Why did you choose Jeswon as your stage name? Forgive me if I pronounced that one incorrectly.
You did pronounce it correctly, so congratulations on that because you’re in the 5% of people who do actually get it right haha! To be honest the name just came from a place of appreciation really, I feel like I’ve had a really good life so far so I feel like I’ve already won or that I’m winning at life if you know what I mean. I’ve come from a place where I’ve known a lot of people who’ve had really hard lives and really tough upbringings and I feel like I’ve always had a pretty good family, good friends around me and they have both always supported me and encourage me in what I want to do. So the WON part is coming from a place of appreciation for my life the JES part is just my name Jesse but shortened and then you’re left with JESWON.
Is there a meaning behind the name Thundamentals?
All of Thundamentals came from the Blue Mountains which is 2 hours west of Sydney. The weather up there is pretty shocking all the time and we do get a lot of rain and thunderstorms stuff like that so it’s kind of like a play on the brainstorming. I guess in the same regards as my personal rap name and the band name looking back on it now as an adult I would probably have chosen different names, But when your’re young and whatever and it it is what it is. But in saying that even questionable names for bands or artists can develop into something that is cool based on what the music is. Such as The Beatles, when you hear the name The Beatles you’d think oh thats an ok name but now they are The Beatles and you don’t even second guess it. But Thundamnetals was a reference to where we grow up in and its always raining with thunderstorms and stuff so and it can send you mental because you stuck indoors a lot. So it’s like Thunda reminds us of home and the mental is a sensory engagement idea like thundering on your mentals.
You have just released your new single Never say never, what is your take on the message behind this single?
For me it’s being at peace or coming to peace with your life situation and doing the best with what you’ve been given or making the most of what you’ve got. It’s kind of like I make reference to it in my verses it’s like don’t worry and don’t be a shame if you’re rolling around in a 94 Corolla just own it and be proud of who you are and what you are because it doesn’t matter what other people think. I think we can get a bit lost in our ambition in life and we strive for these things for things like a brand new car and we lose sight of the present and where we are at in lives currently. Don’t worry about what the next person is doing and don’t compare yourself to anybody else, just do you and be happy where you are. Don’t be discouraged if it doesn’t happen straight away, just don’t give up because you’ll get where you need to go eventually and that’s the philosophy behind the song.
Who brought the idea for the single to the group? Did everyone agree on the song first hand? Did anybody need convincing?
I think that one was Tuka’s idea and no I don’t think any of us really needed convincing. The way it kind of works is myself or Tuka generally come with an idea for a song which we take to everybody, it might be a chorus or a verse or a bridge or whatever it might even be already demoed or fleshed out and then we just show it to everyone. Like “Hey guys what do you think of this, do you think this is a good idea for a song?”. Id say probably about 90% of the time that we do that everyone’s pretty cool with it and they just end up being the songs that they are. I think on this next album I’d say it’s pretty 50/50 in terms of me or Tuka coming up with an idea that eventually becomes a song. Different people lead different songs but you know overall it’s a pretty easy process. Only on the rare occasion can we not decide and we might end up going with another idea but generally if someones really enthusiastic about it than that usually translates into the genesis of a good song.
You are about to head on tour, what are you most excited about?
The experience of performing live has always been something that I really enjoy. Thundamentals started out as a live outfit and we played for many years before we even recorded or wrote any music, we just used to jam and social a lot. So we’ve always been pretty comfortable playing live and I think just that live environment is such an immediate response where you can really connect with people right then and there, where as recorded music is a little more detached. I mean, you can have people hit you up and say they really loved the album but it’s different when you stand there and see someone’s face right in front of you when you’re performing and you can tell they are having a good time. I think that kind of immediate connection with people is something that really appeals to me and it’s something you only receive when performing live. Also looking forward to playing some new songs, its been a couple years now since we put out any music so it’s going to be nice and refreshing to play some new tracks and see whether or not the audience reacts positively or not. We will in fact be testing a few new songs from our upcoming album that no one outside the band has really ever heard before, so that will be nerve racking but we are looking forward to it.
How many songs from your upcoming album will be played?
We’ll end up playing about a third of the new album but you know some songs people would have heard before like Never Say Never and Late Nights. Late Nights was a precursor to Never Say Never but it ended up being just the first song that we completed during recording that we thought was pretty cool so we decided to release it early. But those two songs people would have heard before and we also have another song that we just released on the internet a couple of weeks ago. So, we’ll play that one and maybe 2 or 3 other songs on top of those 3 that no one outside of the band would have heard before.
What has been your favourite live performance to date? And why?
