The Romantic Rapper From The Misty Mountains

Tuka's media release describes him as a "romantic party thug", which, for those who aren't familiar with the rapper's musical vibe, doesn't make much sense. But you need to understand where a musician comes from to understand how they create, and in Brendan Tuckerman's case, it's the grey isolation of the Blue Mountains. Only 90 minutes from Sydney, the Blue Mountains are like driving into the mists of some forgotten Dreamtime landscape. It's tinged with magic, which is exactly why the mountains raise a certain kind of musician; one with a tendency to romanticise, be it through folk, alt-country, rock, or in Tuckerman's case, hip hop.

The whole Thundamentals crew originated from these parts and were nothing short of a rolling stone when they tumbled down into the big city and smashed into the music scene, nabbing more than one Hottest 100 position, a chart topping album (So We Can Remember hit #3 in 2014), a support slot for the Hilltop Hoods and an ARIA nomination for Best Urban Record within a couple of years. It seems like a lot of work, but Tuckerman shows no signs of slowing down with either Thundamentals or his simultaneous solo project as Tuka any time soon.

"One day I stopped trying to impress others, started writing about stuff I thought was interesting and people began listening to my music."

"I've released six LPs and two EPs as a solo artist and with my band Thundamentals. One day I stopped trying to impress others, started writing about stuff I thought was interesting and people began listening to my music," he says. He describes his sound as "Unicorns, sloths, cats, apple and peanut butter rap," and as gobbledygook as that is, it works for him. His most recent project is a live album dubbed Alive Death Time Eternal, a play on his previous full-length record Life Death Time Eternal. "The EP is a live re-interpreted version of five songs taken from my last. The EP is called ALIVE Death Time Eternal, so I guess that's a theme. I recorded it in one day at 301 Studios in Sydney because it was a fun thing to do. I brought along some very talented friends of mine to help me and we had a great time. Music is heaps fun," says Tuckerman of the release.

Plenty of musicians make live albums, usually at the end of a long running career. But Tuckerman was moved towards this project by his social media following. "The idea actually came from people messaging me via Snapchat and Facebook etc. People wanted me to do acoustic versions of some of my songs, so I guess that's how it all came about. The original tracks are from Life Death Time Eternal, so I guess you could say they're "old" but fully re-imagined."

Fresh off the back of his first trip to the USA as well as fitting in a 27-date Elephant In The Room tour and a lap of Europe with the Thundamentals, Tuckerman's Don't Wait Up tour will take up most of April before he retreats back into the studio for the Thundamentals' fourth album. He never really takes a break. "Making things work when shit gets messy is really good for your creativity, so I guess I just smoke a joint and get weird with it."