BARNABY WEIR of THE BLACK SEEDS: Weaving Tales Outside The Box
An interview by Sarah Kidd.
The Black Seeds are back and ready to once again tour New Zealand with their latest labour of love entitled Fabric. Ever since their first album Keep on Pushing released in 2001, The Black Seeds have continued to deliver their ever evolving sweet fusion of distinctive songs.
Fabric – their sixth studio album – carefully weaves together blends of reggae, funk, dub and soul; all the familiar Black Seeds sounds that New Zealand has come to know and love while at the same time continuously evolving and offering up something new.
About to embark on an eight date tour around the country I spoke with lead vocalist and renowned New Zealand musician Barnaby Weir in regards to the album and learnings from their latest overseas tour.
It’s been five years since your last studio album entitled Dust n Dirt in 2012; was the large gap between recordings due to your other musical commitments?
“We were aiming to have something out earlier than this yeah, but we gave ourselves more time. We were getting close to the deadline and we just went ‘Nah it’s not ready yet, we can’t rush this’. It’s got to be really good; there’s no point rushing an album, for The Black Seeds it needs to be the best thing that you can put out, and if it’s going to take another year then it’s just going to take another year.
So yeah there was a point where we were trying to get it in earlier and we just though it’s a bad idea to just rush this album so let’s not rush! Let’s just do it like always, work hard, pour your heart and soul into it, choose the best songs and when it’s ready, put it out. We did probably take a couple of years longer than we wanted but at the same time we got a better result and we really think people will dig it.”
Well you can’t rush quality can you?
“Yeah, well that’s what they say! (laughs) We’re happy with how we did it. It does take time to write songs, like sometimes you might have half an idea of a song but then the greater meaning of it turns up a year or two later. You have to spend time developing it, so it’s good to take some time on these things and hopefully they stick around for longer”
The Black Seeds have been together for almost two decades now, so what’s the secret?
“Oh, um not breaking up? (laughs) Not breaking up, still touring, I think playing live keeps you current. Evolving musically is always a good thing to keep you around and just having a love for it you know, a genuine love for it. It’s not always easy, you’re not always paid well but when it’s all go and everything comes together it’s all worth it. We’ve had band changes over the years, not too many, but we’re a solid unit currently. Yeah [it’s] 20 years since The Black Seeds were formed but not quite 20 years since the first album which I kinda feel is really the best mark in the sand as to being a band is when you put out that first record”
So let’s break this new album down piece by piece, first of all the album title which is also the name of the 8th track; why Fabric?
“If you are aware of the String Theory Album that we did with Fly My Pretties last year it kinda comes from an ongoing thing for me and a lot of people of thinking about where we are from; how things are linked or not linked and how the universe maybe perceives us from this perspective at this particular time.
With the track fabric; It’s a love song, a time in a relationship that was not that great and just expressing that. But it’s also bigger than that, it’s not just a selfish thing you know; it’s the fabric of our lives, it’s the fabric of our love, it’s what holds us together. The strands of life woven like a piece of material that is also potentially how the universe is held together, by this amazing energy that we’re trying to understand.
So loads of those themes on the album and we just felt that that was the fabric of The Black Seeds, the universe, the fabric of us personally, the fabric of existence. It all fits in for us so yeah those are just some of the reasons we called the album that”
It really is the perfect name for the album in many ways. One simple word and yet it conveys so much.
“Yeah … exactly”
Now the album artwork is rather eye-catching; the picture itself appearing to be made from pieces of fabric with a very South Pacific flavour to it?
“That’s Daniel Weetman in the band – our long term member; he designed that, he literally cut that out of paper and then it was photographed. Everyone has got a slightly different perspective on what that is, but to me it’s kinda like a shield of protection of roots in a way. But it’s basically an abstract piece of art that Daniel developed and that’s kinda his style when he does his own artwork; he cuts up, shapes and colours them with cool pens and he has his own meanings”
It’s quite beautiful and that’s actually what it made me think of as well, some of the beautiful spear heads and shields that you see coming out of the Pacific Islands. There is even some animal influence in there; a turtles shell for example.
“Oh that’s cool; I think it does have an original look and it’s abstract. Our last couple of albums were abstract with colour, like coloured dust in water moving around [Dust and Dirt – 2012] and that was quite cool, but this is classic.
It’s a piece of art in itself and that’s why we placed Daniel to do it because there is no better personality than someone in your own band that has an eye for things.”
And who understands exactly what the music is trying to convey as well.
“Yeah … yeah”
You chose ‘Better Days’ as your first single. One of the things that I love about that song is that it immediately gives you the old school feels and puts you at ease; was that the intention?
“It is one of the reasons that we put that song out first; it’s the first off the album so you behave as you are going to intend to carry through. The lyrics are about bettering yourself, about trying to change your future, your situation, looking at things in a positive way and inciting positive change within your life via taking action, but also by having a good attitude to the unknown future.
