We don't just want you to go to more shows – we also want you to buy more music, support more venues, meet more people (if you're into that), enjoy more art, and know more spots. Because we're all well-rounded multitude-containers in one of the world's great cities, right? Enter our semi-regular feature, Pick & Mix – an anti-gatekeeping candy salad of quality stuff from Sydney and from elsewhere, endorsed and lovingly selected for you by interesting people.

"I’m Russ, aka Skeleten. I’ve been making music in and around here for pretty much 15 years now. I love music, I love Sydney, I hate Sydney, I love Sydney, I love Sydney music, I love sydneymusic.net. I recently released my second album as Skeleten, it’s called Mentalized. I’m doing a big old show at Liberty Hall on the 16th May to celebrate. Shady Nasty, Jono Ma, Adi Toohey & DJ Earl Grey, and Killian are playing too. I think it’ll be a big beautiful night fr. Last album we did a similar thing, which was incredible, because I love bands and I love DJs and I feel like a lot of people who like my music share this dual enthusiasm, and I’m always excited for the journey and the surrender.

These are some other things for which I currently am dealing with a deep enthusiasm."

Xiao Xiao - Left Right 

Hard hard fun West Syd DIY energy. When I heard who was involved I knew it was going to be fresh but damn this rules. Baschoe, Kal from Slim Set, Nerdie from 1300. "Don’t talk to me you gronk" totally jumping out of the speakers, and the vid by some of the best in the city absolutely matches it. Exciting attitude, exciting sound.

Rikota Studio

In a time when space in this city is slippery and valuable as hell and you gotta fight for every little bit no matter how decrepit, it’s beautiful to see Rikota coming to life cos it feels like we need it. A creative hub that’s genuinely creative and genuinely hubbed as opposed to some corporate-style faceless toy organisation.

The team behind the space are well loved and meshed up in the community and doing it for all the right reasons, which is reflected in how accessible, varied and welcoming the space and events there feel. I recently did an album release party there and I never wanted to leave. Whenever you walk in there’s friendly faces doing friendly cool shit, music studios, a new record store, tattoo studio, design studios, textile, people doing photos, running a little community library, and then the occasional event for the community. Wonderful work.

Robin Hobb - Realms of the Elderlings

The sheer amount of my circle right now that are deep into this series of books. There’s about 5 trilogies, the first published in the 90s and spanning a couple decades, and it’s all just the most nourishing stuff you can read. Character-based fantasy world building that is so human and caring and natural contained within a magical scope that is like, ecological, universal. There’s dragons but they’re almost like humans, then there’s humans that are kinda like dragons.

I think, writing this now, what I love is how everything in the world connects and is in flux and the boundaries between people and nature and history and genders and mind and body are all malleable and that really is the driving force behind the world and the story. It’s a beautiful escape but it's also real. All I’m reading these days is speculative fiction and the news. 

M5 on FBi Radio

My favourite show on FBi radio at the moment. I’ve always thought that Lilly (Killian) has taste spookily aligned with my own and this show is constantly surprising me with music that is just beautiful, emotional, weird, slow, tough and cool. I was actually on finally for a guest mix the other night and left with about 10 songs saved in my phone to listen back to.

I think M5 has a loyal fan base and rightly so. All the shows are streaming I think on FBi and maybe the guest mixes on Soundcloud. Really worth listening to the back catalogue of mixes by some really special music lovers from here.

Primitive Technology

Dipping away from Sydney music to something that is universal. Primitive Technology. The originator. The only one. Watching this enlightened, stony man methodically and silently make mud bricks, pottery, rope and patiently create fire sitting in the dirt is my own true brainwave therapy. Somewhere in Far North Queensland there’s a clearing so lovingly laid out with huts and firewood piles, clay jars and the signs of human habitation that you don’t notice at first that every little item on screen except for his perennial blue shorts has been pulled out of the earth and willed into existence by this humble, silent man. A reminder that while Sydney music springs out of the big smoke, there is music in the tinkle of this man’s charcoal pile and music in the determined steady blow of his clay forge, a pulse that seems to resonate onwards towards eternity.

This video of Stirr live at the Lord Gladstone

Literally know nothing about this band yet, but I just saw this today and it made me feel good. Old school, band in a room at the Lord Gladstone, the whole set filmed on Handicam, I think a pretty new band, great sound, great commitment. I want some more of this in my life, I think.

Check Skeleten out

• Catch Skeleten at Liberty Hall on May 16, supported by Shady Nasty, Jono Ma, Adi Toohey and DJ Earl Grey and Killian

• Listen to Mentalized:

  • Bandcamp

  • Spotify

  • Apple Music

  • Tidal

  • YouTube

• Stalk his Instagram