If their opening night concert in Melbourne is anything to go by, local fans of Blue Mountains hip hop outfit Thundamentals are in for a treat when the tour hits Sydney on December 1.
“It was up there with one of the best gigs we’ve ever played,” said Jesse Ferris, aka Jeswon, of the November 10 Melbourne opener. “It was a fantastic way to kick off the tour. The crowd was super enthusiastic and generous and responsive which was such a nice feeling… It was just a really thrilling experience. It’s got us so excited for the rest of the tour.”
Supporting the release of the band’s fifth album, I Love Songs, the seven-date tour sees the Thundamentals trio of Ferris, Brendan Tuckerman (Tuka) and Morgan Jones (DJ Morgs) joined on stage by a full six-piece band for the first time.
The tour also marks a decade since Thundamentals released their debut EP, a milestone Ferris said his younger self would never have believed.
“If someone had told me 10 years ago that one day we would be making a living by doing hip hop music in Australia I would have laughed out loud,” he said.
“Thundamentals’ story feels like the story of the underdog that ended up winning – and it still feels like that. Every time I step on stage, if it’s in front of 5000 people at a festival and they’re all cheering and singing your music back to you, it still feels so surreal… I am so thankful for anyone turning up to listen to our music.”
Ferris moved to the Blackheath when he was 17, before later living at Mount Victoria and Katoomba. Joining musical forces with locals Tuckerman and Jones, the friends quickly found themselves part of the upcoming hip hop scene in the Blue Mountains.
“We’re proud to have come from the Blue Mountains and we still rep that,” he said.
While the Thundamentals line-up has changed in the last 10 years, the core trio of Ferris, Tuckerman and Jones has remained.
“One of the reasons I feel people relate to our story is that it’s a story of friendship that has somehow blossomed into this viable career path for myself, Tuka and Morgs,” said Ferris. “But when it started it really was just about the thrill of making music.”
After five albums, that thrill is still very real for fans of Thundamentals. Ferris said the reaction to I Love Songs – which shies away from more overt political commentary to instead focus on love and relationships – has been among the best in their career.
“Perhaps more than any release we’ve ever put out I feel like it’s resonating really strongly with our fans and also with people who might not have heard of us before,” he said.
He said the album’s focus on love was a deliberate attempt to find a haven in today’s turbulent world.
“You scroll through your newsfeed and everything is so hyper-politicised right now – and some of it rightly so, there are terrible things coming to light – [but] it can be tiring,” he said.
“Trying to focus on those loving relationships is respite for us – the love for your friends and family and lovers is like an oasis in this desert of politicised negativity. Hopefully you can just put the record on and forget about all those worries for 50 minutes and just zone out and feel some warmth and love and yearning for human contact and relationships.”
Thundamentals perform at the Enmore Theatre, Sydney on December 1. Tickets available from Ticketek.