But in terms of the style it’s also quite familiar and it was one of the more Black Seeds sounding tracks in terms of the old school vibe, so we thought it was a great way to lead – to not scare away fans with anything too dramatically crazy and out there”
Yes, the song gives you the impression of an old friend opening the door and saying ‘Hey welcome back’
“Awesome – you’re onto it and that’s exactly what we wanted!”
The second single ‘Freakin’ is hella funky – perfect for a Friday night and a couple of drinks after a long hard week. Who was the main driving force behind that track?
“It was from me, to be honest it was potentially a Flash Harry track – which is a side project we haven’t done anything with for a while. When I played it to the guys they were interested because we needed something upbeat -we’re not just a reggae style band, we’ve got different influences.
The lyrics just wrote themselves really, they’re just facts you know, like a humane way of looking at things. Everyone has good days and bad days, everyone needs a friend, and everyone needs heaps of love; so let’s get into it you know? You can’t close yourself off – as you say it’s like inviting an old friend to be themselves and have a boogie, its fine, just do it. We like the groove and the beat and we’re stoked with it so we chose it for our second single because it was a bit different”
It’s a great juxtaposition!
“I think it’s a pretty clear statement from The Black Seeds that yeah we have been around for a while, but we’ve still got original ideas and we’re not just in a box! We do exist outside of the world of just a pacific reggae band”
My personal favourite ‘Everybody Knows’ conveys an important message of self-worth through the lyrics and sonically has what I can only describe as ‘crystal highlights’.
“That was Daniel and Nigel’s track originally and they brought it to the band; Daniel wrote the lyrics and I really love it. Everybody thinks they know what’s best for everybody else, but really they don’t; unfortunately as they say you are born alone and you will die alone but I guess the beauty of life is to express yourself. It’s something that we can all do; I really like the meanings in that song.”
The Black Seeds have never been a band to just remain inside one box, and this shows with Fabric which has elements of dub, soul and funk etc. But what is it about Reggae that speaks to you personally?
“It originated with the early line up of the band, Shannon Williams, Rich Christie and what we were loving listening to, basically 70’s dub music and plenty of soul and funk. We love the production values of how that sounds and we love Jamaican dub; I think that is what got us all fired up about ‘Hey why don’t we start a band that has some of those similar sounds and that is kinda old school?’
We just really get into the heart of funk, soul and ska and all those tones that are really cool and not too modern. That was what kinda drove that desire to just start the band in the first place; these sounds are like the essence of The Black Seeds sound and even if we are evolving, playing a few different things, it’s still always going to have that slightly old school analogue feel to it.”
The Black Seeds have recently returned from a tour of the US and Canada; currently there are a lot of new bands coming through the NZ scene – as a seasoned veteran of touring and festivals are there any learnings that you can share?
“We do things quite hard in terms of schedules, just tightly packed and we rarely have any days off maybe just one or two. When you are visiting America say five years later you can’t expect things to be the same. I think it’s good to be realistic, don’t try and do too much! On paper it might look all good, but on day fourteen when you have done thirteen shows and you are feeling exhausted its good to plan in some time off that’s not actually travelling!
Always have a set of ear plugs so that you can go to sleep when you can and if you are going to get on the piss or get wasted – you’ve still gotta deal with your vibe the next day and make sure that you can still perform and be in a good way, because no one is going to care or feel sorry for you if you feel like a piece of shit you know? You have got to play well and just give it your all every day.
Something that I keep learning is what are you there for? You’re not there to go shopping, you’re not there to get on the piss; you are there to play awesome shows and meet the fans and that is a real honour, and so you have got to treat that with respect. Do the shows properly, look after your voice and look after yourself a wee bit if you can so that you can do the job that you need to do.”
Excellent advice! So with the upcoming tour which is nationwide, is there any particular city that you are most looking forward to playing in?
“We have got the eight shows and we are of course playing in Dunedin and even Raglan with two shows in Wellington and one in Auckland. I am not looking forward to one show in particular more than the others to be honest, but I guess the Auckland show is important in that it is the biggest show, so we’ve got different visuals and all this pre-production work that we’ve got to do on that one. Then we are going to do a smaller gig in a club in Dunedin and that’s cool so all the gigs are quite different. So what we are working on and what we are quite looking forward to is the beginning of a new kinda ride for The Black Seeds.
I am just really looking forward to the journey from here on in – we have finished the album, we are getting some songs out there and getting some feedback, making some videos … its actually living and out there now which is the most exciting thing about this whole process. To see what people are saying and giving new life to a band that just keeps it current; I’m just excited about playing to people really, especially the new stuff!”
The Black Seeds kick off their NZ Tour this Thursday night in Raglan before winding their way around the country ending up in Wellington on the 7th October. For full tour information (including how to purchase tickets) you can visit this post, or check them out on Facebook.
