Pulling Ahead

Funkoars have been forging a path since the late ‘90s, and are now highly regarded in a sea of ever-emerging Aussie hip hop acts. It’s a fortunate thing, because as MC Sesta discusses, the industry’s tides have turned.

“You see the hip hop genre is getting exploited a bit because it is doing well. A lot of people will use the title to put on their music and ride that bandwagon a bit. It’s definitely not on the decline – it almost feels over-saturated. There are so many hip hop acts at the moment, and for emerging artists it’s more cutthroat than it used to be. When you only had a handful of hip hop groups, and stations like Triple J kind of had the responsibility to at least play a bit now and again, there seemed to be a lot of room for people.

“Now people are much more focused on the bottom lines of ‘this has to chart, this has to reach these people, I have to impress these people who have signed me’. It is a lot more business orientated and market driven, which is annoying. But there are still beacons of hope out there who are fighting the good fight, and it’s definitely sprouting in every aspect. The production side is more world class now, it’s not just a bunch of dudes who decide to get together and write some raps. It is maturing.”

Despite having established themselves as a relevant, engaging act, Sesta admits that things were still easier when Funkoars first started out.
“The start felt the easiest because you don’t have any expectations, you’re just doing what you really like to do, which we’d already been doing for years before that, probably in 1999 we were all together. Funkoars wasn’t created but we were learning how to make beats. We were among the few people in the small Adelaide scene who were making that kind of music. Everybody was really passionate about it, and it wasn’t the sort of stuff you could hear anywhere else.

“It wasn’t until around the third album – where you have your fanbase – that it got more difficult. Our music is very personal, it’s very much a snapshot of what we’re thinking at the time. As you grow up things change and circumstances change, which gets reflected in your music and you get a bit anxious about how people are going to receive it.”

The group will soon find out what sort of reception their latest album ‘The Quickening’ garnered, as they begin a tour next month that will include several festival slots – something Sesta always looks forward to.
“I mostly like them because you get to pick the good bits out of your sets. Usually in a club for our own show we have to play at least an hour set, whereas at a festival you’re told ‘hey you only have to do half an hour to 45 minutes’, so you can refine it and get the best parts. The festivals are the pay off – I think everyone is all around in a much more happy, positive mood. It’s a different vibe. A lot of the time even people who are not your fans will be more likely to come check you out, which is always good. Having said that nothing does beat the dark, shitty, sweaty clubs. They’re what really forged us I think.”

Such clubs shaped the live energy that’s an integral part of what the Funkoars bring to the Aussie hip hop world, an energy that’s often toted as rowdy and dangerous.
“I think that’s the kind of energy we like to bring to anything – a sort of honest rawness. We’ve got the kind of music we like, we know the kind of vibe we like to get with our songs, and we’ve always sort of stuck to that kind of formula. But when we do our live shows it’s very much like anything can happen – nothing’s too formulated, everything is a bit on the fly. We’ve got our set list, but we like to interact with the crowd a lot and just sort of let whatever happens happen. If something goes wrong it’s not a bad thing – we like to have a laugh about it. Overall it’s that raw, livewire energy that we like to put into our music. But dangerous? I don’t know, not literally.”

Funkoars play Sprung Festival, at the Brisbane Botanic Gardens and Riverstage, on October 15. ‘The Quickening’ is available now. sprunghiphop.com.au