Keeping A Grip On The American Ears & Shaking Things Up In 'The Reggae Box'

The Black Seeds, New Zealand's most feted dub-reggae band, have a surprising Hollywood cool. Their song One By One was memorably synced for the cult crime drama Breaking Bad. But the collective - led by co-vocalists Daniel Weetman and Barnaby Weir - have continued to make socially conscious island grooves. Still, the fact that Fabric, their sixth outing, lately rocketed to #3 on the Billboard Reggae Album Chart suggests that Breaking Bad worked for them.

"That was a good step, for sure," drawls Weetman, from his Auckland base. "It's quite a long time ago now. We've been back to the States quite a few times. I mean, definitely One By One got great exposure, but then you have to back that up by going touring and writing more music. So they're all steps - One By One is a big step. But we've done a hell of a lot of hard work to keep The Black Seeds' name out there for the American ears. We still need to reach a lot of people over in the States. We have a unique flavour in reggae music. I think that we're very diverse and original, if we're gonna be put into the reggae box."

Formed in 1998, the Wellington troupe crossed over early at home. The Black Seeds achieved an international profile with their third album, Into The Dojo, encompassing One By One, released via Jazzanova's German label Sonar Kollektiv. The band have experienced several personnel changes - Bret McKenzie notably quitting to pursue a music comedy career with Flight Of The Conchords (and since winning an Oscar for his contribution to The Muppets movie). Says Weetman, "I think because we all have been focused on making music and enjoying it and having a good time and always thinking into the future about where we want to be, and I guess just [with] life happening, it doesn't seem like it's been 19 years." He posits Fabric as a "beginning". The Black Seeds have welcomed a replacement bassist (Francis Harawira) and guitarist (Ned Ngatae), bringing "a new energy". "I feel like we're more on the same page."

The Black Seeds may be deemed trad roots reggae, but they're no purists - Fabric traversing funk, Afrobeat and synthtronica. The band avoid being too retro - Weetman, a rock dog, stressing that they dig "modern music". The "six core members" all offer different influences. "Sometimes not everybody in the band likes everything that's happening, but it's healthy to be able to compromise."

Having wrapped a NZ tour (McKenzie attended a Wellington gig), the live eight-piece are returning to Australia. "I think the band is at the best it's been," Weetman states, insisting that he's "not just hyping it up". He himself has a heightened emphasis on crowd connection - his aim to be "transparent" and "relatable" as both performer and entertainer. "Doing a show to me is like there's no tomorrow - 'cause you don't know what's gonna happen tomorrow - so let's just live in the moment and give everything as much as you can on stage, in life, et cetera."