[INTERVIEW] Jakubi,’We’re pretty hectic dudes’

Melbourne five piece Jakubi are the epitome of feel-good summer vibes, and after performing at Beyond the Valley to usher in 2016, they are bringing the sound of the season to Barwon Heads and Lorne.

“You are 100% guaranteed to get a party. Definitely would not see anyone chilling. That’s just the facts,” guitarist, drummer and producer Robert Amoruso says.

“If you come into that room you have to come prepared to sweat, and you gotta get loose. You just gotta do it. So that’s pretty much the rules of Jakubi shows.”

Take it from someone who has seen these guys performs live, even if you wanted to sit still, it’s virtually impossible. If their infectious melodies and soulful vocals don’t compel you to start grooving, their insatiable energy will.

“We’re pretty hectic dudes, you know? Two brothers, two cousins and I’m sort of the best mate of the group,” the affable musician says. “We started just playing music because we’re friends and we just love hanging out together. So we always kind of stick by that and say that no matter what happens, it’s just about that friendship.”

Riding a whirlwind of success over the past few years, the group have toured internationally, recorded an album, and collected fans like I used to collect Tazos as a kid.

“It was nothing short of epic really. It was a big dream for all of us to actually get out there,” Amoruso says about recording in LA.

“It’s a dream come true actually to just record an album. But then having the opportunity to just be in the presence of some of these people was really, really, really sick.”

Receiving news earlier that day that these may be their few last gigs in Australia for some time before they head back to the US, it’s proof the Jakubi-train is fast moving and infused with creativity.

“We all play drums, we all play guitar, we all play bass, and we all play keys, so it was just like all egos aside, there are no set roles in Jakubi. It’s just five dudes jamming and whatever works for the song is kind of what happens,” he says.

“Whatever the song wants the song gets…it’s just everyone throw everything they’ve got at the wall and see what sticks.”

Wild as the creative process may be for the group, it definitely seems to be working. And after penning new songs, they provided some killer performances when they returned to Oz last December and headlined at Max Watts.

“It was crazy!” says Amoruso enthusiastically. “ We were all like ‘Let’s just go, let’s have a party. Stand up, play some new songs, and hopefully people vibe on them.’”

If you describe 700 people packed into the Melbourne venue singing along to tunes they’d never heard before as ‘vibing’, then I’d say Jakubi nailed that goal.

“We got home the day before, so it was a really nice way to come home and it was just like a welcome home party… so it was sick. We really couldn’t ask for anything more than what happened at that show.”

Returning to the coast for two shows, if you don’t catch Jakubi when they come to town this month, you may not see them for a while because these likeable dudes are on the way up.

“It sounds really cheesy, but we genuinely feel like what the five of us have as friends is really special. We love to spend a lot of time together and that’s rare,” explains Robert. “Now we play music and travel the world together. You know, bonus.”