Watch Dead Moon's Toody Cole & her band live in Melbourne, Australia

Here's Toody Cole rockin' out with her Portland pals from The Spurs at PBS FM's studio in Melbourne, Australia recently. 

Here's the scoop...

Toody Cole, co-founder and mainstay of iconic Oregon group Dead Moon and the godmother of raw DIY rock 'n' roll, dropped by the Collingwood Yards studio of PBS 106.7 FM in Melbourne while in Australia for the first time fronting her own band, following three decades of appearances here with Dead Moon, Pierced Arrows and as a duo with her late great husband Fred Cole. In Toody Cole & Her Band, she is joined by Kelly Haliburton and Christopher March (on drums and guitar respectively) of fellow Oregon outfit Jenny Don't & The Spurs. 

The performance originally aired on Fang It! on Thursday November 20, 2025 - you can listen back to the audio archived here: pbsfm.org.au/program/fang-it/2025-11-20/17-00-00

Western World

Psychedelic Nightmare

Dagger Moon

Walking On My Grave

Caroline

Johnny

54-40 Or Fight

Recorded, mixed and mastered by Paul Maybury. 

Video by Patrick Turnbull / Two Way Media (instagram.com/twowaymedia1).

PBS FM is a member-funded community radio station based in Naarm (Melbourne), Australia. We have a dedicated team of volunteers broadcasting specialist music programming 24/7 via 106.7FM & PBS Digital in Naarm, and worldwide via www.pbsfm.org.au and the PBS app.

Remembering Australian vibraphonist Alan Lee on his birthday

Remembering Aussie vibes ace Alan Lee on his birthday with a few of his swingin' tunes kindly recirculated by Jazzman Records.

Alan Lee – An Australian Jazz Anthology (Jazzman)

There are few Australian originals in jazz, though vibraphonist Alan Lee surely ranks alongside the best. Australian jazz is and always will be an interpretation of the American art form, but throughout his long career Lee has ploughed his furrow undaunted, What I want is the fire! Whether it's John Coltrane's Blues Minor from Africa Brass or Backwater Blues by Leadbelly, I want the emotion, the gut wrenching pain, the cry from within!

These are uninhibited words. A musician and bandleader who cut a number of jazz sides for small independent Melbourne labels from the early 1960s to the mid-1970s, Lee has always searched for this fire, evident in the broad styles he's covered throughout his career, and which we have attempted to explore here, the first and only collection of music from Alan Lee. 

From '60s soul jazz, to the deep modal sounds of the early '70s and cross-genre experiments exhibited in his chamber jazz, Lee's personal life has been as varied and explorative as his music, a journey that has taken him beyond the thresholds of jazz improvisation and spiritual awareness.

The tracks that feature on this anthology were recorded by various incarnations of Lee's band and are taken from across three albums recorded between 1973 and 1974. These albums represent the sole output in LP format that can be credited to Lee as band leader, and all are collectors' items in their own right. The deep modal version of Love Song and Freddie Hubbard's perennial spiritual jazz standard Little Sunflower are both taken from the self-titled LP 'Alan Lee Jazz Quartet'. 

The album 'Gallery Concerts 1973', which was recorded for Bruce Clarke's jazz sub-label Cumquat Records, provides us with a fierce electric-jazz version of Igor Stravinsky's The Rite Of Spring: Dance Of The Adolescents plus the plaintive chamber jazz of John Lewis' Sketch as well two tracks featuring vocalist Jeannie Lewis; Bachianas Brasileiras No.5 and the beautiful Bailero in which Lee exchanges the vibraphone for the conductors role in presiding over a jazz trio accompanied by a seven piece concert ensemble. Completing this compendium is a track taken from the 1974 follow-up recording for Jazznote, the album titled 'The Smilor'; included is a cover of the Milt Jackson-penned Enchanted Lady.

