Commanding audiences nationally and internationally to 'get down', electronic dance group Confidence Man (originally from Brisbane, residing in Melbourne) have successfully reached a point in their existence where music consumers either love them or hate them.
Frontwoman Janet Planet thinks that when you get to that stage, you're doing everything right.
“It was confusing initially because Confidence Man for me is exactly what I would want in a band,” Janet says. “Then after a while I realised that if you aren't getting any reaction at all, then that's an issue.”
“It means you aren't challenging people's opinions and you aren't pushing the right buttons.”
Janet, Sugar Bones (originally her housemate), Reggie Goodchild (her brother) and Clarence McGuffie (her partner) like pushing buttons.
If you're not familiar with them, it's simple (yet effective): live sets filled with choreography, endlessly catchy hooks and weird and wonderful costumes.
They all began working together apprehensively, and the first impressions of their music weren't great: “We showed them to all our rock friends and they were like 'nah, don't like it, this is weird' and then we started showing it to friends outside the group, a lot of my girlfriends and stuff, and they were super into it.”
“We were like 'maybe the rock market isn't for us – maybe we should be talking to other people'.”
The rest is history.
A video of the group performing their hit 'Boyfriend (Repeat)' at Splendour In The Grass in 2017 was arguably what properly put them on the map – although they'd been turning heads and making beats for a while before that. It was a social media storm: 'I love them', 'I hate them', 'What is this', 'I don't get it', 'I do get it'... Confidence Man had struck a chord. And since then the band have only faced success.
They've played an endless array of festivals and solo gigs not only locally, but overseas as well.
“It's been pretty insane,” Janet reflects. “When we were playing in London, we're essentially playing the same-sized shows in London that we're playing here. That's pretty weird, that the growth has been pretty much the same.”
Dropping their first studio album this month, boldly titled 'Confident Music For Confident People', Confidence Man are showing no signs of stopping or conforming to anything in the realm of what is seen as 'normal'.
The album is what you'd expect from the four-piece in the best way possible. It's danceable from go to whoa: songs like 'Fascination' and 'C.O.O.L Party' are infectious and, according to Janet, will blow audiences away in a live setting.
“We're rehearsing [for tour] at the moment and the dance moves we have for 'C.O.O.L Party' I think are the best we've ever made. It's so funny,” she laughs.
“I love dancing so much. There's literally nothing I would rather do than just throw down. The more shows I do, the more I want to do!”
Aside from killer dance moves and groovy beats, Janet and Sugar know how to deliver sassy lyrics with bite and impact:
“I must confess,” Janet quips, opening 'Try Your Luck', the first song on the album. “I've been sleeping with your ex, cos I heard he was the best ... I never would have guessed he would get so obsessed. I'm not surprised! I'm popular with all the guys.”
With the foursome embarking on a world tour to showcase their new work, Janet is excited to deliver something above and beyond what they've already given to their fans.
“It's kind of just stepping it up a notch,” she reveals. “We have some new songs and new costumes as well... Insane costumes. I spent months and months on these costumes, I'm so excited to wear them.”
With the world on a string wrapped tightly around their fingers already, Janet ponders what Confidence Man's endgame is.
“I just want to get to a point where every idea I want to do is reasonable. If I want to arrive from a helicopter and do a triple backflip and skate on ice across the stage, that's doable. You know? I just want us to have no barriers.”
'Confident Music For Confident People' is out 13 April.
Confidence Man Tour Dates
7 April –Bleach* Festival (Gold Coast)27 April – Groovin The Moo Wayville (SA)
28 April – Groovin The Moo Maitland (NSW)
29 April – Groovin The Moo Canberra
4 May – The Triffid (Brisbane)
5 May – Groovin The Moo Bendigo (VIC)
6 May – Groovin The Moo Townsville (QLD)
11 May – The Capitol (Perth)
12 May –Groovin The Moo Bunbury (WA)
18 May – Metro Theatre (Sydney)
19 May – Bassinthegrass (Darwin)
20 May – 170 Russell (Melbourne)
