at Universal Music Group UK (2007-2010); and Head of Digital and Business Development at V2 Music in the UK (2003-2007). She’s worked with artists such as Kylie, Ed Sheeran, Michael Buble, Major Lazer and many more. Recently she was the CEO of Jaxta, Australian based music database company. In this conversation, we chat about the Fix the Mix report, Beth gives her advice on negotiating effective business deals plus we hear about her time as Director of Digital for Universal Music.

Jess Keeley has been working in the music industry for the past 20 years. After gaining experience in publicity and record label marketing Jess made the decision in 2010 to relocate to London, taking a position as International Marketing Manager with Warner Music. After working on campaigns through Europe and the US her close relationships with artists lead to the natural progression of artist management. Leaving Warner in 2011 to manage her first client, Lykke Li, Jess partnered with Scott Rodger (Quest/Maverick) and has been managing the international careers of award winning songwriters and musicians ever since. Jess has been instrumental in the management of developing artists, established names and absolute icons including Shania Twain, MARINA and Arcade Fire. Her international industry experience in London and LA has given Jess an extensive knowledge of launching a global career. She has returned to Sydney to launch her management company Music She Wrote, a company focused on building sustainable international careers for Australian talent – with a roster including Jaguar Jonze, Isabella Manfredi and Clea. She is also currently acting General Manager of label Dew Process. In this conversation we chat to Jess about risk taking, the importance of branding and social media, how she approaches strategic planning and goal setting with her artists much more.

Mojo Ruiz de Luzuriaga, known professionally as Mo'Ju, is an ARIA nominated Australian musician and songwriter. Their thought-provoking lyrics have explored their Filipino and Wurrendjeri heritage, the glorification of wealth and fame, spirituality, political change, and the human condition. Since launching their solo career, they have released four albums, performed at SXSW, the SummerStage in Central Park New York and recently worked with the Sydmey and Melbourne symphony orchestras on a show of their original compositions. They have toured with artists such as Tony Joe White, Rufus Wainwright and Aloe Blacc and collaboretd with Joelistsic, AB Original, Emma Donovan and more. Recorded just as their new album Oro Plata Mata was about to land, we spoke about the concept behind the record, their thoughts on authenticity and how they feel about their award winning song ‘Native Tongue’.

Amara Primero is an award winning screen composer and the CEO and Founder of Primerchord Production Music. Originally from Perth, Amara studied classical music at the western Australian academy of performing arts before moving to Sydney and working in the contemporary scene as a session musicia and educator. Breaking into the world of screen composition she has worked for major networks such as Channel 7, SBS, Channel 10, ABC, streaming giants such as Prime and for Reese Witherspoon's company Hello Sunshine. Establishing her own company Primerchord Music Production based in Sydney and LA, Amara now leads a team of over 20 composers, creating library music, film scores and music for productions across the world. Winner of Best Original Music at the 2019 Los Angeles Cinematography Awards, she recently became an ambassador for APRA AMCOS. https://www.primerchordmusic.com

Nat Bartsch is a Melbourne based pianist and composer. Internationally renowned, Nat’s compositions explore the spaces between neoclassical, chamber music and jazz. She has released records on both ABC Jazz and ABC Classic labels, and is one of a small handful of artists to be ARIA nominated in both jazz and classical categories. Nat has become most well known for her lullabies, which, during early motherhood, saw her create a new suite of work designed to soothe babies to sleep, but also be meaningfully enjoyable for adults. The resulting album, Forever, and No Time At All was released in 2018 on ABC Classic.  As a chamber music composer, Nat has been commissioned to write pieces for Inventi Ensemble, Plexus Collective, Solstice Trio, The Muses Trio, Matt Withers & Sally Whitwell. She is currently studying a Masters of Composition at the Melbourne Conservatorium of Music.  Nat has been awarded the 2021 Merlyn Myer Commission, the 2020 Catherine Mary Sullivan scholarship, 2020 Classical:NEXT Artistic Associate fellowship, 2019 Johnny Dennis Music Award, and the Melbourne Prize for Music Development Award to name a few.  As a mental health advocate, Nat has undertaken research exploring the two-way link between mental health and creativity which has been presented at a variety of conferences.  https://www.natbartsch.com/

Eliza Hull is an award-winning musician, speaker, writer and disability advocate. Eliza’s music has been described as  ‘stirring, captivating and heartfelt.’ She is currently working on her fifth studio record, due for release in 2023.  Her songs are featured in Australian TV shows such as  ‘And Then Something Changed,’ and ‘The Heights’ and American TV shows ‘Awkward, ‘Teen Wolf’ and ‘Saving Hope.’  As a speaker she has presented panels on accessibility at SXSW in Austin, Texas and music conference Changes. She performed at ABILITY Fest and produced the Iso aid ‘Accessible All Areas’  Festival featuring disabled musicians from all around the world.  As an audio producer Eliza developed the ‘We’ve Got This’ series about parenting with disability for Radio National and ABC LIFE which was developed into a book “We’ve Got This - Stories by Disabled Parents”. She recently released her first children’s book “come over to my house” Co-written by bestselling author Sally Rippin She was awarded the Music Victoria ‘Amplify’ award, the APRA mentorship for women in music, the National Leadership Award from the Australia Council and Arts Access Australia and the Diversity in Music Award from the Women in Music Awards.  In this conversation I ask Eliza about representation and her advocacy work, her new album project, showcasing at South by Southwest, moving into the literature space and much more. More info: https://www.elizahull.com

