It’s been a while in the making, but our 23rd issue is out.

That’s Grant Hunter‘s crazed marsupial/bunny cover for Cyclic Defrost #23.

Inside you can find Grant’s favourite record sleeves and an in-depth interview with the Novocastrian – by Shaun Prescott, who also turns in a killer feature on another steel city institution: Castings. Also interviews with Mata & Must, Chihei Hatakeyama, Pimmon, Peaking Lights, Jon Hassell, Swoop Swoop, and Tim Exile, and Tim Koch selects. The Cyclic website, which also features hundreds of record reviews, is set for a major revamp any day too.

I interviewed Paul Gough for a piece about his music (Pimmon) and radio (ABC, FBI, etc) making – the Sydney Morning Herald’s Spectrum section ran a shorter version of the piece on June 13, but for some reason not online (download here). So writing it up for Cyclic gave me a chance work on it a bit more, use a few more of my sources, and run it online.

It’s been quite a week.

Since last Sunday I have:

• Spent a week in Perth to attend the Greenhouse 2009 climate conference. No gambling. Chaired a session on climate change adaptation. Lived at Burswood Entertainment Complex – Perth casino – for five days. Did not leave. Oh, did leave one night, for Meupe night in town – got Pimmon CD and Wooshie seven inch single. Back at casino, found myself sitting at a parking station as it was the only place I could charge my laptop. Swum at Cottesloe beach on the last night with new and old friends, followed by fish and chips and Little Creatures beer on the beach. Flew back to Sydney after my longest time away from Nina Bea
• Appeared in the Sydney Writers Festival 09 program
• Program review at radio. All in order, apparently
• Skipped through traffic, petered out of petrol at Albion and Elizabeth Streets, had to push my scooter to the side of the road. The shame