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Vishnu Wood · Jazzology

Listen now · vishnu wood in concert.

Vishnu Wood in Concert at The New England Science Center in Worchester, Massachusetts with special guests Ricky Ford (tenor sax), Talib Kibwe (alto sax), Bertha Hope (piano), Jessee Hameen II (drums), Wifredo Mareno (percussion) & Melba Joyce (vocals).  Listen to the full album here

• Afro Black 7:15
• Khadesh 3:21
• Marrakesh 11:22

Featuring Vishnu Wood on Jazz Bass / Oud

Archie Shepp · There’s a Trumpet in my Soul

Alice Coltrane · Journey in Satchidananda

Randy Weston-Vishnu Wood Duo · Perspective

Vishnu Wood

Professional musician, jazz bassist, music educator
Executive Director, Safari East Cultural Presentations, Incorporated.

Vishnu Wood combines his work as a performing musician with multicultural education programs in an effort to help adults and children understand the roots of  America’s classical music, JAZZ .

Mr. Wood is a native of Detroit who came up in the bebop era at the feet of jazz greats such as Barry Harris and Yusef Lateef.

His career includes national and international concerts and performances as a jazz bassist, and national and international educational programs through Safari East Cultural Programs, the organization he founded in 1973.

After a long New York – based career, Mr. Wood added a second residence in Amherst, Massachusetts where he combines country life with an active musical career.

In the last several years he has spent the winters in San Miguel de Allende, Mexico, where he has become a popular performer in both the vibrant local jazz scene and in the surrounding states.

Career Highlights

Vishnu Wood, jazz bassist and music educator, is the Executive Director of Safari East Cultural Presentations. He has performed and or recorded with jazz greats including:

· Dizzie Gillespie · Kenny Burrell · Alice Coltrane · Jack Dijonnette · Kenny Durham · Tiny Grimes · Freddy Hubbard · Slide Hampton · Barry Harris · Joe Henderson · Abdullah Ibrahim · Elvin Jones · Clifford Jordan · Art Farmer · Sam Rivers · Gloria Lynn · Carmen McRae · Thelonius Monk · Charles Mingus · Rassan Roland-Kirk · Hilton Ruiz · Archie Shepp · Roy Hanes · Carrie Smith · Dakota Staton · Terry Thornton · Grover Washington · Jimmy Owens · Harold Maburn · Melba Joyce ·

On life & jazz.

Articles, Interviews & Programs

Gallery · vishnu wood through the years.

Rolling Stone Interviews Vishnu Wood on ‘Journey to Satchidananda’

Hank Shteamer interviews Vishnu Wood on Alice Coltrane’s album ‘Journey...

Vishnu Wood on Alice Coltrane (1987)

Dolores Brandon interviews Vishnu Wood on Alice Coltrane. In this...

Instruments for Sale

Rare upright bass.

From the personal collection of Vishnu Wood – this rare, hand built double bass (William Gilkes, England, circa 1850) – is currently for sale. The ideal instrument for a career in jazz. Listen to the track below to hear the sweet sound of this classic beauty.

Upright Bass · William Gilkes · England circa 1850

The Playlist: Top 10 Songs to Play on an African Safari

• Ariana Ostrow
• No Comments

So now you’ve seen the Lion King in 3D and you want to go to Africa.

OK, maybe that’s just me but I’m sure pretty much everyone wants to go to the big-A for some reason or another, be it for a Safari through the Serengeti, a bit of lazy beach lounging in Cape Town or some white-man-guilt-volunteering in Malawi.

You might even have started planning your trip already by selecting the countries to visit, having all the flu-shots and studying the different types of Antelopes. But we all know that in order to really get into the rhythm for a big journey such as an African safari or a European roadtrip , there’s no better way to get into the rhythm of it than with a nice n’ juicy playlist . Lucky for you, It just so happens that we have bag full of genuinely African grooves and cheesy wannabe-African pop alike to sink your tune-teeth into. But fear not dear traveller, we promise you that our playlist is completely free of any cringeworthy 90’s new age world horror!

