Interview with Jumbledat

What up homeboys and homegirls?

Here's an interview I did for Bark magazine I did a few months back, they are really cool guys make sure you check em out!


Those that know me well know that my thirst for new hip hop is never quenched and my latest discovery is a crew that has impressed me to no end with their smooth sounds. Jumbledat are an ensemble of diversely talented musicians who now call Melbourne home, after migrating here from Katoomba in the Blue Mountains, where the crew all originally met.

As the name suggests, Jumbledat are an amalgamation of assorted musical talents and genres, which together, equate to a very energetic but smooth, jazzy hip hop sound. The group itself has 6 core members who soulfully play the percussion, keys, guitar, trombone and drums respectively plus 2 emcees who grace the tracks with intelligent rhymes and wordplay. In fact, the only thing not jumbled about these musicians is their shared talent.

Luke who plays the keys for Jumbledat was kind enough to spare a few minutes to answer some questions for Bark Magazine.

Liquid Lyrics: Let's go back to the forming of Jumbledat - how did you guys meet?

Luke: Initially we met in high school and we were certainly mates before band-mates, though the music definitely forged a stronger bond between us. A few of us had been jamming together for a while in our last years and decided to play a couple of shows at some parties and local venues in K-Town (Katoomba in the blue mountains). Our initial musical uniting stemmed from a shared love of jazz and hip hop. At that point I loved jazz but knew little about hip hop, and Perrin (our co-front man) loved hip hop but knew little about jazz so the combination just seemed to work. Although we were very musically naive, there was something really exciting about fusing two styles that have such experimental possibilities.

Liquid Lyrics: When that spark came for you all to jam together for the first time, did you ever think that you would all be able to gel so well?

Luke: I think we gelled so well at the start because of our musical innocence! We just had fun, and never placed too much emphasis on what was right or wrong. Later down the track we became more critical, but the connection we share always stems back to our interplay onstage, and in feeding off each other's musical spontaneity.

Liquid Lyrics: With all of the different musical influences involved, how do you guys manage the creativity and song creation?

Luke: Our song writing is a very collaborative process. Everyone has the opportunity to put their own input into the music. In terms of so many people with such diverse tastes, I would say it's more beneficial than not. At times it can create clutter, in which case we have to strip everything back and start with a simple concept, but overall we bounce off each other when jamming and expand on each other's ideas to write material. The songs generally grow from a personal idea, or concept, and then we layer our songs instrumentally much like a produced song. I guess you could say our songs are very reflective of hip hop production, just transposed into a live context.

Liquid Lyrics: Does Jumbledat have any plans to include more instruments or musical genres in the future, or do you feel the sound is jumbled enough for now?

Luke: We saw a reformation of sorts in the past few months as a result of band members leaving. Consequently, we now play with a heap of different musicians so our style and instrumentation is constantly evolving. It would be stupid to box them in by forcing them to learn the existing songs note for note and to copy the styles of the original musicians, so we let them create their own sound. This approach makes every gig different. In the future we're considering using live production elements in our show, like turntables or a triggered MPC, though it's still very much in it's experimental stages. As long as it's pushing our creativity, anything can happen!

If you have ever been a fan of A Tribe Called Quest or The Roots, if you are generally a fan of Australian hip hop or if you just want to support raw musical talent, then get on board! If you're up for a fun night, make sure you get out and support these guys at their gigs. To catch a Jumbledat gigs, check them out and show them some love at www.myspace.com/jumbledat. Also make sure you check out the video clip to "Momentus"



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