Describe your music.

It’s a bit jazzy. I think it’s good for book-parties, or a late-night drink outside, perhaps an evening walk. It’s fairly intimate and cosy.

Tell us about the your local music community in Canberra.

The most exciting thing was a band who played inside a giant bubble made of sticky tape. People are starting to be adventurous; experimenting with new sounds, playing hybrid shows with film and art installation. That’s the future, I think. There aren’t many venues for that sort of thing, though. I’d like to play at a swimming pool. Someone told me that in Canberra there are more people in bands than watching them. I think that’s funny.

When did you start playing the piano and writing music?

I began by writing a song about rain when I was eight. Highschool was a collection of sop and teary odes to various boys. Now I write about God, people and books.

Who would you most like to see perform? Why?

I’d love to see Sufjan Stevens. His arrangements are amazing; I wonder how he pulls it off on stage. I think he has cheerleaders. But also Regina Spektor! I’d die to see her play – she’s so theatrical and wild. I listen to her playing around, making funny sounds with her mouth and crashing and banging on the keys, and I think, that’s what I do when I mess around by myself! I’ve decided to stop writing what I think are real songs, and just be silly if I feel like it.

What have you got planned for the future?

I want to write plays and change the world. In the meantime, I’ll be playing exquisite music in the band Margaret Helen King. We’re planning to record a concept EP at the end of November, on the subject of FAMILY.

Australian music is…

swelling, definitely.

CATHY IN THE triple j STUDIOS

As part of winning the Flesh It Out songwriting competition, Cathy got to record her track in the triple j studio. Check out the action below ... Cathy Petocz and triple j music producer Linda Radclyffe hard at work. The magic always happens behind closed doors... The mighty pen and paper. Classic tools of the recording process. Cathy and Linda smile for the camera. Photos taken by Matt Booy