One of the biggest aspects this Sydney band enjoys about their performances is the rapport they have with their audience. Since the first round in the competition, they’ve really learned the importance of a great stage performance, and are whipping up a great one for you, so don’t miss your chance to see them on the 19th at The Factory Theatre. Before the show, they let us in on what they enjoyed most about the first round and what they are looking forward to the most about the semi-finals.

FOR THOSE WHO DIDN’T GET TO SEE YOU IN THE FIRST ROUND, CAN YOU TELL US A BIT ABOUT WHO AKUMAS KINDER ARE?
Akumas Kinder are a four-piece heavy rock act from Sydney. We try to write music both for ourselves as well as for others so that there is something in each song that everyone can hopefully enjoy, even if they are not a fan of heavy music.

WHAT’S YOUR APPROACH TO YOUR ONSTAGE PERFORMANCES?
Our approach to onstage performance is to play each of our songs as best we can and show how each section of the songs make us feel, hoping that the audience feels the same way and reacts similarly. When the crowd enjoys our songs as much as we do, we have a great show.

WHAT WAS THE HIGHLIGHT OF THE FIRST ROUND FOR YOU?
The highlight of the first round was definitely seeing familiar faces in the audience. Before that we had only played to strangers, and it was refreshing to see friends at the venue.

CAN YOU TELL US MORE ABOUT YOUR EXPERIENCE IN THE FIRST ROUND AND WHAT YOU LEARNED FROM IT?
We learnt that we need to be more prepared. We also learnt that putting on a show is equally as important as playing your songs as perfect as you want them to sound. The overall experience is much more important.

SO HOW DOES IT FEEL BEING ONE STEP CLOSER TO THE EMERGENZA FINALS?
It feels good and also nerve wracking. We are thrilled to be into the next round, but are also wanting to keep going and make it through the finals as well.

WHAT HAVE YOU BEEN UP TO BETWEEN GIGS AND WHAT HAVE YOU BEEN DOING TO PREPARE FOR THE NEXT PHASE OF THE COMPETITION?
We have been gigging as much as possible since the last round, in particular we somehow managed to support Twelve Foot Ninja which was a big step in our band’s life. We have also written some new material to play, which will hopefully go down well on the night of the concert.

HOW ARE YOU PLANNING TO PROMOTE FOR YOUR UPCOMING GIG?
Social media. It’s the easiest and most effective way of getting your band’s name out there, and also showing what they are doing. Apart from close friends and family, social media will be the main way of promotion.

WHAT ARE YOU LOOKING FORWARD TO THE MOST ABOUT THIS ROUND IN THE SEMI-FINALS?
We are mostly looking forward to showing our friends the improvements we've made as a band since the last show. We want each show to get better and better, and hopefully the next round will be no different.