There has been a lot, but I think supporting Hilltop Hoods on there on the ‘Cosby Sweater’ tour in Australia would have been the tour and it would be the show we played in Western Australia at a venue called Red Hill. And that was a really amazing gig because they built the venue like an outdoor amphitheatre but it was built into the side of the hill. It was this epic space that they had constructed and I remember that show as it was the last show of the whole tour and the vibe in crowd were just amazing. We ended up having a big party at the venue afterwards with the Hoods and the crew that had been touring with us and It was just a great send off for the whole tour so that show was really special to me.
What song have you produced that you are most proud of?
That’s a tough one but I think probably from out last record there is a song on there called Got Love, and a big part of the song is a commentary on the Asylum Seeker situation in Australia. From that song but decided to launch an enterprise which is called the Got Love Initiative. So we now have this part of our business which is a charity I guess, and as a result of that song and all the feedback we received, because the hook of the song is “Take Your Fist And Make a Peace Sign With It” so we took those two symbols the fist and the peace sign and and got printed up on a bunch of shirts and stuff and sold those shirts on our last tour and we raised $20,000 for asylum seekers centre in Newtown, Sydney. That’s something I’m proud of because it’s giving a strong opinion and getting people to think about the Asylum Seeker situation in Australia. As a result it sparked this idea to start a charity to raise a bunch of money for the asylum seekers to help out. We have got the next chapter of that on this tour for the Got Love Initiative which will be this time raising money for the national centre of indigenous excellence in Redfern NSW. So I’m most proud of that song because that song sparked charity work within Thundamentals and that’s the thing I’m most proud of in my whole career so far.
What inspired you to become an emcee in the first place? And did you have a back up plan?
I never really thought of myself as an emcee other than when me and my older brother used to freestyle with each other and that’s how it started out. Then I moved to the Blue Mountains and I didn’t know anyone and I’d end up at these house parties with kids I didn’t really know because I was in new kid on the block. I’d just up free-styling at parties and I ended up with a bit of a reputation at the mountains for being the kid that can freestyle or something like that haha. So I met all the rest of the guys through that and we ended up forming Thundamentals. From there it became an appreciation of Hip Hop culture turned into me becoming an active participant within it. I never really planned for it to happen but I’ve always loved hip hop music and the culture of it. I went from mucking around to actually meeting other people who are taking it pretty seriously and that inspired me to start writing my own raps and taking things a bit more seriously myself. In terms of a back up plan; A few years ago now I was at the tipping point of whether or not I was going to be able to make music a viable career or whether or not I needed to come to the realisation that I was never going to make a living out of it, that I’ve had a great time doing it and all but I’m getting a bit older and I need to find something more financially stable. So I started doing a teaching degree and I got halfway through doing it when the Thundamentals started to take off to the point where now I could just do music full time at the music which is an incredible thing and a day that I never really thought that I’d see. I was half way through the degree when this happened and I deferred for a year, I then I asked to defer again and they said no if you want to continue the degree now or leave the course all together, which is kind of a bummer. But I think it’s something that I might come back to once the music thing has run it’s course, but for now we are in the thick of it and I’m not working at a job anymore, I’m just doing music and that’s a blessing so I’m gonna keep riding the wave for as long as I can.
If you could take in line from any hip hop song that meant something to you or even that you just really liked, Who? What song? The Line?
Wow ahaha ok gosh. I don’t think I can tell you that off the top of my head. If it was going to be anyone, it would be something by Mos Def though, if it was going to be anyone. I feel like his lyrics have real depth to them and he’s on that positive and conscious lyricism side of things. I could get back to you about this one, but off the top of my head I couldn’t tell you the exact line or song, but hes had a big impact on my outlook I guess.
When you are relaxing what music do you play in the background?
Probably something like The Internet lately, they’re just super chill. Maybe the song Girl by The Internet. For me I just listen to some chill s*** in the background when I’m doing the dishes or kicking back having a drink in the garden and relaxing. That would be my track.
THUNDAMENTALS ‘NEVER SAY NEVER’ TOUR
Featuring PEZ & Mallrat
Nov 17 NOV
Republic Bar, Hobart
Nov 18 NOV
The Croxton, Melbourne
Nov 25 NOV
Miami Tavern, Gold Coast
Nov 26 NOV
The Tivoli, Brisbane
FRI 2 DEC
Wollongong Uni Bar, Wollongong
SAT 3 DEC
Long Jetty Hotel, Central Coast
THU 8 DEC
The Jack, Cairns #*
FRI 9 DEC
Dalrymple Hotel, Townsville #*
SAT 10 DEC
Magnums, Airlie Beach #*
THU 15th DEC
The Metro, Sydney
FRI 16 DEC
Cambridge Hotel, Newcastle
SAT 17 DEC
The Metro, Sydney
WED 28 DEC
Southbound Festival, Busselton
THU 29 DEC
Beyond The Valley Festival,
*PEZ not appearing
#Mallrat not appearing
