If you’re looking for some booty-shaking goodness to be the soundtrack to your summer, The Black Seeds sixth studio album 'Fabric' is it.
Since its release last month, the reggae-soul legends have entered various charts in top positions drawing high praise from critics and fans across the world for this intricate and bold release.
Despite being a musician since 1998, vocalist Barnaby Weir has an air of disbelief about him when he thinks about the positive reception 'Fabric' has received, especially from those whose opinion he cares most about: his audience. “This is a new, creative launch for us,” he says.
“But for me, my long-term thing is the audience. We’re so pleased it’s out now.
“Sometimes when you’re so deep in it, sometimes you forget that the whole point is to share it and get people to listen to it. We’re excited to see how it resonates with people in the daylight.
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"It’s out of your hands really, it’ll resonate with people depending on how they’re feeling but New Zealand loves it, [and] we’re getting interest overseas. I feel it’s just the beginning, really.”
Each track on the new album has its own personality. Groove-heavy songs that capture The Black Seeds’ flavourful brand of reggae-funk, the '70s throwbacks and interjections of dub make for an interesting fusion.
It’s a mix of moods and characters, which Barnaby says wasn’t a conscious decision. “Near the end [of the recording process] you could tell which ones were floating to the top, which ones were sounding potent. It’s about the order of the album.
“Of course, people will listen to the song they like the best first. But for me, I think of the whole thing as one piece, one story. But yeah, there are different personalities to the tracks, but of course, I don’t want tracks to sound the same, it’s not like we’re trying to repeat older albums.”
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With their album launch tour in New Zealand wrapped up, it’s Australia’s turn for a little non-traditional reggae. The Black Seeds sound is very much a 21st century take, very New Zealand reggae by giving their own spin on the genre. “We often don’t pigeonhole into the genre but we hope we sound groovy that way,” Barnaby says.
“We have our own sound and we’re feeling a lot more confident about how it translates live after our tour [in NZ].
“We’re feeling the next step is Aussie [sic]. It’s a slightly pleasing and nervous period. We got nervous because we haven’t played [the new album] live that much before.”
When it comes to performing new material live for the first time, Barnaby has only to reflect on the positive outcome of the New Zealand stretch of their tour and the rush he had from the audience.
It’s the fans that give him the energy he needs to bypass any nerves. “We try and do our best for the crowd. I used to be a worry wart about it but we’ve just done ten shows and we know what was good about it.”
The Black Seeds Shows
Wed 1 Nov - Solbar (Sunshine Coast)Thu 2 Nov - The Triffid (Brisbane)
Fri 3 Nov - Hotel Brunswick (Brunswick Heads)
Sat 4 Nov - Manning Bar (Sydney)
Sun 5 Nov - Long Jetty Hotel (Central Coast)
Thu 9 Nov - The Corner Hotel (Melbourne)
Fri 10 Nov - Settlers Tavern (Margaret River)
Sat 11 Nov - Metropolis (Fremantle)
