“In an ideal world, we would have liked to have the album out a little bit sooner,” MC Jeswon of Thundamentals says. “I think just other commitments have kind of spiced things up to a certain extent.”
Jeswon believes that fans of the trio – known as Thundakats – have reacted positively to the two singles released off the album and expects So We Can Remember to be a hit. “Despite the fact that we haven’t released a full project in three years, we’ve released a few songs that have actually brought more attention to what we’re doing than our previous two albums and EP,” Jeswon says. “We’ve kind of been lucky like that and I feel like anticipation for this album is at a really good level. I feel like we’ve got more people checking out our music than we ever have.”
After seeing their lead single off the album, Smiles Don’t Lie, create a #5 position on iTunes Hip Hop Charts and earn a position at #32 on triple j’s Hottest 100 countdown, the trio has now released Something I Said as their second single off the album.
The song features fellow BlueMountain musician Thom Crawford on the vocals. Crawford, a friend of Thundamentals, brought his vocal expertise to the song to help develop it how Thundamentals had imagined. “It’s a very organic kind of thing where Thom was just around and we were hanging out and we said ‘look, we wrote this chorus, written this melody, we’d love to have you have a crack at singing it,” Jeswon says. “He just came in and nailed exactly what we wanted. It was exactly what we had imagined on the track. He came in, and within a few takes, he brought the vision of it to life.”
The trio prides themselves in their ability to deliver lyrics that people can relate to as opposed to the “braggadocious” hip hop that is so common in today’s music culture. “[It’s] kind of a mix between sample-based and live instrumentation and just trying to bring a positive vibe and an honest vibe as well – I think that’s what we’re trying to do with our lyricism,” Jeswon says of the trio’s music. “We’re not really too much on the braggadocious tip, so it’s more just a bit of trying to represent ourselves and hopefully strike a chord in people going through similar situations.”
Thundamentals stay true to their philosophy with So We Can Remember, representing a rollercoaster of emotions throughout the album similar to emotions a listener may feel in life itself. “There’s highs and lows throughout the album. So there’s moments of celebration; there’s moments of happiness; there’s moments of frustration; there’s moments of contemplating ‘what am I doing? Is it all worth it?” Jeswon says.
Jeswon believes the name of the album, So We Can Remember, can be a reminder for people that things will get better and to take a moment to recall why they’re doing something they don’t enjoy. “When you hit your low points, you’ve got to remember the reason why you’re here: to fund your actual passion,” Jeswon says. “We’re in this situation, but we’re trying to say ‘you know what, you’re working to something better so don’t let it get you down too much.”
While the trio experiences many of life’s difficulties just as most people do, Jeswon wants the album to deliver an uplifting message that will help motivate listeners and remind them that good things can come, especially if you work to better your life. “Overall, I think it’s a positive thing and we realize that life isn’t rosy 100 per cent of the time and this music can hopefully lift people up,” Jeswon says. “We understand what you’re going through because we are going through it as well and we are trying to make this music to remind ourselves that life is good and that each situation can get better, it’s just a matter of working through the bullshit and pushing to the other side.”
The trio hopes that they can also help raise the crowd’s spirits when performing in person by delivering the crowd a party atmosphere while always putting all of their energy into a performance. Jeswon believes that the trio is a “dynamic” act and takes pride in their intensity on stage, making sure the fans get their money’s worth. “Personally, if I don’t get off stage dripping with my fucking sweat, then I feel like I’ve cheated the fans,” Jeswon says of his energy on stage. “I want people to see that their presence is important to me and that they invested their time and money to come check out what we do, so I’m going 110 per cent every performance so that they can feel like ‘fuck yeah, we are valued and we are important to these guys.’”
BY CHRIS MCCLAIN
