Thundamentals: 10 years deep

Sydney via Blue Mountains trio, Thundamentals, are set to celebrate their tenth anniversary this year with a whopping 32 date national tour. Titled Decade Of The Thundakat, the tour will see the guys sharing the love big time with regional Australia – and it seems we have dumplings to thank for it.
“We were out at our favourite dumping place in Enmore and well, we’d been planning to do a regional tour at the end of last year [2017] but things had gotten pushed back ‘cause we ended up on the Falls lineup,” explains Thundamentals’ Tuka, “And we were just thinking about it all and our DJ, DJ Morgs, realised that we’d released our first EP at around this time in the year.”
Arguably one of Australia’s most beloved Hip-Hop acts, the glowing reputation Thundamentals have built for themselves is undeniable. With an impressive catalogue of achievements spanning the duration of their career, the three-piece have graced the stages of triple j’s One Night Stand, Groovin The Moo, Splendour in The Grass and Falls Festival, as well as having sold out their largest ever headline tour, in the last year alone.
“We did the whole run [of Falls] and it was crazy. On a couple of the dates we were actually closing stages for the first time… You just never think you’re going to be that guy,” says Tuka.
Despite being 10 years deep into their career, the reality of where Thundamentals are today is something Tuka struggles to grasp.
“The other day when we were at Falls in Byron, I think it was us, then Foster The People and then Flume,” he says, “We couldn’t believe how high up we were playing.
“We’ve got this song called Déjà vu and it’s basically about all of this – how we never really thought we’d be here. And during the set me and our MC Jesse [Jeswon] just kind of looked at each other and it wasn’t rehearsed, we just looked at each other and kind of smiled – it was just this moment, like, ‘this is f#cking lit.’”
Adding to their list of achievements, Thundamentals made two appearances in the recent Triple J Hottest 100 countdown, with song ‘Sally’ making it into the top 10, coming in at number eight.
“I really never thought we’d make the top 10,” says Tuka, “And the coolest thing about it is, that song [Sally] is actually about someone – it’s not about someone who’s made up – which just reaffirms you don’t have to be anyone but yourself.
“It’s about someone that’s elegant, classy and well-educated, that works in the humanitarian industry, but she has a funny way of dancing and she’s just being herself – and I love that I’ve been rewarded by that observation.”
Marking Thundamentals’ first large-scale regional tour in some years, the guys will be joined by African-Australian artist B Wise, as well as Soul singer-songwriter Adrian Eagle and can’t wait to hit the road.
“We’ll all be touring in the same van and it’s just going to be a massive family of people to share it with,” expresses Tuka. “And there’s this element in some regional tours that you don’t really get in the bigger cities – I guess because in the bigger cities, you do bigger venues – but there’s this intimacy and a sense of authenticity about everyone that’s there.
“Everyone in the room really wants to be there. You don’t get to perform to these people that often, so I guess for the most part they’re just thankful and I really like having that conversation with people – that they’re just happy to see you and want to party.”
If you were lucky enough to score tickets to this weekend’s Party In The Paddock festival, you can also catch the guys there with their recent addition to the lineup.
When & Where: Tap House, Bendigo – February 23 & March 23; Karova Lounge, Ballarat – March 24 – 25
Written by Helena Metzke