Thundamentals Essentials

MCs Jeswon and Tuka and DJ Morgs spent their youth drinking from the same Blue Mountains wellspring that sustained Urthboy, Hermitude, and Down Under Beats Crew. The release of Sleeping on Your Style and Foreverlution in 2009 and 2011 announced a smooth groove collective cut with funk, soul, and Latin flavors, while their 2014 album So We Can Remember was long-listed for the Australian Music Prize and yielded the gold-selling single “Something I Said,” featuring guest vocals from Blue Mountains singer-songwriter Thom Crawford. Thundamentals continued that streak of working with ultra-local talent by tapping Mataya for 2017’s soulful “Sally,” which was voted in at the No. 8 slot in that year’s triple j Hottest 100 and became a multiplatinum seller in Australia. Jeswon and Tuka showed off their more sensitive side on the 2018 outing I Love Songs, including the atmospheric slow burn “I Miss You.” A lament to frayed friendship in the social media age, that track also confirmed how freely DJ Morgs can move outside the realm of traditional hip-hop, utilizing indie-rock guitar lines and other unexpected touches.