Black Seeds' vibe on a roll

By REBECCA BARRY

It is not yet medically proven but a Wellington band may be good for your health. "I just want to thank the Black Seeds," imitates keyboardist/percussionist Bret McKenzie in his best Kiwi accent, "cuz my two princesses, my first two children, were born to Keep on Pushing at the maternity ward."

The guy who recently rang a radio station to express his fondness for one of their signature songs is not alone, says frontman Barnaby Weir.

"We had this one girl saying, 'At [music festival] the Gathering I was having a terrible trip and I was getting really internal and really bad and then I played one of your songs and it pulled me out and I felt good.' Things like that are real random but quite satisfying."

It's no wonder their music has birth-inducing, anti-psychotic properties. Since 1998, the Black Seeds have blended the bouncier elements of Jamaican music with the earthier soul of the Wellington scene.

Heavily influenced by the city's DJ collective, the Roots Foundation, their good-time vibe has spread via some of New Zealand's biggest music festivals, including Alpine Unity, the Gathering and Sound Splash.

Despite making the biggest splash playing live at home, they've just picked up a two-album marketing and distribution deal with EMI and are planning a trip to Europe in August.

They'll retain their artistic integrity, stresses McKenzie, because their second album was recorded before they inked the contract.

Like their debut, On the Sun pays homage to roots music, with all its eccentric electronic nuances, but it's as though James Brown has dropped in on the recording sessions. Inevitably they've also become a tighter live act.

"We wanted to have something in the uplifting zone," says Weir, who credits their soundman, producer and band member Lee Prebble for helping to forge their style.

"The first album is very much song songs and a few instrumentals, quite downbeat, relaxed and, sure, a happy vibe.

"But we wanted a sexy element. We didn't sit down and go, 'Right, we're going to do a funky album', we were just playing songs that happened to be funky, developing tunes that were working live with a more upbeat dance feel."

That put them in the classic quandary - how to capture the chemistry of a live gig on record.

Rather than recording track by track, they crammed into the studio, recording up to five instruments at once.

"We'd be standing in the studio just going 'Yeah!" says McKenzie, re-enacting a clapping track.

"Sometimes it's hard to replicate the flukiness of what's happened live," adds Weir. "You've got seven people with seven different instruments doing different stuff and the combinations are endless.

"But every now and then it locks in and there's a special moment that's unrehearsed, unexpected and the crowd feeds on it. I don't think you can repeat that."

They're also unlikely to repeat their connection with Middle Earth. McKenzie had a small role in the first Lord of the Rings as an elf (nicknamed Figwit by LOTR buffs), which proved a monumental coup for the band.

Not only did he make the front page of USA Today, the band were invited to play the red carpet premiere of the third film to 80,000 people. The publicity might not be strictly related to the music, McKenzie admits, but it helps.

"There's been a bit of a spin-off of internet fan-based stuff. They'd come to the Lord of the Rings Figwit-y stuff and then they'd link to the Black Seeds and then buy the album and then they're like, 'Cool album, Figwit."'

Figwit fans on the other side of the world could be seeing the Black Seeds in action in a few months time.

Following the touring footsteps of like-minded bands Fat Freddy's Drop and Salmonella Dub, the Seeds are confident their music will be particularly well received in Germany and France, where there is a strong appreciation of roots music.

There's also a possibility their album will be released in Germany and Britain to coincide with the trip.

But there are obstacles to overcome first. With seven full-time members and nine or more in their live band, touring is a financial nightmare. Most of them have part-time jobs - a blessing, says Weir, because performing part-time keeps them fresh. But it doesn't exactly make them one of the country's richest bands.

"Communication becomes really important when you've got nine people. You've got to talk things through, you've got to make your opinion known.

"We do bloody well at keeping it together and talking things through until we've come up with a solution."

Obviously, they take their own medicine.

* The Black Seeds album On the Sun is released on Monday.