The Black Seeds: Gettin'amongst the animals

Tue 5th Jun, 2007 in Features

If you’ve been listening to the smooth reggae/dub sounds from their new album Into the Dojo, or checking out the release’s eyecatching artwork, you’ll notice The Black Seeds have a thing for playing the fool and messing about with the animals. According to vocalist Barnaby Weir, as his band gears up for another Australian tour, this unique choice of artwork has a special significance for the band.

The – œdojo’ in question is the recording studio where the Black Seeds rehearse and lay down their cruisy beats, described by Barnaby as a “shitty little practice space that’s nothing special to look at.” But in a musical sense, what has actually been going on in there while it’s been a practice and recording space for various bands he’s been involved with has been quite dynamic, creative and prolific. The hallway of the Dojo is featured on the front cover of their new album, with the interesting addition of a giraffe seated placidly.

According to Barnaby, a crazy musical energy can be found inside the rooms, the spirit of which is reflected in the charming inside-cover illustrations of the album, showing the band members goofing around in the forest with gorillas, sheep, deers and various other animals. “It shows the vibrancy and colour that we’re into creating for our music, and that’s the imaginary world inside the dojo where we practice,” he says. The illustrations convey a certain jungle vibe emphasising that while the Dojo may not actually look that vibrant, it’s got a certain wild quality to it that lends itself to quality musical output.

Into the Dojo is the third album for the Black Seeds, and it’s been their most successful yet: debuting at the #1 spot on the New Zealand charts and staying there for over a month. The group are frontrunners in what has turned out to be a fairly vibrant and healthy (if still fairly niche) dub and reggae scene across Australia and New Zealand, one in which the various acts have been able to forge their own musical identity which has distinguished them from anything else heard around the globe. What is it about this side of the world that encourages such musical output?

“I think there’s a slightly more laidback vibe to the smaller South Pacific countries that enjoy a slower paced lifestyle,” he says. “It’s the beach lifestyle in Australia, and New Zealand has a large Islander population that enjoys those kinds of sounds as well. And the bands are all doing their own style of thing. They’re obviously not Jamaican and they don’t try to be. We offer something slightly different and that’s what’s good about I guess, it’s developed its own identity.”

Soon they’ll be jetting off over to Europe of the overseas launch of Into the Dojo on German label Sonar Kollectiv. So it looks like it’s all happening for the Black Seeds! “The deal is good for us, it means we’ve got a few nooks and crannies sorted out in Europe and they’re into really progressive and interesting sounds, so we’re really pleased they want to release our album over there. Each territory is different but we’ll definitely be giving it a good crack.”

But they’ve got an eight-date tour around Australia to go before they bugger off overseas. If you already saw the Black Seeds on their recent jaunt across the country, you can expect a few extra surprises. They’ll be bringing the full eight-piece band, and though the album cycle for Into the Dojo is far from over they’ll nonetheless be debuting a couple of new tunes, and their dynamic live performances ensure that no two gigs are the same.

“We work on our arrangements of older tunes so we can extend or shorten or jam it out at the spur of the moment,” he says. “We don’t just play the songs straight up. It keeps it dynamic and it means if something is not working, or the crowd needs an – œup song’, we can give it to them straight away.

“Everyone seems to be on good form and quite excited about the tour. We’ve had a bit of a break so that’ll mean we’re not jaded musos,” he laughs. “We try to keep it dynamic and build it from the start, in a way that leaves you hanging for more but satisfied at the same time.”

Into the Dojo is in record stores now, you catch the Black Seeds at the following tour dates.

Thursday 7th June: Peninsular Lounge, Moorooduc VIC
Fri 8th June: The Corner Hotel, Richmond VIC
Sat 9th June: Metro Theatre, Sydney (Dust Tones afterparty at the Clare Hotel)
Sun 10th June: The Heritage, Bulli NSW
Wed 13th June: Hotel Great Northern, Byron Bay
Thu 14th June: Coolangatta Hotel, Coollangatta QLD
Fri 15th June: The Zoo, Brisbane
Sat 16th June: Sands Tavern, Maroochydore QLD