29 November 2024 - 0 Comments

The Black Seeds have today released their iconic album On The Sun for the first time ever on vinyl. The release marks the 20th anniversary of the record and is available on limited edition vinyl, alongside the digital re-release.

Order the vinyl and stream the album HERE

On The Sun put Wellington on the map and took Aotearoa’s unique style of roots, reggae, funk n’ soul to the world; all the while solidifying The Black Seeds’ reputation as one of the country’s most celebrated bands.

The album was originally released in 2004, when a wave of Wellington culture was sweeping across the entertainment world. Elements of funk and soul were infused into The Black Seeds’ established roots-reggae sound and embodied the capital’s cultural golden weather. Going on to reach triple-platinum status, On The Sun fired off three memorable singles, which include the band’s biggest hit to date, the quadruple-platinum So True.

Watch the video for So True here. Featuring Barnaby Weir, Dan Weetman and Bret McKenzie cruising around in a Holden wagon, the video captured slices of the quintessential kiwi summer and remains etched in NZ music folklore.

The Black Seeds also explored their love of funk music on On The Sun, with songs like Fire, You Get Me and Bring You Up. This was combined with some tough and tight reggae/dub expressions like Turn It Around, Tuk Tuk and Shazzy Dub. They then added the sweet soul and lovers style reggae rhythms of So True and Lets Get Down. Meanwhile, songs like Sort It Out, On The Sun and Senegal Champions Of Africa brought quirky character to the record and were heavy on the horn section.

“We had a lot of fun making On The Sun with Dr Lee Prebble at the original Surgery Studios in Newtown,” says Barnaby. “We were young and energised and you can hear that in some of the tempos. With the release of On The Sun, it really felt like The Black Seeds had arrived.”

Today’s release - both on vinyl and digital platforms - includes a version of a previously unreleased track, the uptight funk cracker Rogan Josh. the song was left off the original record but went on to become a firm favourite to play live in the mid 2000's.

“It started from a disco-ish bass line I had, then everyone added their parts and it became a favourite live tune that we would sometimes jam for 8-9 minutes,” says the band’s original bass player, Shannon Williams.

All 11 original songs on On The Sun have been carefully remastered for this format by Mike Gibson, from the original masters by Don Bartley at 301 Sydney way back in 2004, and it comes on two 180gm black vinyl with printed inner sleeves.

The Black Seeds have also included Koia Ko Koe - their 2023 Waiata Anthems te reo Māori version of So True - as a bonus track on the album.

“For those of you buying the album again, tēnā koe!” says the band. “And for the new listeners, nau mai haere mai ki ngā waiata.”

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