Jacinta Parsons is a broadcaster, writer, speaker and author based in Melbourne. Jacinta currently hosts Afternoons on ABC 774, delivering a mix of art, culture and ideas. Prior to afternoons Jacinta presented Melbourne 774 Breakfast and the Friday Revue and also worked behind the scenes as Music Director for Double j and the ABC Local radio network. She has released two books, her memoir Unseen: The secret life of chronic illness and her new book ‘A Question Of Age’. Jacinta is an ambassador for the Crohn’s and Colitis Association of Australia and is also a board director of Melbourne disability theatre company, Rollercoaster. In this conversation I ask Jacinta about ageism in the music industry, her career in broadcasting, her writing process, and the time that Kylie Minogue called her on live radio, and much much more. https://jacintaparsons.com/

Monica Lim is a Melbourne-based pianist, composer, sound designer, entrepreneur and board director. Born in Malaysia and then migrating to Australia in her teens, Monica Lim has produced work for theatre, contemporary dance, installations and film, as well as solo and ensemble instrumental pieces.  ​Her work has been presented at AsiaTOPA, Melbourne Fringe and Arts Centre Melbourne as well as international symposiums such as the International symposium of Electronic art and The International Conference on New Interfaces for Musical Expression. Monica is currently undertaking postgraduate research at the Faculty of Fine Arts and Music, University of Melbourne in gesture-led composition and new technologies. She is also part of the research team at VCA Dance's TrakLAB and the University of Melbourne's Centre for Artificial Intelligence and Digital Ethics. ​Monica is co-founder of Project Eleven, a philanthropic initiative which supports the contemporary arts and serves on the boards of the Melbourne Recital Centre, Substation and Liquid Architecture as well as the Member's Council for Musica Viva. https://www.monicalim.online/ Jagad: https://www.monicalim.online/jagad Mental dance article: https://www.monicalim.online/_files/ugd/204248_9cf5fd2645cf4c068dbdbfeed587df43.pdf Project 11: https://www.project11.online/about-us Melbourne Recital Centre Board https://www.melbournerecital.com.au/about/ourcompany/board/ www.controlpodcast.com

This episode features award winning Yorta Yorta soprano, artistic director, broadcaster, composer and educator Deborah Cheetham. For more than 25 years Deborah Cheetham has been a leader and pioneer in the Australian arts sector, creating change in the music industry landscape and advocating for First Nations representation. A graduate of the NSW Conservatorium of Music with an international career as a soprano vocalist, she established her own organization Short Black Opera in 2009, a national not-for-profit opera company devoted to the development of Indigenous singers. The following year she produced the premiere of her first opera Pecan Summer. This landmark work was Australia’s first Indigenous opera and has been a vehicle for the development of a new generation of Indigenous opera singers. In 2019 Deborah Cheetham established the One Day in January project designed to develop and nurture Indigenous orchestral musicians. As a composer she has been commissioned to write for major Australian ensembles including the Adelaide Symphony Orchestra, Melbourne Symphony Orchestra, Australia String Quartet, West Australian Symphony Orchestra and Flinders Quartet. Appointed as an Officer of the Order of Australia, for “distinguished service to the performing arts” she was also inducted to the Honour Roll of Women in Victoria and received an Honorary Doctorate from the University of South Australia. She has also received the Sir Bernard Heinze Memorial Award for service to music in Australia, the Merlyn Myer Prize for Composition, was inducted to the Victorian Aboriginal Honour Roll and more recently was presented with the Lifetime achievement award at the Women in Music Awards. . In 2020 she was Composer-in-residence for the Melbourne Symphony Orchestra and commenced her appointment at the Sir Zelman Cowen School of Music, Monash University as Professor of Music practice. In this conversation we ask Deborah about establishing her own organization, her journey from classica flautist to lead vocalist, the one day in january project and her composition series ‘woven song’ which will be performed on November 2nd at Melbourne Recital Centre. https://www.melbournerecital.com.au/ https://www.melbournerecital.com.au/events/2022/woven-song/ https://www.shortblackopera.org.au/

In this episode we speak to composer and virtuoso Guzheng musician, Mindy Meng Wang. At age seven Mindy began her classical training on the traditional Chinese musical instrument Guzheng. She studied western composition and musicology at the University of Newcastle upon Tyne in the UK touring throughout Europe and performing in venues such as the Barbican and the V&A. Her music transcends genres and her work is part of a significant movement of Chinese musicians redefining and reinvigorating musical traditions. A born collaborator she has worked with artists such as Gorillaz, Regurgitator, Paul Grabowsky, the Australian Art Orchestra, Claire Edwards and many more.  In this conversation we ask Mindy about the history of the Guzheng; her time in the UK and why she moved to Australia. We also talk about motherhood and music and her latest solo album “Phoenix Rising”. On October 8 Mindy appears at Melbourne Recital Centre celebrating her new collaborative album "Nervous Energy" with Tim Shiel. https://www.melbournerecital.com.au https://mindymengwang.bandcamp.com