After celebrating their 20th anniversary last year, Katchafire will release their fifth studio album, aptly titled 'Legacy'.
Frontman and vocalist Logan Bell says 'Legacy' brings together the extended Katchafire global family the band have accumulated in their two decades of world touring. “For 'Legacy' we've worked with a number of Grammy Award-winning artists, producers and engineers,” Logan says.
“The people who mastered and mixed our album are all big dogs in the industry, so that's a big difference because with a lot of the four studio albums before that we may have done one or two little things off-shore and collaborated with some big dogs, but not as much as this album.
“This is the first time we're using artists and mates from Jamaica, and collaborating with them and learning from them. It's really a culmination of all our experience and all of our family links that we've built up around the world coming together for this one.”
Katchafire have also recently been nominated for Group Of The Year at the inaugural Island Music Awards to be held in Hawaii in June, a testament to their significance as a reggae band. “We've contributed to perpetuating reggae music and a lot of the bands from Hawaii know that,” Logan says.
“We took them on tour early on in their careers for the first time into the mainland of the US, so we've been instrumental in creating some belief for young musicians, not just at home but all throughout the Pacific, so that feels pretty special [to be nominated].”
As New Zealand's premier reggae band, Katchafire maintain a worldwide following that still adheres to the family ethos established by Logan's father and band founder Grenville Bell.
“We're one of the only reggae bands, bar say UB40, that can go all the way around the world and enjoy an audience that's already built-in and there waiting for us,” Logan says. “We're pretty blessed in that respect for sure; we consider all of our fans family so when you look at it like that the family is ginormous [sic].”
For Logan, it's the band's dynamic and uplifting live shows that defines their spirit and longevity.
“The boys have always led with our live show and we believe that's where we win most of our hearts, not fans, the hearts,” he says.
“It's a different experience; people still get into Katchafire through our albums but I've heard people tell us it's another thing, another level, another beast that our live show is. Without blowing own trumpet too much, you've got to come see our show.”
Australia will get its chance to once again experience the thrill of a Katchafire concert when they tour 'Legacy' nationally later in the year and Logan says fans can look forward to seeing Katchafire at their very best.
“You guys are going to get the new music, the new show with all the new material; the boys have been putting together and cooking up something nice,” he says.
“Once the album comes out we've got an American tour, New Zealand tour and then we're coming to Australia. You're going to get the new tunes, the new show and you're going to get a Katchafire that has a renewed vigour. We're always excited to come over The Ditch.”
'Legacy' is released 1 June.
Katchafire Tour Dates
Sun 19 Aug - Gulf Country Frontier Days Festival (Gregory Downs, QLD)Thu 18 Oct - Prince of Wales Hotel (Melbourne)
Fri 19 Oct - Chelsea Heights Hotel (Melbourne)
Sat 20 Oct - Plaza Tavern (Melbourne)
Sun 21 Oct - The Backroom @ Chardons Corner (Brisbane)
Thu 25 Oct - Beach Hotel (Byron Bay)
Fri 26 Oct - NightQuarter (Gold Coast)
Sat 27 Oct - Kingscliff Beach Hotel
Sun 28 Oct - Island Vibe Festival (Stradbroke Island, QLD)
Thu 1 Nov - Solbar (Sunshine Coast)
Fri 2 Nov - The Ville (Townsville)
Sat 3 Nov - FNQLD
Sun 4 Nov - The Jack (Cairns)
Thu 8 Nov - The Basement (Canberra)
Fri 9 Nov - Metro Theatre (Sydney)
Sat 10 Nov - Narrabeen RSL (Sydney)
Sun 11 Nov - Rooty Hill RSL (Sydney)
Wed 14 Nov - Prince Of Wales Hotel (Bunbury)
Thu 15 Nov - The River (Margaret River)
Fri 16 Nov - Northshore Tavern (Perth)
Sat 17 Nov - Port Beach Garden Bar (Fremantle)
Sun 18 Nov - Rosemount Hotel (Perth)
Sat 8 Dec - The Pleasure Garden Festival (Melbourne)