So whether you’ve already watching the stewardess demonstrating how to put on an oxygen mask on a flight to Kenya, or if you’re just dreaming of the African sun from a grey and rainy London (like me!), this is what GrooveTraveler suggests you listen to:

Jealousy – Tony Allen Now here we get down with some seriously groovy 70’s Afrobeats by the African drummer legend Tony Allen supported by Africa 70 and Fela Kuti. This tune has you wiggling in your seat (in a good way, not the I-need-to-pee-way) with it’s irresistible rhythm.

Cape Cod Kwassa Kwassa – Vampire Weekend After Tony Allen this song by American Ivy league college kids might just sound wrong but think what you might of their adaptaion of Afrobeat, it’s a catchy little bugger and ever so cute and indie.

I Zimbra – Talking Heads  David Byrne of Talking heads and producer Brian Eno were really into African Music, you never would have guessed it! YouTube says that Gene Wilder was on the bongos. I’m perfectly willing to believe it.

Gentleman – Fela Kuti I got a fever, and the only prescription is more Afrobeat! This one’s a classic by the king of the genre, Fela Kuti and comes with some mean sax on top.

Heygana – Ali farka Touré A wailing desert blues to play in the Sahara when you’re parched, your head’s feeling hot, you’re seeing mirages and that lizard has started talking to you…

Sabali – Amadou & Mariam This song by the blind couple from Mali is perhaps not their most African in style, (probably due to the obvious influence of producer Damon Albarn) but it’s a favourite of mine and Pitchfork’s, so shut up!

Warm heart of Africa – The Very Best Not a far cry from our friends in Vampire Weekend but with a bit of Malawi and London in the mix. The song title is obviously perfect for our little playlist and the catchy tune will have you singing along in Chichewa (national language of Malawi) within seconds.

Synchro Feelings – King Sunny Adé and his african beats Wonderfully easy-going sun lounging music at it’s best. Just close your eyes and let the psychedelic guitar wash over you with the African breeze.

Africa – Toto You knew it was coming, the most 80’s, most cliché and the most epic of them all. Don’t fight it. Until you’ve touched the rains down in Africa you have sing along with vigour and punch the air with an overbite. Do it!

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Release date: 06 November, 1999

Safari cast & crew, primary starcast.

• Goel Cine Prod

Release Date

• 06 November 1999
• Jyotin Goel
• Sanjay Dutt ... Captain Kishan
• Juhi Chawla ... Anjali Agrawal
• Rakesh Shrivastav ... as Rakesh Srivastava
• Jaya Mathur ...
• Suresh Oberoi ... Mr. Agrawal (Anjali's father
• Raza Murad ... Priest
• Mohnish Bahl ... Shekhar
• Ghanshyam ...
• Ashwin Kaushal ...
• Tanuja ... Asha Agrawal (Anjali's mother
• Avtar Gill ... Inspector
• Sharat Saxena ... Gwana

Choreographers

• Nimesh Bhatt

Censor Details:

Censor dates.

• Not Available.

Censor Certificate No

Certification, shooting location(city & country), action director.

• Mahendra Varma

Executive Producer

Frequently asked questions.

Q: What is the release date of Safari? A: The release date of Safari is 06 November 1999.

Q: Who are the actors in Safari? A: The starcast of the Safari includes Sanjay Dutt, Juhi Chawla.

Q: Who is the director of Safari? A: Safari has been directed by Jyotin Goel.

Q: Who is the producer of Safari? A: Safari has been produced by Jyotin Goel.

Q: What is Genre of Safari? A: Safari belongs to the genre Drama.

Q: Who is the music director of Safari? A: No Data Found..

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• July 3, 2019
• Aria Groove

Monkey Safari: “Our music is much more melodic and emotional now”

The duo follow up their last lp, ‘odyssey’, with this warm, inviting collection of music designed to brighten your day and complement the glorious sunny days that bless us during the summer. sven and lars learned some valuable lessons from their last long-player, and the new album ‘hi’ comes from a far more relaxed, easy-going place., an organic project that came together quite naturally, their third album sees the duo in high spirits ready to bring a large dose of positive vibes and emotional depth to the party. with lars about to welcome his first child, the duo are clearly full of goodwill, optimism and good vibrations and ‘hi’ is reflective of this positive headspace. monkey safari will be sure to touch all scopes of dance culture with no signs of deceleration on the horizon. their mandate remains the same, sending sunny vibes to make even the darkest dance floors smile..

