Slow Burns & Explosions

Even today, Seth Sentry's The Waitress Song stands up to scrutiny. Conceived as something of a throwaway novelty when recorded for Sentry's debut EP The Waiter Minute, it swiftly gained momentum upon release and has since gone on to become the most downloaded track on triple j Unearthed. Three years later, it's still a remarkably clever and crafted piece of music.

“I was definitely surprised when that took off the way it did,” Sentry says candidly. “You know, we weren't even going to include that song on that EP in the first place. [Producer] Matik didn't even like it when I first showed it to him and it's just a weird song. It's all a bit silly – and, really, a bit stalker-ish, when you think about it. Still, people seemed to really connect with it. A lot of stalkers out there, apparently.”

A warm, gentle, slightly silly song chronicling Sentry's idle crush on the waitress of a particularly unimpressive local diner, The Waitress Song is an almost stunning showcase of the Melbourne MC's innate lyricism and personality. Atop a lush and bleary instrumental backdrop, Sentry's almost-sung flow dances cleverly around the narrative – a knack for detail helping to paint a comprehensive portrait of the MC's chosen subject matter.

“Everything I do is quite conceptual. It's one of the reasons it takes me so long to write songs,” Sentry says of his approach. “When I hear a beat and stuff, I see a little movie in my head and I just try and fit words to that movie – but, because I've got such a specific picture and sound in my head, it can take me quite a while to capture it. I'm trying to get to a specific kind of point.

“You know, I'm not very loose or freeform with my flow. When I listen to my songs, I don't hear flow, really. I hear something that I tried very hard to get to... You know, I like hearing dudes just rap and take listeners on a journey and you don't know where they're going to end up,” the MC muses. “But that's not really how I play. I usually have a very specific idea and I'm trying to sum everything up in a song – beginning, middle and end, you know?”

This could explain why Sentry's taken three years to actually capitalise on the success of his breakthrough single. The MC has hardly been idle in the years since Waitress' release – collaborating with Horrorshow and 360, touring the country and dropping the occasional follow-up single – but it's nevertheless taken him three years to significantly expand his body of work beyond that initial EP with debut album This Was Tomorrow.

“Well, when we did the EP, that was going to be the album, at first. When things took off for The Waitress Song, we decided to just put out an EP instead – so, really, it's taken closer to four years. And, really, laziness was a massive part of that. Don't get me wrong – when I say it took me four years to write the album, it wasn't because I was labouring in my room for four years making it.

“That would be awesome if that's what actually happened – but that's definitely not the way things ran,” the MC laughs, a little embarrassed. “It was also simply a case of the EP doing so well. We could tour off the back of that EP, which was a bit stupid, but we just kept getting gigs out of it and that was too awesome to ignore. Really, though, laziness was a big part of it. It feels good to be motivated and working again.”

Sentry's style is something else. He's representative of a newer breed of Australian hip hop. Stepping away from the harsher and more direct approach Australian hip hop has been known for over the past decade, Sentry's style is more in line with the hyper-melodic eclecticism of acts like 360, Illy and other rising stars. His flow is almost as sung as it is spoken – his beats unstintingly gorgeous.

“Well, I never actually set out to do anything different,” the MC counters. “I mean, I like traditional hip hop. I'm coming at this as a massive rap fan. Have been forever. I'm just not trying to emulate my favourite rapper – because that's not me. I always find it weird when I hear dudes who clearly sound like their favourite rappers. I mean, the reason you like most rappers is because they don't sound like anyone else.

“I've never really thought about it, to be honest. I just hear a beat and the flow and the tone of my voice is just the first thing that comes to me,” he says casually. “We're definitely in a place in Australian hip hop, though, where sub-genres are kind of starting to form. It's just evolution, though. It's all rad music. I don't see any reason to get particularly caught up in it.”

What separates Sentry from his contemporaries is his categorical lack of ambition. Where peers like 360 or Illy chase their crowds and respond to their detractors with equally vitriolic commitment, Sentry seems perpetually easy-going. One actually suspects that This Was Tomorrow took so long to eventuate largely because Sentry didn't feel any overwhelming need to deliver it.

“At first, I felt a little bit of pressure from The Waitress Song. I had to make a conscious decision to just let that go, though. You'll just do your head in thinking about stuff like that; 'Oh, I've got to write the next hit, I've got to deliver the next EP',” Sentry muses. “You're just going to get nothing done. You know, it's a curse you see a lot of bands deal with – just trying to live up to something for their entire career.

“You know, man, I just want to hold that album. That's all I want,” the MC says bluntly. “I just enjoy rapping, man. Anything that happens beyond me simply being allowed to do what I love doing is a bonus for me. I have got no plans for world domination. I'm not really too interested in blowing up or getting famous or any shit like that. If that does happen, it'll be solely as a by-product of me doing what I love. It's not a priority.

“Really, everything is shocking to me. The fact that people rock up to my gigs and sing my lyrics is just shocking to me,” he laughs. “Really, I just want a copy of the album to give to my mum and I want a copy of the album to sit in my bedroom. Anything beyond that will be just a bonus, really.”

Seth Sentry will be playing the following shows:

Thursday 20 September - The Zoo, Brisbane QLD
Friday 21 September - The Hoey Moey, Coffs Harbour NSW
Saturday 22 September - Fat As Butter, Newcastle NSW
Friday 28 September - Karova Lounge, Ballarat VIC
Saturday 29 September - The Corner, Melbourne VIC
Thursday 4 October – Studio 146, Albany WA
Friday 5 October - Prince Of Wales Hotel, Bunbury WA
Saturday 6 October - Rosemount Hotel, Perth WA
Sunday 7 October – Norfolk Hotel, Fremantle WA
Friday 12 October - The Waratah Hotel, Hobart TAS
Saturday 13 October - Fowlers, Adelaide SA
Friday 19 October - Factory Theatre, Sydney NSW
Saturday 20 October - Transit Bar, Canberra ACT
Friday 9 November - Great Northern, Byron Bay NSW
Saturday 10 November - Sprung Festival, Brisbane QLD