What you are hearing on this album is the story of one man's travels, a journey within a foreign art form but also a journey within himself. Illustrated in the stories Lee shares, such as his correspondence with fellow vibraphone player Gary Burton on how to achieve advanced extended techniques for the vibraphone (resulting in pages of technical diagrams) or travelling across the US to purchase an original 1940s Deagan Imperial Vibraphone from the Chicago Symphony Orchestra 'Just to get that Milt Jackson sound'. There are moments of deep introspection and intellect in Lee's playing, emotional music that contains and shares a common spiritual oneness, seeking the thrill he experienced after first listening to Lionel Hampton and the Benny Goodman Quartet. The emotion, the gut wrenching pain, the cry from within. 

Get a copy of Jazzman's Alan Lee collection An Australian Jazz Anthology via Bandcamp right here. Listen to a few tracks below. 

 

The best bits from Melbourne's Frollen Music Library due in March

Colemine Records is releasing a 'best of' collection of Melbourne's Frollen Music Library's short 'n' sweet sample-ready treats.  

Here's the scoop from Colemine HQ...

001-015’ is a “best of” compilation celebrating the first 15 sample packs made by Australia's Naarm/Melbourne-based Frollen Music Library. Launching in late 2021, the sample house has since been featured in productions by ScHoolboy Q, Leon Thomas, Devin Malik and more.

This 28-track retrospective (out March 28th via Colemine Records) traverses a wide range of styles and moods to appeal to every music enthusiast as well as producers and songwriters alike. Whether it’s bouncing hip hop beats or evocative cinematic etudes, FML’s 3-piece house band, comprising Henry Jenkins, Darvid Thor and Hudson Whitlock have a deep love and respect for many musical styles. FML’s diverse catalogue takes cues from the ‘Third Stream’ composer David Axelrod on their ‘Sharpen Your Axe’ (FML009) pack, as well as drawing upon cinematic themes from 60’s and 70’s Italian film score composers a la Ennio Morricone and Riz Ortolani, as heard on ‘The Fretted Neck’ (FML006). There are 90’s New York boom bap beats found in ‘Golden’ (FML013), as well as synthesiser music inspired by Tonto, which is showcased in the ‘Nina’s Exploding Brain’ (FML014) pack, utilising a locally made synthesiser from Melbourne Instruments.

Jenkins, Thor and Whitlock have been playing in bands and producing music for their local music scene for the last 15 years. Recording and performing with The Cactus Channel, Karate Boogaloo, Mo’Ju, Surprise Chef and many many more. Not only is this brand-new LP a great musical collage worthy of any music library enthusiast, but also functions as a tremendous sampler demonstrating the many styles of FML. Fast, slow, sweet AND sour! 

You can pre-order a copy of the Frollen Music Library compilation 001-015 via Colemine Records right here. Check out a Frollen promotional trailer and the track "Rock Candy" below. 

Whaddya mean you don't know Galapagos Duck

Australian jazz crew Galapagos Duck originally came together a ski resort in 1969. Check out The Removalists OST from 1974.  

Mark Arm & Mick Harvey join Ed Kuepper in The Saints '73-'78

Here are a few clips of Mark Arm & Mick Harvey performing with Ed Kuepper's The Saints '73-'78 in Australia. 

The Pro-Teens vs. MF DOOM

Melbourne's Pro-Teens just knocked out a swell instro versions of "Doomsday" and the Madvillain gem "Curls" for a tribute 7". 

Here's the scoop...

Melbourne (Naarm), Australia’s enigmatic instrumental soul group The Pro-Teens emerge from mystery once again to pay tribute to the late great MF DOOM, reimagining two iconic cuts from the deep catalogue of the infamous Metal Fingered Villain. 

Doomsday, the title track from MF DOOM’s seminal debut album Operation: Doomsday, is reimagined as a floaty, coasting synthesizer-topped funk burner. Featuring vocalist ‘Polly The Invincible Pearl’ replicating Pebbles The Invisible Girl’s iconic Sade-inspired hook, The Pro-Teens warp DOOM’s instantly recognisable beat into a tasteful groover in the spirit of 70s soul. 

Curls is taken from MF DOOM’s timeless 2004 collaboration with Madlib, ‘Madvillainy’. Widely heralded as one of the greatest hip hop albums of all time, The Pro-Teens felt that it was crucial to pay homage to this shining gem in MF DOOM’s storied catalogue. In their version, the original Brazilian sample is reconstructed with marimba, two guitars, angular organ tones and The Pro-Teens trademark boom-bap drum feels. The track fades out on a completely original addition to the piece; The Pro-Teens insert an outro that sounds like it could be an outtake or unused sample from Madlib and DOOM’s original effort. 