We caught up with Monkey Safari to talk about ‘HI’ .

Electronic Groove: Hi, Monkey Safari, thanks for chatting with us. Congratulations about your new LP ‘Hi’. What’s the first word that comes to your mind regarding this achievement?

Monkey Safari: Hello all! A new chapter, since ‘ HI’ stands for welcoming the beginning of a lot of new things.

EG: We really enjoyed ‘New Day’ premiere. What was the inspiration to produce this track?

Monkey Safari: I think ‘ New Day’ is the perfect soundtrack for getting rid of things which bother you or starting a new chapter with a positive mind. In this sense you could also see it a bit as a symbol of the transformation we have been going through lately.

EG: What about the whole album. Any special focus on the sound you wanted to achieve?

Monkey Safari: We just recently decided to take a step back from the darker sounds and not to get influenced too much by the techno hype that has been happening lately. With this being said, we tried to produce a new sound that reflects our personality and what we are truly feeling. Our music is much more melodic and emotional now.

EG: How long did it take to produce the complete LP? Where it was recorded?

Monkey Safari: All of our songs are produced in our studio back home. The production of ‘HI’ took us about 6 months.

“HI stands for welcoming the beginning of a lot of new things”

EG: What would you say is the difference between ‘HI’ and ‘Odyssey’?

Monkey Safari: They are quite contrary . ‘Odyssey‘ was way deeper in comparison with ‘HI’ which is full of positive and happy sounds. You could say it’s the perfect summer soundtrack 🙂

EG: Any tours planned in order to promote the album?

Monkey Safari: We have a couple of shows coming up in India and a release party in our hometown. But since the festival season is right around the corner, we have plenty of possibilities to promote the album.

EG: Summer is here. What are your plans for the warm season?

Monkey Safari: We love all kind of outdoor parties, so we are really looking forward to that kind of shows. It’s always nice to play outside in the sun or a warm summer night and to have a good time with the crowd.

EG: What’s the origin of the Monkey Safari name?

Monkey Safari: We always wanted to produce happy songs which help people to enjoy themselves and make them forget about their everyday life. Kind of like you feel on vacation. I guess with this thought at some point the name ‘Monkey Safari’ just came up.

Monkey Safari’s ‘HI’ is already available. Stream and buy here . 

Follow Monkey Safari: Facebook | Instagram |  Soundcloud

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Watch CBS News

Chicago Symphony Orchestra names Klaus Mäkelä as new music director

By Todd Feurer , The Associated Press

Updated on: April 2, 2024 / 4:52 PM CDT / CBS Chicago

CHICAGO (CBS/AP) -- The Chicago Symphony Orchestra has announced its new music director, Finnish conductor Klaus Mäkelä, who will become the youngest person to ever hold the position in the ensemble's 133-year history.

Mäkelä, 28, will take over immediately as music director designate, and will begin his official five-year tenure as music director in September 2027, when he will conduct the orchestra for at least 14 weeks a year – 10 weeks of concerts in the Chicago area and 4 weeks of tours in the U.S. and around the world.

"I am honored to have been chosen as music director of the Chicago Symphony Orchestra and inspired to embark on this journey with an orchestra that combines such brilliance, power and passion," Mäkelä said in a statement. "I look forward to getting to know the musicians more over the coming years and am grateful for the time this allows for us to establish and deepen our relationship, in preparation for what is a major and exciting commitment."

He'll be the youngest music director for a major orchestra in the U.S. since Gustavo Dudamel started with the Los Angeles Philharmonic at age 28 in 2009. Mäkelä will be 31 years old when he starts as full-time music director in 2027, making him the youngest head of the orchestra. The orchestra's second music director, Frederick Stock, was 32 when he started his tenure in 1905.

Mäkelä previously served as the chief conductor of the Oslo Philharmonic and the Orchestre de Paris. He has worked with CSO twice before, first in 2022 for performances of Stravinsky's score for "The Firebird," and again last year for performances of Mahler's Symphony No. 5.

