It was with a real sense of pride that Barnaby proclaimed his eagerness to discuss The Black Seeds fresh “new” sounds on their new sixth studio album Fabric, saying that “all the guys in the band are really looking forward to sharing the music again, with the last time they did an album tour like this was back in 2013 for Dust and Dirt”.
Is the new album going to be a shock to core fans?
The new album has some new “Retro futuristic” sound, but no it won’t shock our faithful fans too much, as the music is still true to the sound that we are known for, but we have progressed with the addition of a new retro sound that comes from using old school synthesizers as well as the guitar thing.
Will you be playing all new music on the tour?
We have a big list of songs that are a mix of old and new, with about 7 songs from the new album Fabric that were eager to share with everyone.
The band has almost been around for 20 years now, how does that feel?
Wow yes 19 years, we have grown older but most importantly we have grown musically and looking back we have done some great work and we've all achieved a lot individually during that time, it's good to have history and releasing a fresh new album right now feels good.
How is the early the feedback of the album?
It's been good to hear what people's favourite songs are, and it's a great reminder of why you do this. When your in the creative process of recording and completing the album you become a bit internalised and can lose sight a little bit of what your doing this for, but then hearing peoples different opinions of each song reminds us, oh that's right that's what we're doing this for, we're trying to express ourselves here.
There are some newish band members how has that been?
Yes they have been with us for the last three years or more, we have Ned Ngatae on guitar and Francis Harawira on bass, who have brought a lot of flavour and a different style to the band, which is great. We made sure that when we started working on a new album that we shelved anything that we were working on previously and started fresh.
Sounds like you've put a lot of work into this album?
Yes, this is something that we haven't just banged out, we worked hard and poured a lot of blood, sweat and tears into it, we feel it's meaningful and were excited to know what people think about it.
I like the stunning concept cover artwork, who created that?
I'm glad you like it, Daniel Weetman one of the founding members and fellow singer is responsible for that, its cool and bold and yeah we agree its striking and encapsulates the new fresh expansiveness of the album beautifully.
Interview conducted by Andrew Smit
Originating from Wellington, The Black Seeds have carved out their reputation through platinum selling albums, a masterful live show, and a sound that fuses infectious grooves and melodies with undiluted roots music. With numerous European festival tours behind them, and a successful 2009 North American album release, their following continues to spread quickly around the globe.
Led by the vocals of Barnaby Weir and Daniel Weetman, at its core The Black Seeds music is a boundary-crossing sound fusion of big-beat funk, dub, soul, mixed with vintage roots-reggae.
Described by Clash Magazine as "one of the best reggae acts on the planet", their legendary 8-piece live show brings the raw energy and good vibes wherever it goes. They have countless sell-out New Zealand and Australasian tours behind them, and regularly perform at many of Europe and North America’s biggest festivals.