At only 26, Anna Webster has her own independent record label, which she established in London. She has recently moved down under to launch the Melbourne branch of Hooked Up Records.

1. Tell us about Hooked Up Records and how it began…

Hooked Up is the name of a song from a band I used to manage in Perth. We all moved to London and I started to put on nights called 'Hooked Up' at an underground (literally) venue in Soho called Push. I was seeing so many bands that were amazing every week and no one was putting out their records or helping them out with management stuff….so I started the label. To keep everything I was doing under the same banner we called it Hooked Up Records. It also makes sense because a lot of stuff we do involves hooking various folk up with other people.

2. Why the move to Melbourne?

London is a hard city to live in for too long. There's not a lot of money in the independent music biz and I knew the standard of living out here would be much higher.We had heard from lots of friends that Melbourne is where it's at music wise in Oz, so we packed up our one-bed flat in Hackney and moved to sunny Coburg.

3. How would you compare Melbourne and London’s music scenes?

The London scene is hard to 'crack' because there are so many sub cultures and consequently so many scenes. You can work for 50 years in the industry out there and not go to every venue or see every band because they don't mingle - they have their own radio stations/websites/venues etc. so there is no need for them all to work together. But what I love about Melbourne is that people play in loads of bands. I've met loads of people who say they play in bands and they mean like 4 bands. No-one would have the time or money to do that in London. It makes people such better musicians to mix up their influences and style. The standard of the musicianship out here is second to none.

4. What’s on the horizon for Hooked Up Records?

Well, we're having a launch party on the 27 May at Bar 303 in Northcote to celebrate the relocation and then we're concentrating on the new record for Jack on Fire - both recording and releasing it.

5. What’s…

…the best coffee in Melbourne?

I like Ray's Cafe on Victoria Street in Brunswick - good eggs too.

…the best place to eat in Melbourne?

I have Spudbar about 3 times a week - it's right next to the studio and is so tasty. I also like the Turkish restaurants on Sydney Rd. China town is pretty special too.

…your favourite thing about Melbourne?

The amount of real pubs!...and great venues…..and warehouse parties…and the option for bands to get funding for various projects. Unheard of in London!