He replaces Riccardo Muti, who spent 13 years as music director at the Chicago Symphony Orchestra before retiring last year, just shy of his 82nd birthday.

Mäkelä will take over an orchestra far older than he is. Among 93 members, Muti made 32 appointments and Daniel Barenboim 28, with most of the remainder by Georg Solti. Principal trombone Jay Friedman and harpist Lynne Turner were hired by Fritz Reiner, music director from 1953-62.

"What I like about Chicago Symphony is there is quite a big part of it which still sounds like it sounded with Reiner," Mäkelä said.

Mäkelä's hiring comes at a time when several other major U.S. institutions have upcoming podium vacancies, including the Cleveland Orchestra, Los Angeles Philharmonic, Los Angeles Opera and San Francisco Symphony Orchestra. As music director of a U.S. orchestra, Mäkelä's role will include a fundraising component.

"I don't think it will actually be so drastically different from the work in Amsterdam and in Paris," he said. "In Oslo we have 100% of the funding is from the state and zero is private but then already in Amsterdam it's 50-50 and there's a lot of work to be done, and it's also very much in my interest because then we can achieve things together if we find the right partnerships."

Mäkelä played cello as a child — his father was a cello teacher and his mother a piano instructor. He remembers attending concerts given by Finnish conductor Hannu Lintu in Helsinki and decided his future vocation when he was 7 and singing in the children's chorus at the Finnish National Opera in Bizet's "Carmen." He was riveted while watching the conductor on a backstage monitor.

"It sounds like a silly story, but it's really true — from that moment," Mäkelä said.

Studying cello at the Sibelius Academy, he took a conducting class with Jorma Panula, whose pupils have included Esa-Pekka Salonen and Susanna Mälkki. He was first included as a Helsinki Philharmonic cellist when he was 15, then was asked to conduct. He first conducted the Oslo Philharmonic in May 2018, and a string of debuts followed. He made his first Berlin Philharmonic appearance in April 2023 and is to make his Vienna Philharmonic debut this December. Decca Classics signed him as an exclusive recording artist in 2021, a rarity in 21st century classical music.

With all the symphonic work, Mäkelä has found little time for opera, where one-to-two-month stays are the norm.

He lives in Helsinki but hadn't been there this year until late March. Mäkelä spends most of his time in Paris and Oslo, and getting scores to the right location proves time-consuming.

"I have FedEx and DHL and UPS all the time, and of course I always forget the score," he said. "I want to have my own scores because I write things."

He already is thinking about his initial programs in Chicago.

"It needs to be something which is a very clear start, a clear new chapter," he said. "It needs to be music which keeps both me and the orchestra a little bit on our toes, because this needs to be everything else than comfort zone."

• Chicago Symphony Orchestra

Todd Feurer is a web producer at CBS News Chicago. He has previously written for WBBM Newsradio, WUIS-FM, and the New City News Service.

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"I heard Portishead’s Dummy on the radio and thought to myself: ‘I can make that'": Air's Moon Safari is 25 years old, but still sounds like it will be made in 25 years' time. Here's the story of the greatest chillout album ever

And why you should see them play the whole album live this year…

Track by track

While Britpop and dance music fought for supremacy in the 1990s, a quieter music force was bubbling away, and took its place in the bars of Ibiza and the come down rooms in UK clubland – ' chillout ' was the new sound for the end of the century and Air were its masters. 

Chillout could pretty much be any style of music you wanted, as long as you lowered the bpm and made it calmer than its rave and high-energy dance opposites. So think classical , 50s kitsch, lounge, jazz , electronic … You name it, it would end up being packaged on a '90s chillout compilation for the masses.

Air would get there first, though, and pretty much embrace all of those styles on their debut album, Moon Safari.

Prior to Moon Safari, Air (Amour, Imagination, Rêve) was just Nicolas Godin, who had minor success releasing tracks in 1996 on French label Source and some remixes on Mo'Wax in the UK. A year later he was joined by Jean-Benoît Dunckel, after which Source asked for an album. 

Moon Safari was a tour through a nostalgic world of '70s television and classic sci-fi, all played with the instruments of those times

Air's mission was to do something different, and after being brought up on everything from Kraftwerk to Serge Gainsbourg – and with a healthy obsession for the unusual thrown in – they were almost destined to do just that. 

