This young Sydney band has already won the votes they needed to get through to the semi-finals and is now getting geared up to hit the stage at The Factory Theatre on the 7th. Before the show, The Thompsons get real with Emergenza, talking about how they get their original sound, how the first-round went down, and what they’re hoping to get out of the semi-final round.

CAN YOU INTRODUCE US TO YOUR BAND THE THOMPSONS? WHAT'S BEHIND THE NAME?
The Thompsons are comprised of Ed, Sam, Alex, Kieron and Harry, who are five beardless men that are all passionate about making music. The band name originates from Sam's last name. We are heavily influences from 80's British band The Smiths so we are replicating that.

YOU DESCRIBE YOURSELF AS RAW DISCO FUZZ POP. CAN YOU ELABORATE?
Raw disco fuzz pop was created by the band as answer for whoever asks us the question of our genre because we hate answering that question. To label us to one genre, it would be alternative rock, however we are influenced and play lots of different kinds us music which helps define us such a reggae, jazz and electronic.

WHAT ARE THE EFFECTS OR PEDALS YOU USE TO GET YOUR SOUND?
To get our sound we use lots of different instruments and effects. We use lots of guitar pedals which include, Boss DD-20 Giga delay, Holy Grail Reverb, Analogman Peppermint Fuzz, and many more. We have a monophonic keyboard known as the Mopho which gets our sound gritty and raw, and also a trumpet which spices things up.

WHAT THEMES DO YOU EXPLORE IN YOUR SONGS? WHAT'S YOUR CREATIVE PROCESS LIKE?
Being only seventeen we really can’t get too deep in terms of our lyrical concepts so we really just write about experiences and stories. Our create process simple starts with a small idea which we expand on.

WHICH OF YOUR SONGS SPEAKS TO YOUR FANS THE MOST AND BEST REPRESENTS THE BAND?
Our song “Knitting Knives” would have to be the band’s favourite song to play. It represents us truly, being the second song we ever wrote together. (Our first song was awful).

WHAT WAS THE HIGHLIGHT OF THE FIRST ROUND FOR YOU?
When Sam put his guitar down and took a selfie with the band while we were midway through a song.

WHAT HAVE YOU BEEN UP TO BETWEEN GIGS AND WHAT HAVE YOU BEEN DOING TO PREPARE FOR THE NEXT PHASE OF THE COMPETITION?
We've been studying hard as we have just gone into year twelve in high school, however still finding time to rehearse just like we always have.

SO HOW DOES IT FEEL BEING ONE STEP CLOSER TO THE EMERGENZA FINALS?
We're going to give this one a great big shot and hope for the best.

WHAT ARE YOU LOOKING FORWARD TO THE MOST ABOUT PLAYING THE FACTORY THEATRE?
Playing on a larger stage in a prestigious venue. We'll take home great memories.

WHAT MADE YOU DECIDE TO ENROLL IN THE EMERGENZA FESTIVAL?
We've won a bunch of battle of the bands competitions so we thought we'd give this one a shot.