Kelvin Confidential

James Hewison
  • 5.0 (1)
  • Performing Arts

Mick Harvey, renowned musician and record producer, discussed his musical journey, including his early influences, the formation of the Birthday Party, and his transition to the Bad Seeds. He highlighted his work on 10 solo albums and numerous soundtracks, including "Rose" and John Hillcoat's feature film. "To Have and to Hold". Harvey reflected on the challenges of composing for film, the impact of technology, and his recent honor as a Chevalier in France. He also touched on his current projects, including collaborations with Amanda Acevedo and the Melbourne-based band Bleak Squad. The discussion concluded with Harvey's thoughts on the current Australian music scene and the difficulties young musicians face.Live from the Kelvin Club in Melbourne, Australia join host James Hewison as he engages in conversation with a range of truly remarkable, creative and curious minds. Kelvin Confidential is recorded every month in front of a live audience. Host: James Hewison Production: Michael Rowe Theme music: The Green Child - Her Majesty II

Episodes

  1. 15 June

    Episode 5: Justin Kurzel

    Justin Kurzel is one of Australia’s finest contemporary filmmakers. His VCA graduate short film was selected for Cannes as was his debut feature, Snowtown where it won a “Special Mention”. His subsequent film, Macbeth screened in Competition at Cannes and was the Closing Night Film. Subsequent features include Assassin’s Creed and his adaptation of Peter Carey’s True History Of The Kelly. In 2021, Nitram his psychological study of mass murderer Martin Bryant screened in Cannes Competition and won Best Actor, and won all 8 AACTA Awards later that year. His most recent feature, The Order starring Jude Law and Nicholas Hoult debuted at the Venice Film Festival in 2024. Last year saw his direct the adaptation of Richard Flanagan’s The Narrow Road To The Deep North for TV starring Jacob Alordi and Ciaran Hinds was Emmy-nominated.

    1hr 15min

  2. 25 May

    Episode 4: Christos Tsioklas

    Christos is an award-winning novelist, screenwriter, essayist, playwright and film critic for The Saturday Paper. His novels include Loaded, which was made into the feature film Head-On, The Jesus Man and Dead Europe - also adapted to film - which won the 2006 Age Fiction Prize and the 2006 Melbourne Best Writing Award. He won Overall Best Book in the Commonwealth Writers' Prize 2009, was shortlisted for the 2009 Miles Franklin Literary Award, longlisted for the 2010 Man Booker Prize and won the Australian Literary Society Gold Medal for his novel, The Slap, which was also announced as the 2009 Australian Booksellers Association and Australian Book Industry Awards Books of the Year and of course was adapted to TV to great - and deserved - success.

    59 min

  3. 28 Apr

    Episode 3: Mick Harvey

    Mick Harvey, renowned Australian musician and record producer, discusses his musical journey, including his early influences, the formation of the Birthday Party, and his transition to the Bad Seeds. He highlights his work on 10 solo albums and numerous soundtracks. Harvey reflects on the challenges of composing for film, the impact of technology, and his recent honour as a Chevalier in France. He also touches on his current projects, including collaborations with Amanda Acevedo and the Melbourne-based band Bleak Squad.

    1hr 12min

  4. 10 Mar

    Episode 2: Tony Ayres

    In this episode of Kelvin Confidential, host James Hewison sits down with acclaimed writer, director, producer, and showrunner Tony Ayres for a wide-ranging conversation about identity, storytelling, creative ambition, and the changing shape of the Australian screen industry. Episode Highlights Tony traces the origins of his creative life back to a childhood marked by migration, instability, and poverty. Arriving in Australia at the age of three with his mother and sister, he reflects on how storytelling became both refuge and survival mechanism, an imaginative response to uncertainty that would eventually become the foundation of his career. From philosophy and literature to art school, the path was anything but straightforward. Tony speaks candidly about his early studies, his mixed experience at the Victorian College of the Arts, and the pivotal affirmation he received at AFTRS that helped crystallise his belief that he could, in fact, be a writer. It was a small moment with life-changing consequences. Identity and authorship form a powerful thread throughout the conversation. Tony reflects on how being both a gay man and a person of Chinese heritage shaped his early work, while also discussing the tensions of being categorised within the industry. His insights are thoughtful, nuanced, and deeply personal revealing the complexities of writing from lived experience without being confined by it. The conversation also turns to the business of storytelling. Tony revisits the founding of Matchbox Pictures, the collaborative vision behind it, and its extraordinary rise to become one of Australia’s most significant production companies. He then explains why, after a decade and the company’s acquisition by NBCUniversal, he chose to step away and return to a more personal, writer-led creative life through Tony Ayres Productions. Looking outward, Tony offers a sharp and generous perspective on the Australian film and television sector: the pressures on local production, the role of international investment, and the need to build a sustainable screen culture that supports both established voices and emerging talent. He also reflects on the inseparability of art and politics, and, in a lighter turn, shares his long-held dream of creating a comic-book television series. A thoughtful, generous, and deeply engaging conversation about how stories are made and how they, in turn, make us.

    1hr 8min

  5. 23/11/2025

    Episode 1: Mindy Meng Wang

    In this opening episode, host James Hewison sits down with composer and guzheng virtuoso Mindy Meng Wang for an intimate conversation about bridging cultures, genres, and personal experiences through music. Episode Highlights Mindy traces her artistic roots to childhood in Lanzhou, where the guzheng became both structured discipline and creative doorway. She discusses the early pressure to conform to classical expectations, and how relocating to the UK and Australia allowed her to reimagine the instrument as a platform for experimentation and cross-cultural storytelling. Tradition meets innovation: Mindy reveals how she unlearned rigidities to rediscover emotional truth in her playing. Collaborations with electronic musicians, jazz ensembles, and experimental producers became catalysts for reinvention—expressing Chinese musical heritage without being confined by it. The personal journey: From creative burnout and touring demands to motherhood, grief, and isolation, Mindy shares how life's transitions have shaped her sound. She explores the vulnerability required to blend cultures authentically and the guzheng's power to hold complex emotions that words cannot capture. Cultural responsibility: Mindy reflects on representing tradition while pushing boundaries, her hope to broaden audiences' understanding of contemporary Asian art, and the evolving landscape for migrant artists in Australia. A rich, lyrical conversation—part biography, part cultural meditation, part creative diary—offering insight into Mindy Meng Wang's artistic journey and the emotional terrain behind her unique sound.

    1hr 6min
  • 5 Episodes

About

Mick Harvey, renowned musician and record producer, discussed his musical journey, including his early influences, the formation of the Birthday Party, and his transition to the Bad Seeds. He highlighted his work on 10 solo albums and numerous soundtracks, including "Rose" and John Hillcoat's feature film. "To Have and to Hold". Harvey reflected on the challenges of composing for film, the impact of technology, and his recent honor as a Chevalier in France. He also touched on his current projects, including collaborations with Amanda Acevedo and the Melbourne-based band Bleak Squad. The discussion concluded with Harvey's thoughts on the current Australian music scene and the difficulties young musicians face.Live from the Kelvin Club in Melbourne, Australia join host James Hewison as he engages in conversation with a range of truly remarkable, creative and curious minds. Kelvin Confidential is recorded every month in front of a live audience. Host: James Hewison Production: Michael Rowe Theme music: The Green Child - Her Majesty II

Information

  • Creator
    James Hewison
  • Years Active
    2025 - 2026
  • Episodes
    5
  • Rating
    Explicit
  • Copyright
    © 2025 Kelvin Club. All rights reserved.
  • Show Website
    Kelvin Confidential

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