"Until 1994, I was listening to the radio and thinking, ‘whatever this sound of today is, it is not me’," Godin says on the Air website . "But then, I heard Portishead ’s Dummy on the radio, and thought to myself: ‘I can make that’.”

They took a love of pop culture from the previous couple of decades and created a musical backdrop for it in Moon Safari, a tour through a nostalgic world of '70s television and classic sci-fi. It was played with instruments of those times including vintage analogue synths and original Rhodes pianos , all bought relatively cheaply in France when digital synths were more in fashion and commanding the big money. 

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The resulting album came just at a time when the dance music generation was maturing into hosting dinner parties rather than PA systems in fields, and buying 'grown up' long players from bands like Massive Attack and Portishead . Moon Safari was a kitsch take for this generation, but by brilliantly not trying to be anything in particular, it ending up being everything. 

They deliberately sung in English because, "it made us sound even more French, because of our thick accents,"

Godin and Dunckel definitely played the French card with aplomb – you could almost see the album as a black and white '60s art house film – but deliberately sung in English to enforce it. "It made us sound even more French, because of our thick accents," Godin told the Guardian in 2016.

The duo recorded Moon Safari from 1996 to August 1997, starting in Godin's home studio before renting a space in a country house in Saint-Nom-la-Bretèche, with a stint at Abbey Road to record strings along the way. 

As well as the classic instruments we mention above, Air did add a few more modern touches that were very much in vogue at the time, although they thankfully didn't pay the in vogue prices, telling Future Music 's Derek O'Sullivan they paid just £40 for a TB-303 and £200 for a 909 . Lucky beggars. 

"We were using old Roland drum machines, Moogs , old Korg stuff, ARP synths and the Rhodes electric piano ," Nicolas explained, "and we also a lot of guitar effects: distortions and flangers in particular. We like the Electro Harmonix effects."

"If I want a flanged sound, I put a guitar box into the inserts on the mixer and I can control it manually," Nicolas said in the same FM interview. "It's more spontaneous that way. I don't like to have to push buttons on a rack. Many elements are flukes. We're not very good technicians, and the kind of effects and equipment we use are such that you're often obliged to hit them! So accidents play a part in our music. All the time."

We're not very good technicians, so accidents play a part in our music. All the time

Other gear they detailed included a Casiotone , clavinet , glockenspiel, several guitars, a harmonica, Korg MS20 , Mellotron , Minimoog , piano, Solina String Ensemble and a Wurlitzer organ. 

Amazingly the whole album was recorded on an 8-track Fostex D80 sync'd with an Akai S1000 and sequenced with Cubase , first running on an Atari 1040ST and later a Mac. 

The duo told Reverb.com that they then spent 15 days at Gang studio mixing the album on an SSL . "But seeing as Moon Safari only had eight tracks, there were just the eight tiny faders up on the giant SSL , so that was a bit of a gag!" Godin admitted.

Moon Safari came out at the start of 1998 to universal praise, and Air became the darlings of a new form of music. The album went on to shift a couple of million copies, selling 600,000 in the UK alone. 

To celebrate its 25th anniversary (although we make it 26), Air are playing the whole of Moon Safari on various dates across Europe starting at the end of February and finishing in July. Get more info from the band's official website .  

La Femme D’argent

Moon Safari's opener puts you straight in an Ibiza bar – or one on Mars come to think of it – at 4 o clock on the morning, and you are feeling like the coolest person on the planet, surrounded by effortlessly attractive humans and aliens. 

Rhodes piano and solid acoustic bass entwine and embrace throughout the track with Godin telling Reverb : "The Rhodes is my favourite instrument. I spent my entire childhood wondering what that sound was that I heard everywhere on TV and on the radio, but no one at that time pointed out the Rhodes."

Godin told the Guardian he used a 1960s Höfner bass put through a guitar amp for this track and played a riff to Jean-Benoît which he simply responded to by saying 'sexy boy'. "The song was about who we wanted to be; we weren’t handsome when we were younger; our friends always had more success with girls." 

