Thundamentals ‘Get Busy’ Tour

Blue Mnts come Newtown Sydney 3 piece hip hop collective Thundamentals did an interview with The Canberra Times last week. Scribe Douglas Fry began his interview with the opening line: “As the one-year anniversary of the Thundamentals’ sophomore album Foreverlution approaches, the LP’s slow-burn success has suddenly become white-hot.”

He makes a fair point. Asked a few months ago to put together a track for triple j’s ‘Like A Version’ the band sauntered into jjj breakfast a month odd ago and laid down a version of Matt Corby’s Brother. There was an avalanche of texts, tweet and calls in to the station almost instantaneously, the sentiments expressed unanimously blown away. Within days the video recording of the track became the single most watched video on Triple J’s Youtube Channel and is now only just short of a quarter of a million hits:

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The ‘Get Busy’ tour is an aptly titled one. These shows will be Thundamentals first and only headline shows for 2012, with the band deliberately taking a break from writing their new album to reconnect with fans before hitting the studio. MC Tuka is also balancing the release of his 2nd solo album “Feedback Loop” and his myriad of associated touring commitments in and around that. Just To Feel Wanted, the first single from “Feedback Loop”, has already been added to triple j rotation with the album scheduled for October release through swift rising Sydney collective hip-hop Big Village Records, a label Thundamentals members founded themselves with like minded Sydney based artists: http://www.bigvillagerecords.com.au/.

With 2012 rapidly pulling away, the ‘Get Busy’ tour is Thundamentals way of making sure fans get at least one MASSIVE chance this year to catch them live, and they’re pulling out the big guns as a result. There will be a free MP3 of an exclusive new Thundamentals track with every ticket purchased for the Sydney and Melbourne shows and joining them on the road will be a full horn section, live visuals and special guests vocalists (inc Ev Jones who appears on Brother) to give the shows a one, all inclusive, festival in your loungeroom feel. Hence, although it limits capacity, all the ‘Get Busy’ venues were specifically chosen to facilitate this vibe. The upshot of it all is that the bands last headline tour completely sold out, ‘Get Busy’ tickets are very limited and absolutely no extra shows can be added. Thundamentals would like to genuinely apologise to WA and SA – for the busy-ness outlined above, there just simply wasn’t an availability for this run.

The ‘Like A Version’ cover of Brother was for some listeners, the first time they had seen MCs Tuka and Jeswon and DJ Morgs in a different light, and not just Oz hip-hop. It’s not news to the band though, as Jeswon says: “I feel like we’re part of a newer wave of Australian artists shaking off the shackles of Oz hip-hop and the stigma that’s come to be associated with it. Our stuff is pretty eclectic, and very musical. It’s a reflection of our willingness to experiment with different genres. Hip-hop, after all, is just music – it shouldn’t be limited to one kind of sound.”

Four years of respect in the Australian hip-hop scene and wider music community, three acclaimed releases and countless shows around the country, here’s a quick overview of just some of what Thundamentals have covered in their career to date:

– 2011 saw the release of “Foreverlution”which saw their first inclusion in both the ARIA + AIR Charts debuting at #19 on ARIA Australian Charts, #17 on ARIA Urban Charts & #3 on the AIR Charts.
– It’s first two singles ‘Paint The Town Red’ + ‘How You Been?’ have been added to rotation on triple j.
– Their touring history includes A Tribe Called Quest, Big Boi (Outkast), MF Doom, Lyrics Born, Drapht, Bone Thugs N Harmony & Many More.
– 2010 saw Thundamentals top Rolling Stone Magazine’s ‘Acts To Watch’ list + Sydney Morning Heralds ‘Next Big Things’ list and saw their 4th single from Sleeping On Your Style achieve MTV Rotation.
– 2009’s release Sleeping On Your Style, had both singles ‘Move It Up’ + ‘The Mash’ added to high rotation on triple j. ‘The Mash’ was also iTunes Single Of The Week, which coincided with Thundamentals performance in the Sydney iTunes store for competition winners.
– Debut Self Titled EP received 2008’s ozhiphop.com’s ‘Best Ep Of 08’ Award.

Live, Thundamentals have grown into one of Australia’s most accomplished and energetic live acts. Raising roofs and causing hangovers wherever they go, for the reasons outlined above and partially in celebration of the one year anniversary of the release of “Foreverlution”, catch Thundamentals getting busy:

Oct 27th @ Gearins Hotel Katoomba, NSW
www.moshtix.com.au <http://www.moshtix.com.au>

Nov 2nd @ The Basement 159, Geelong, VIC
www.moshtix.com.au <http://www.moshtix.com.au>

Nov 3rd @ Northcote Social Club, Melbourne, VIC
www.northcotesocialclub.com <http://www.northcotesocialclub.com>

Nov 9th @ Oxford Art Factory, Sydney, NSW
www.moshtix.com.au <http://www.moshtix.com.au>

Nov 10th @ Sprung Festival, Brisbane, QLD
www.sprunghiphop.com.au <http://www.sprunghiphop.com.au>

Tickets for all shows go on sale to the public Thu Aug 9th. There will be a free MP3 of an exclusive new Thundamentals track with every ticket purchased for the Sydney, Melbourne and Blue Mnts shows. Thundamentals subscriber mailing list (Thundacats) will receive first chance to buy in with a $5 discount on tix offered to them Tue Aug 7th.

“Fans say the beats are a big thing with us, but it’s definitely a combination of the rhymes and everything. Our live show is different. We want to make it a DJ set, as well as giving a big live performance and keeping it all flowing – not just asking for applause at the end of every song like some acts do. We really want to make it an event.” – DJ Morgs

Soul Of Sydney: ‘FUNK’ music blog, beamin’ out of Bondi Beach, Australia.
Pushing local Funk, Disco, Hip Hop, Soul, House & DNB since 2009.

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