Ska explorers ready to launch

AOTEAROA SKANK: Wellington ska band Battle-Ska Galactica stage their debut performance at King Street Live in Masterton tonight. PHOTO SUPPLIED

Wellington ska band Battle-Ska Galactica land their high energy sound in Wairarapa tonight for their debut at King Street Live in Masterton.

The seven-piece unit, which boasts horns, multiple singers and a blazing rhythm section, last year released their debut album, Everybody's Got An Opinion.

Band guitarist Saali Marks said the eight-track album was recorded and mixed in Featherston at Stonefeather Studios, which belongs to King Street Live co-owner Warren Maxwell.

Marks, who also lives in Featherston and teaches music at several Masterton schools, said the Battle-Ska boys revel in both old school and new school ska and were eager "to get back over the hill to the Wairarapa and bring some of the finest Aotearoa skank to King St Live".

"Ska music is a whole lot of fun. It has the energy of rock music, the skank of reggae, the swing of jazz and the groove of funk. It's like the ultimate dance music - I challenge anyone to have a bad time at a ska gig."

Ska is a style of music that originated in Jamaica in the 1950s. A blend of rock 'n' roll, jazz and the traditional Mento and Calypso rhythms of the Caribbean, the genre was a popular precursor to reggae.

Ska hit England in the 1970s, developing political overtones and often featuring lyrics about racial equality, traditional class structure and the plight of youth in the city.

Marks said the genre was embraced in New Zealand in the 1980s and early '90s and ever since "an underground ska scene has thrived here that Battle-Ska Galactica are determined to re-introduce to New Zealand dance floors".

Also on the bill for the King Street Live performance, and in the wake of their debut release Yeah Na Yeah, are Masterton band Masterhuna, Marks said.

Tickets for the Battle-Ska Galactica show at King Street Live tonight - first band starts at 8.30pm - cost $10 from www.dashtickets.co.nz. Limited door sales also will be available.