Usually when a band member goes solo it's a sign of the end. But for Brendan 'Tuka' Tuckerman – of Thundamentals – it's been a successful (albeit hectic) juggling act.
With a sold out Australian tour and an album that debuted at #6 on the ARIA chart ('Life Death Time Eternal', his third solo effort) Tuka obviously has the solo thing down.
Audiences went mad for the acoustic performances of songs from 'Life Death Time Eternal' on Tuka's last tour, and since then he's been bombarded with requests from people wanting him to do more of them.
And so, Tuka delivered. “I hired this big room and got heaps of musician friends to help me reinterpret all the songs, and we recorded it all in one day.”
'Alive Death Time Eternal' is Tuka's new EP. To be released 18 March, it features re-worked versions of songs from his last album as well as a bonus cover track: 'Big Jet Plane', the Angus & Julia Stone hit Tuka covered for Triple J's Like A Version last year. For those who haven't heard it, Tuka calls it a “more chilled version” of an already chill track.
'Don't Wait Up' is Tuka's favourite song on the EP though: a song he describes as having a Drake kind of beat, with some violins and strings added to re-work it.
Along with the EP and upcoming tour, Tuka's already back in the studio with Thundamentals. So how does he balance the band with the solo stuff? “I'm not gonna lie, my life is so chaotic,” he admits, adding that usually there isn't too much crossover between Thundamentals and Tuka, because the band always needs a little bit of time off.
Spending so much time together while touring so extensively, they tend to need some creative separation after a while. Even if everything works smoothly for Thundamentals, Tuka says it does limit him a little as a musician, which is why he loves going away and working on his songwriting. “My life is in shambles, but that's okay. The solo stuff is a way to sharpen the tool of songwriting for me.”
The songwriting process is a little different for Tuka than most people: Tuka has synaesthesia, the phenomenon related to sensory experiences that's a little hard to describe, since it varies from person to person. “When I hear a chord progression, I actually feel a colour, or see a colour,” Tuka explains.
For him, this determines the mood of the song he's writing. “I'm also dyslexic, which is totally absurd considering how much of my time I spend writing.” Tuka says his ideas usually come from random interactions with strangers, and that while his brain might be a bit weird, it all helps with his creativity.
Tuka can't wait to kick off his next Australian tour, and talks about a show in Brisbane on his last tour that was particularly memorable. “Someone proposed on stage in Brisbane, that was incredible,” he says.
Tuka was playing his love song 'Tattoo' at every show, and he would ask the crowd each night to let him know if they met the person they love while the song was playing. Before Tuka even came to Brisbane, one of his fans had already heard about this and asked if he could step it up a little and propose on stage during 'Tattoo'.
Tuka credits moments like that to his shows being a little more intimate than what he's used to with Thundamentals. “My fans – and I don't even like calling them 'fans' – they know me better than my friends do.”
Once Tuka's upcoming solo tour is done, he says Thundamentals will be the focus for the foreseeable future. “This'll be the last time I play solo shows for a pretty long time,” he says. “So I urge people to come party with Tuka one last time.”
'Alive Death Time Eternal' is released 18 March.
Written by Stephanie O'Neill
Tuka Tour Dates
Fri 1 Apr - 170 Russell (Melbourne)Sat 2 Apr - Small Ballroom (Newcastle)
Fri 8 Apr - Manning Bar (Sydney)
Fri 15 Apr - ANU Bar (Canberra)
Sat 16 Apr - The Triffid (Brisbane)
Fri 22 Apr - The Capitol (Perth)
Sat 23 Apr - Fat Controller (Adelaide)
