M.E. chats to Jess Cornelius, 28. Musician, lead singer of Melbourne band Teeth & Tongue, and lady about town.

Tell us about your work, Jess.

I write, record and perform as Teeth & Tongue. Sometimes this means performing with a four or five piece band, sometimes solo with a drum machine and guitar. The whole thing is a work in progress, and I hope it will keep evolving and changing.

What are you working on right now, this minute?

Releasing Teeth & Tongue's debut album. It's called Monobasic and I finished it a few months ago. It took six months to record, because we were only recording a few days a week, and every instrument was tracked separately. I spent about six months writing it before that, and then we re-recorded everything using drums, bass, Rhodes, guitars, synths, piano, vocals and strings. It was fun but I can't wait to get it out. It's been getting a good response so far, which is a relief.

How did you get started?

I started writing music at 14, in my home country of New Zealand, but I was a terrible singer then and played very rudimentary guitar. I loved it so much I just kept going anyway. You improve a lot by constantly playing. I studied contemporary music for a year after secondary school, if you can study such a thing. Melbourne was the 'place to be' for rock music, and certainly nothing was happening in Nelson at the time, so I moved to Melbourne. I initially meant to 'pass through' on my way to the UK, but I have been here for nine years!

Describe the part of Melbourne you're in.

I live and work in Brunswick. It's an incredibly multicultural inner suburb. There are a lot of students and artists here, but mainly it's populated by Italian, Turkish, Greek and Lebanese people, along with fabulous Mediterranean food stores, Lebanese bakeries, Islamic clothing shops and bridal stores. A lot of similar suburbs have become over popular and ended up with convenience stores on every corner, but that hasn't happened to Brunswick yet.

What inspires you about Melbourne?

The openness of people to new trends and ideas. We all have access to such massive amounts of information, and I think Melburnians really embrace that, and adopt influences from all over the world. There are an overwhelming number of bands and musicians! It's an exciting place to live, but it's relatively safe too.

Who are some of your favourite local musicians?

Your Animal are definitely a band to look out for, they are an unconventional three piece using only bass, violin, three-part harmonies and a bit of percussion. They do a great Roy Orbison cover, too. Inappropriate Tough Guy Behaviour have been blowing me away live. They are a two-piece, bass and drums, but the way they play their instruments is really experimental and incredible to watch. I love to see people challenging standard band line-ups and techniques.

Your best night out in Melbourne and the outfit you would wear?

It would involve really good food, possibly at Chinatown in the city, or a delicious pub meal. Cocktails at Joe's Shoe Store in Northcote and then a gig at The Toff or The Tote. What I would wear? Tights, boots, and something sparkly.