Confidence Man; the current reigning Kings and Queen of indie dance
Subscribe
X

Subscribe to Forte Magazine

Confidence Man; the current reigning Kings and Queen of indie dance

When Confidence Man arrived last year, they made serious waves with their irresistible, irrepressible dance music, and were hailed by triple j as the best new band in Australia. Going by some pretty wild pseudonyms (a tactic that has allowed Confidence Man to be taken seriously as its own idea and project), the Brisbane based dance pop band is fronted by Sugar Bones and Janet Planet, and backed by two mysterious musicians in black veils (Clarence McGuffrie and Reggie Goodchild). All seasoned performers in outfits like Moses Gunn Collective, The Belligerents and Jungle Giants, Confidence Man is a machine custom designed to make you dance and lose your cool.
“We were all living together at the time back in Brisbane and we were just messing around in the studio. It was really fun and we were doing this new kind of music that none of us had really done before in our other projects and it was just super fun,” Sugar Bones (the hunk in hot pants) explains. “We started doing it once a week and just having fun with it, then it just developed into a real thing. It’s pretty much been the same music from the get-go; we’ve developed it a lot but it was always up-beat, big bass lines, a bit cheeky and a bit silly from the start,” he says. “As everyone has these quite serious other projects, it’s a real chance to let our hair down and not be restricted by any kind of image.”
As one of the biggest acts to come out of Australia last year, you just need to see their live show to understand why. They’re the dance crew that bring their bangers to life through their energetic, no-fucks-given vibe on stage, complete with synchronised dancing and pure pop melodies that has seen them already play European festivals such as Glastonbury, Down The Rabbit Hole Festival and Dot to Dot Festival. Simply check out the video of them performing their break-out debut ‘Boyfriend (Repeat)’ at Splendour In The Grass and you’ll see what we mean.
“We wanted to do something different with the live show and make it a bit more of a performance and not your standard gig kind of thing,” Sugar Bones explains. “I think having this kind of music opens the door for a lot of interesting dance moves that you can whip out.”
As to if it comes naturally to Sugar Bones, he simply laughs. “Well, it definitely comes naturally for Janet, it’s like her dream come true. It’s definitely become easier for me though and all the ideas of the vibe that we want to put out with the live show came really naturally and is really fun to come up with. We just muck around in the lounge room and try and think of stupid dance moves.”
Now, 2018 looks to be their biggest year yet, with Confidence Man releasing their debut album Confident Music For Confident People last week. The 11-track release features breakout singles ‘Boyfriend (Repeat)’, ‘Bubblegum’, ‘Better Sit Down Boy’ and the brand new tongue-in-cheek jam ‘Don’t You Know I’m In A Band’.
The debut album will see the band take their portable party live show across this country in May to celebrate, including a coveted spot on the entire Groovin The Moo (GTM) tour which Sugar Bones is keen to be a part of. “We played last year in Townsville, just the one show. That was great fun and a really cool festival so it will be good being on the whole thing this year,” he smiles. “I’ll be looking forward to Paul Kelly actually, I’m an all-time Paul Kelly fan which isn’t very Confidence Man, but that’s my secret crush on the side – chilled, folk, country music.”
We have no doubt that it’s going to be full of surprises, with Sugar Bones giving us a slight hint of what to expect: “It will be everything from the album, all the fresh tracks, we’ve got a few new costumes, a few little tricks up our sleeves, and a few more exciting little additions.”
What we do know is that Confident Music for Confident People is fuelled with big vibes, Con Man wit, and is simply brash and bright as hell – you won’t want to miss out on seeing it live this year before they head overseas for a massive international tour.
When & Where: Groovin The Moo, Bendigo – May 5 & 170 Russell, Melbourne – May 20.
Release: Confident Music for Confident People out now.

Written by Talia Rinaldo