Forever Five: Kris Schroeder

Waxx Lyrical
Sep 24
3 min read

Updated: Oct 10

Ever wondered what albums sit atop your favourite artists’ turntables? Forever Five is a Waxx Lyrical series spotlighting the five records that shaped the artists we love most. No rankings, no essays — just the albums that live closest to their hearts. Come for the choices, stay for the typically remarkable playlist that follows — woven from their picks and their own catalogue — culminating in a fascinating little mini music lesson every time.

KRIS SCHRODER

🎙 The Basics / Jackmann

🌏 Global troubadour. Harmony builder. Restless creative.

💡 The bridge between heart and intellect, melody and movement.

🎶 From Melbourne stages to Kenyan hospitals, his life hums with purpose and song.

🪩 Forever chasing connection — through rhythm, resonance, and the records that shape him.

Kris Schroeder portrait — Australian musician, co-founder of The Basics, photographed in natural light in black and white noir

Kris Schroeder has long walked the line between restless explorer and grounded craftsman. As one-third of The Basics — the harmony-rich trio he shares with Wally De Backer (Gotye) and Tim Heath — he’s taken music to far-flung corners of the globe, carrying songs that thrive on connection and curiosity.

That same spirit extends into his solo guise Jackmann, where the spotlight sharpens and the questions deepen, but the through-line remains: a creative brain wired for movement, discovery, and reinvention.

It’s little wonder, then, that his Forever Five feels less like a static list and more like a living, breathing soundtrack. Eclectic yet purposeful, his selections wander across genres and moods, the kind of records that keep finding their way back onto the turntable. These are the albums copping the heaviest play in his household right now — each one a clue to the way Schroeder listens, learns, and shapes his own art.

Forever Five Kris Schroeder

LISTEN — KRIS SCHROEDER'S FOREVER FIVE

A trio of tracks from each of his choices, plus an essential five tracks of his own.

The resulting playlist flows like a short music history lesson.

Kris Schroeder’s Forever Five Albums

Baaba Maal – Wango (1989)

A record alive with rhythm and spirit — Senegalese singer Baaba Maal’s Wango is a deep dive into West African soul, tradition and innovation intertwined. For Schroeder, it’s both an education and an inspiration — proof that music can travel borders without losing its heartbeat.

Jeff Beck – Blow By Blow (1975)

Virtuosity in motion. Blow By Blow is the sound of a guitar speaking its own language — raw, lyrical, and deeply human. Beck’s phrasing, tone and fearless sense of play speak to Schroeder’s own fascination with the craft of musicianship and melody.

1992 Australian Cast – Jesus Christ Superstar (1992)

Featuring John Farnham, Kate Ceberano, Jon Stevens, John Waters and Angry Anderson, this Australian cast recording was a defining introduction to drama, storytelling and sheer vocal power. For Schroeder, it’s pure nostalgia and performance magic — a reminder of how theatre and rock can collide in technicolour.

Wings – Venus and Mars (1975)

McCartney in full flight. Venus and Mars is melodic, playful, and full of that singular optimism only Paul could bottle. It’s one of those records that sound effortless yet endlessly inventive — the kind of pop craftsmanship that continues to ripple through Schroeder’s own work.

Split Enz – Frenzy (1979)

New Zealand’s most brilliantly eccentric export in full creative bloom. Frenzy captures the Enz at their scrappiest and most inspired, balancing art-pop ambition with pure DIY energy. For Schroeder, it’s both a homecoming and a masterclass in fearless originality.