Bandleader Hudson Whitlock describes: ​​“As the sessions went on, the Pro-Teens traversed lots of ground with the arrangements and productions. This diversity of tones, moods, feels and arrangements was an intentional act to mirror the diversity within DOOM's own diverse musical vocabulary. We wanted to fluctuate between putting their own spin on DOOM's classic tunes as well as staying true to the original source.” 

Drawing from players within the College Of Knowledge family, The Pro-Teens now have 4 outstanding LPs to their name, including 2020’s triumphant Snooch Dodd & The Pro-Teens – I Flip My Life Every Time I Fly, the breakout release that attracted a worldwide reissue on Mr Bongo and earned BBC 6 Music’s Album Of The Day. 

The Pro-Teens - Doomsday b/w Curls will be available digitally and on 7” vinyl via College Of Knowledge Records on July 29th, distributed by College Of Knowledge (AUS) and Kudos Records (ROW). Get a copy of  The Pro-Teens Doomsday/Curls tribute single via Bandcamp right here. Listen to both tracks and the original DOOM joints below. 

These recordings were created on the sovereign land of the Wurundjeri People of the Kulin Nation. The Pro-Teens pay their respects to their elders past and present. Always was, always will be Aboriginal land. 

Melbourne's Camp Cope hit the Horseshoe, July 11

Here's Melbourne indie trio Camp Cope knocking out "Running With The Hurricane." Get tickets for their Toronto debut right here. 

One For The Weekend: Dog Trumpet

Dog Trumpet's Reg Mombassa and Peter O'Doherty just shared an ace video for their timely new tune. Watch and enjoy. 

B-Side Wins Again: Billy Thorpe & The Aztecs

Hidden on the flip of Billy Thope's ho-hum crack at "Sick & Tired" is the Tony Barber-penned swinger "About Love" from 1964.

One For The Weekend: EXEK

Listen to "A Hedonist" off the Biased Advice album from Melbourne's EXEK being reissued by Castle Face on March 5th.

The Apartments return with In and Out of the Light

Watch the video for "What's Beauty To Do?" off The Apartments' new album In and Out of the Light out now. 

Here's the scoop...

Begun in Brisbane in 1978 by singer songwriter Peter Milton Walsh, The Apartments restarted in London in the 80’s on Rough Trade (after Walsh’s brief musical holidays in The Go-Betweens and Laughing Clowns), Sydney finally became the base for the band. Over a series of releases in the 90s and 00s The Apartments developed a worshipful following especially France but mid-decade they fell silent.

In 2015, The Apartments surprised fans by reemerging—after over a decade of silence—with No Song, No Spell, No Madrigal, an album that saw a new audience drawn to The Apartments music. By year’s end, readers and critics of French music magazine Magic named No Song, No Spell, No Madrigal its Album of the Year.

Five years later, In and Out of the Light – out now via the Bordeaux-based French indie Talitres – is the highly anticipated follow up that will once more appeal to existing fans and new ones as well. Listeners will again find themselves reflected in songs which, laced with the light of optimism, speak to situations all of us face and deal with at some point. The Apartments exquisite instrumentation and beautiful harmonies work together with Peter Milton Walsh’s impressionistic storytelling beautifully on “In and Out of the Light.” Here are eight songs to get lost in—for a day, for a week, for a lifetime. 

You can get a copy of The Apartments' In and Out of the Light right here. Check out the new video for "What's Beauty To Do?" and the audio clips for "Pocketful of Sunshine" and "Write Your Way Out of Town" below. 

Amyl & The Sniffers, Dboy, HEX @ Velvet Underground, Monday

Here's Melbourne's Amy Taylor and her Aussie aces performing at the Burger Boogaloo in Oakland and a show in Utrecht recently. 

Watch the trailer for the new Saints doc "Stranded"

New TV documentary aims to introduce The Saints to Australian public obsessed with Justin Bieber and Demi Lovato.  

The Boss salutes The Saints in Brisbane