The track is an undoubted highlight of Moon Safari and as its debut single, announced the band to the world, reaching number 13 in the UK chart. It's also the first track on the album to feature a vocoder: "We have four vocoders ," the band told Future Music , "but we can't tell you what they are, it's a secret!" Whisper: two of them were a Korg VC-10 and Roland VP-330 .

American singer Beth Hirsch sang on All I Need and You Make It Easy: "She made us sound like a space-age Carpenters," Godin told the Guardian. Hirsch was in Paris working an an au pair but was also a musician and songwriter, and had got a deal Rough Trade in Paris and was recording her debut EP Miner’s Son when she met Nicolas Godin in the studio. He asked her if she would be interested in contributing to Moon Safari and she quickly became involved in the project.

"They gave me an early version of the music, " she told Andy Price at MusicTech but even in that raw state I could tell the song had something special. I immediately found a melody and shortly after wrote the lyrics for it."

Kelly Watch the Stars

Godin told The Guardian , "I remember talking about who we thought was the most beautiful woman in the world. For me, it was Kelly from Charlie’s Angels, so we wrote Kelly Watch the Stars about her." If only we could all do that… 

Of course that squelching Moog bass underpins the whole track, but there's a great vocoded vocal to counter it, but Air still aren't going to tell you which one: "If you find one that we've got, you'll be able to make a record like Air," they noted to Future Music , clearly knowing that wasn't true. 

Godin revealed to reverb.com that Talisman "was actually a mix of Jean-Benoît playing on the Rhodes and me doubling the melody on the Wurlitzer 200A , so there were two electric pianos in the same track... not easy to mix."

We've included a live performance (above) from La Blogothèque in Paris in 2016 so you can, like us, use it to geek-spot some of the band's gear on stage. There are Moogs (a couple of Sources), a Solina String machine or two, a Roland Juno-60 , Nord Lead 2, Fender Rhodes , Korg MS20 , some other Korgs… er some drums. A bass. And guitars. Look we've got an article to finish ok?

Remember opens with another unnamed vocoder , solid beats, piano, delightful strings plus Theremin and Rhodes stylings take you to the restaurant at the end of the universe for afternoon tea. But just two and a half minutes later it dumps you back down to earth after not exactly outstaying its welcome. So neither shall we.

You Make It Easy

“The label encouraged us to work together more, so the guys showed me that piece of music. In a similar way to All I Need I found the melody and lyrics quite quickly and the rest of the production flowed after that,” Hirsch told MusicTech of You Make It Easy, and this is the track where those Carpenters references are easily understood. 

Ce Matin La

There's a bit during Ce Matin La where the lack of tracks used is more evident than on any other song on Moon Safari, but you know what? Give us a single string sound, what sounds like a trombone or tuba, and a simple guitar riff over a 128 track Pro Tools session any day. 

New Star in the Sky 

"I was singing about space all the time and reading Ray Bradbury’s The Martian Chronicles," JB told The Guardian. We've all been there. It turns out that Bradbury's book featured characters going on dinosaur safaris in the past. "I just loved the word 'safari'," Dunckel added. Might as well put it in the album name then. 

Le Voyage De Pénélope 

We should be feeling rather too full of Air's sweet and chilled vibes by now, but Moon Safari's joy is that Air judged its length to perfection. The lead synth here, that sounds a bit 'Vangelis' like, takes you by the hand and gently leads you to the door for your 7am journey home. That was quite a night chaps. Thanks, you sexy boys.

Andy has been writing about music production and technology for 30 years having started out on Music Technology magazine back in 1992. He has edited the magazines Future Music, Keyboard Review, MusicTech and Computer Music, which he helped launch back in 1998. He owns way too many synthesizers.

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Kylie Minogue on Swinging Safari: ‘So much of what we were doing was so non-PC'

Director Stephan Elliott and Minogue talk about the making of the Priscilla director’s latest risqué take on Australian culture

Kylie Minogue appears as you have never seen her before in the rambunctious Australian comedy Swinging Safari : as an alcoholic agoraphobic living in a sex-obsessed neighbourhood.

“I loved the script, and I thought this is so exciting – I can be back in Australia, I can do some acting again,” Minogue tells Guardian Australia.

“Then once we were on set, oh boy. So much of what we were doing was so non-PC. We would say, ‘Are we going to get away with this?”

