Sprouting Seeds

Talk to any of the eight members of The Black Seeds and the conversation inevitably turns to touring. Pick a week, any week, and The Black Seeds will likely be playing a massive festival somewhere round the world. 

Originally formed in 1998 in Wellington, New Zealand, the reggae, funk, dub, soul, Afrobeat band made platinum sales in their home country with their first album, 2001's Keep On Pushing. In between that record and their latest – they released their fifth studio album, Dust And Dirt, in April last year – their profile has been building steadily internationally.

Ever since their third album, Into The Dojo, was released in Europe in 2007 through German-based label Sonar Kollektiv, The Black Seeds have been regular fixtures on the European festival circuit. That album garnered big airplay, particularly in Germany and France, and critical acclaim throughout Europe. The band followed up that bit of success by signing a US record deal with Easy Star Records, and now also tour extensively through North America. Not too bad for a crew from Wellington. “It's sort of surprising when you come from Kiwiland and you head over there and people know your shit. It's amazing,” Jarray admits.

That explains why they have only just got around to touring Dust And Dirt in Australia now, a year after release.

“We did two tours of Europe and America, which were fantastic,” says Jarray. “The second European tour was particularly good; we were touring through August because it's obviously their summer holidays and that's when all the main festivals are on.

“We played at Sziget in Budapest, which is the biggest festival over in Europe – a phenomenal thing over a few days on the island in the middle of the Danube, and huge crowds. It was amazing. We were doing sound checks in the middle of the day to empty rooms, and then realised they were holding people out, so five minutes before we had to play, the gates opened and ten thousand people came through the door, it was incredible. And the same sort of thing happened just outside of Amsterdam at the Lowlands festival. We were on the first day, around midday, and it was massive crowds. So for us, having been there so many times over the years, it was a pretty special feeling, really, to play these big festivals and have people respond and know the music and know the new tunes from the album.”

Why does he think The Black Seeds sound has resonated so well with European audiences? “Because we're awesome, why do you think?” he quips. “I'm kidding,” he adds, and then more seriously, “I think there's a romanticism about New Zealand and the South Pacific and the relaxed vibe of it that they enjoy. I think people really respond to that. And in summer they all want to chill out and have a good time. It's one of those things you can't put your finger on that seems to come from this part of the world, which is cool. And other bands from New Zealand have kind of, without really trying to, created a scene.”

For their East Coast tour, The Black Seeds will be playing mostly track from Dust And Dirt, “just because it's still fresh for some people,” says Jarray. “We will generally play a few of the classic older ones but it's generally good to keep it changing and not just play the same thing all the time. We like to keep people having a party. Without giving too much away, most of the band is likely to be doing DJing beforehand, so hopefully we'll whip the crowd up before the band plays. It is a fairly high-energy set. Definitely for dancing, and lots of sweat is the ideal situation.”

The Black Seeds will be playing the following dates:

Wednesday 24 April - Metropolis, Fremantle WA
Thursday 25 April - The Gov, Adelaide SA
Friday 26 April - Coogee Bay Hotel, Coogee NSW
Saturday 27 April - The Hi-Fi, Melbourne VIC