Things have been a little quiet recently from Brisbane reggae-dub ensemble Chocolate Strings.
But all that is about to change when they mark their long-awaited return to the stage. “This is actually our first gig after having about a year off from playing together,” vocalist/ guitarist Ofa Fanaika says.
“So it’s pretty significant and it’s going to be a bit of a big hoo-ha. I know a lot of people who have been waiting for us to reform and get the good vibes happening again.”
After the grassroots success of their 2015 self-titled sophomore album, which saw the band take on gruelling Trans-Tasman tours, Chocolate Strings have been on hiatus and pursuing other projects. Having been playing solo in the meantime, Ofa was inspired to reform the group after playing a few Chocolate Strings songs at her own shows that reignited her yearning to perform with her crew.
With members of the eight-piece continuing to perform and hone their craft, Ofa says the audience can expect a creamier Chocolate Strings sound. “We’re pumped for it and we’re really keen to play again.
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"There have been so many good times and every time I play a Chocolate Strings song I feel the nostalgia of the ten years of the time we played that tune at various festivals and beautiful destinations around Australia and New Zealand.
“It’s also quite inspiring because we’re all working in other bands and we’ve all grown as well, so it’s interesting to see the progression of the musicians who are working in this crew, the unique sounds and things they’ve developed in their process of practice.”
Fans can also look forward to hearing brand new music from Chocolate Strings. Ofa says she’s been writing and working on new material while the band has been on sabbatical, which they’ll showcase live before heading into the studio in the New Year.
Being an entirely self-managed and self-funded band, Chocolate Strings is entering a new phase of independence. Drummer, Kasper Skou has recently completed a bachelor’s degree in sound engineering and Ofa’s day job allows her access to a state-of-the-art studio, meaning they are now in complete control of their recording and production processes. “That’s another thing that’s really exciting,” she says, “to be able to manage it all and do our own production and not have to spend a bunch of money or all of our kitty on recording.
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"Going into the next phase of what Chocolate Strings might look like, that’s really exciting for us to have both hands on the reigns, so to speak.
“It’s really exciting for us and I’m always writing, so we’ve got a bunch of new material we’ll be pushing at The Triffid for people to listen to. I think they’ll be really pleased because the thing I hear often from audiences is ‘we just want to hear you: harmonies, dub, bangers and reggae tunes’; that’s what people want and we really listen to that. We’ve got a couple of new tunes for our loyal listeners.”
Chocolate Strings perform at The Triffid (Brisbane) 16 December.