The answer depends, of course, on what one makes of the writer/director Stephan Elliott’s raucous satire, which sets its body fluid-splattered sights on white-bread Australia in the 1970s. But Minogue and her co-stars, including fellow Neighbours alum Guy Pearce, must have had some idea what they were getting into, given the auteur’s notorious record of risqué humour, evidenced in The Adventures of Priscilla: Queen of the Desert and Welcome to Woop Woop .

Swinging Safari has a sight gag depicting a teenage boy being impaled by a beach umbrella, because why not? Also, during one of its lighter moments, a grown woman (played by Asher Keddie, star of Offspring ) urinates on a child in public.

Minogue says her character – the taciturn, mousy, hard-drinkin’ Kaye – was originally even wilder than the version that made final cut.

“There were parts which kind of got changed around in the edit, about how she would pass her time in the bedroom,” Minogue recalls. “That took a tiny bit of convincing on Stephan’s part. He said, ‘Trust me, trust me!’ So I went for it, and just let everything go south.”

What exactly are these other vices the character had? Elliott explains: “She was addicted to porn. She had this drawer full of toys and spent a lot of time in her bedroom. I remember when I came up with the idea, I rang Kylie and said, ‘Hey, I’ve got this great idea! Kaye keeps herself really busy up there!’ She said, ‘I already know what you’re about to say. I figured it out, Steph.’

“She wasn’t comfortable but she did it. God bless her, she absolutely did it.”

The story of how the pop superstar became involved in Swinging Safari goes back to the making of Priscilla, which arrived in cinemas in 1994. Few people know that the film’s soundtrack, which famously features drag performances of immortal dance hits such as Gloria Gaynor’s I Will Survive and CeCe Peniston’s Finally , was originally intended to be full of Kylie Minogue songs. Elliott had made a deal with record producing trio Stock Aitken Waterman, “the English label who were making all those shitty late-80s dance tracks”.

The director continues: “I went to them and said, ‘Our film is pretty draggy and gay, can I use your library?’ They loved it and said, ‘We’re there,’ When I said, ‘Who are your biggest stars,’ we looked at them all. They had 22 number ones with Kylie. So I said, ‘OK, why don’t we do a drag attack on Kylie?’”

But when Polygram Entertainment bought Priscilla, the conglomerate insisted the director use only songs from its music library. Years later, Elliott was writing the Priscilla stage show adaptation – “and guess what came back in? Kylie.”

Swinging Safari was originally intended to be released with the more provocative title Flammable Children. Elliott fended off numerous attempts to change it – feedback from colleagues telling him potential buyers were mistaking it for a horror movie.

“I put my little foot down and said, ‘Not going to budge, you can deal with it,’” he recalls. “Then: Grenfell Tower, London. The tower block went up. Many kids burned to death. So at the eleventh hour, after everything was finished – the title card was in, the posters were printed, everything done – we changed it. I caved, and I’m glad I did now.”

Like all of Elliott’s comedies, Swinging Safari is caustic but kind of sweet, a big heart evident beneath the soiled bed sheets. The story, a semi-autobiographical account of his upbringing, is likely to particularly resonate with people who remember life in Australia in the 70s. There are references to raunchy productions such as Number 96, and visions of carnage-strewn backyards and beach visits.

Minogue says it connected with her memories: “In the film, definitely large parts of my childhood come to life – though I don’t know about the parental side,” she says, laughing. She’s alluding to the rowdy behaviour of the adults in the film, from participating in key parties to the aforementioned urination. “I also remember childhood being slower, more languid ... this is on roids. A pumped-up version of childhood.”

So pumped up in fact, and with such a furious hell-for-leather pace, that Elliott took the unusual step of stretching out the film following feedback from test audiences.

“I put an extra five minutes in to slow it down,” he says. “People were saying, ‘It’s too fast! Too fast!’ I was saying, You bet it is! Let’s assault them!

“But during test screenings people, including kids, were saying, ‘We can’t remember anything, it’s just too fast.’ When enough young people said that I said, OK, we’ll slow it down a little. Hey, it’s the YouTube generation. Everyone can keep up, can’t they?”

• Kylie Minogue

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