Dust And Dirt

New Zealand reggae-soul heavyweights The Black Seeds return with their highly-anticipated new studio album Dust and Dirt, set for release in North America on April 10th. Dust and Dirt is the fifth studio album from the Wellington-based multi-platinum selling group whose unique brand of reggae-funk fusion has seen their fan base spread around the world in recent years. The band is following up on their critically acclaimed 2009 album Solid Ground, which was hailed as “…a damn fine record…thick, bottom-heavy, and melodic” by The Huffington Post and “…the forefront of reggae today and tomorrow” by JamBase. Dust and Dirt comes off the back of a two-year creative process, which saw the band approaching song writing and recording duties in new ways. “Working in our own studio gave us the freedom to get the best out of ourselves over a longer period of time, and to trial new techniques and tones with our own Mike Fabulous at the controls,” says singer/guitarist Barnaby Weir. Dust and Dirt introduces new sounds and styles not heard on the previous releases whilst still retaining the trademark Black Seeds sound the band has become so known for. “Cracks In Our Crown,” “Loose Cartilage,” and “The Bend” all take the experiments with funk begun on Solid Ground in even further directions. “Don’t Turn Around” finds the band doing a fresh take on a disco-boogie jam full of old school funk and plenty of bouncy playfulness. The opener “Out Of Light” sounds different from anything the band has tried before, tipping into an almost psychedelic pop sound, while roots gems like “Love Me Now” and the title track remind listeners that The Black Seeds are still one of the finest classic reggae bands in the business. “Pippy Pip,” the bubbly, upbeat first single, which the band built by layering over a demo that had such a cool vibe that they never re-recorded the original parts, will be available for a limited time as a free download from www.theblackseeds.com starting February 27th. All of these new styles are brought into the mix in a natural way, without forcing sounds, letting the songs be mini-experiments that organically evolved. In all, Dust And Dirt’s 13-tracks are testament to a band at the top of their game, reveling in their newfound creative freedom. Formed in 1998 and led by the soulful vocals of Barnaby Weir and Daniel Weetman, The Black Seeds’ sound is a boundary-crossing fusion of dub, funk, afro-beat and soul, mixed with vintage reggae. As songwriters, importance is placed on maintaining their own original interpretations in their music and staying true to their own local culture and values – from the landscapes and coastlines of New Zealand and the South Pacific, to the urban communities of Wellington city.