It’s going to be a lyrical feast every week in August with Illy, Thundamentals, Remi and Bliss N Eso gracing the stage of The Man Hotel. Pete Murray will also be appearing as a bit of a wildcard to provide something for the more chilled snow enthusiasts to bop along to. One of Australia’s most prized rhyme spitters, MC Eso (aka Max McKinnon) of Bliss N Eso has been taking a well-deserved rest after the collective’s massive national tour off the back of their latest record Circus in the Sky. McKinnon saw the connection between snowboarding and hip hop in the early days of the group’s career, when they started hearing their tracks on guerrilla snowboarding films.
“Back in the days when we first started noticing our music being used for other things, a lot of it was snowboarding guerrilla videos kids were doing,” McKinnon remembers. “[They were] just shooting each other’s friends and putting our music in the background. Every time we hit the snow we find the culture of all the snowboarders and we’re all the same bloody people.
“It’s extreme, and so is hip hop,” he exclaims. “We say what we want and the snowboarders do what they want, so it’s very alike. They’ve got that freedom to do whatever they fucking want and that’s exactly why I’ve got hip hop. It’s an amazing force to have a platform to say whatever you want and the world has to listen.”
It’s shaping up to be a big year for Thundamentals, who recently released their critically acclaimed third studio album So We Can Remember. MC for the burgeoning group, Tuka (aka Brendan Tuckerman) grew up skateboarding, but sees the snowboarding culture as a gateway to exposing new listeners to their music.
“We get a lot of attention from Canada, and it’s basically from Australian snowboarders going over with our music and spruiking it,” Tuckerman explains. “I definitely think snowboarding culture and skate culture carry a lot of hip hop around to people that otherwise wouldn’t hear it. It’s a nice little partnership.”
The life of snowboarders and surfers is synonymous with freedom for most people and when McKinnon starts recalling his past snow experiences his voice becomes faster and higher.
“The amount of times we’ve been there playing with other groups, and it just becomes a bloody party,” McKinnon enthuses. “It’s like a mystical magical wonderland! It feels like society is so far away and there’s definitely something magical about the snow. There’s obviously hitting the hills, but getting in those little rooms with a fireplace going… It’s a groovy time.”
While the Home Grown Snow Tour is going to be Tuka’s his first trip to the Victorian snow fields, he did get some unspecified stories from their supporting act Remi about what goes on in the hills.
“I haven’t been to the Victorian snow spots before but I have been to Jindabyne,” Tuckerman says. “I’m really looking forward to it. I was hanging out with Remi at the Rolling Stone gigs in Sydney and he was saying he’s had some pretty fun times there.”
If you happen to be on the snow hills keep your eyes peeled for the hip hop royalty that might be flying down next to you. Although neither of the MCs have much time for snow holidays, both are keen to give it a crack. To be a fly on the wall when Australia’s best hip hop artists are falling over themselves in a beginner’s snowboarding class would be enough to wet your jumpsuit.
“To tell you the truth, I never have too much time to hit the hills but I was skier,” McKinnon admits. “When I was younger I got on the snowboards once but I didn’t know what the mountains were all about so I went up there in literally just tracksuit pants. First time in the snow and fucking bang – my arse is all wet, I was out of it and I just thought snowboarding is not for me.
“I skate heaps but I haven’t been able to snowboard that many times,” Tuckerman says. “Although we grew up in the Blue Mountains, where there’s snow there’s not enough for snowboarding per se. We’re all land surfers and play soccer. I reckon the boys are going to give it a crack for sure. I think skating helps a little but still I learnt to bail and with snowboards you can’t so you have to dedicate yourself so it’s a bit of a different beast.”
BY RHYS MCRAE
