The Black Seeds: Standin' On Solid Ground

At time of publishing, Nigel Patterson of NZ dub-funk-everything group The Black Seeds is in merry old England but as I spoke to him, he was sitting in front of his fluorescent computer screen having just finished a massive tour on the back of their new record, Solid Ground (a corker, I might add).

“It was great” Nigel says in his pleasant Kiwi accent, “we sold out everywhere, touring the new album, really great. People are enjoying the evolution of our sound; people seem to be really impressed with the diverse style on the CD”

So what was the process of making this musical gold nugget, then?

“We went into approximately 6 weeks of workshopping, every day, 10 till 7, we brought all the ideas everyone had into the room, went through each idea, some ideas materialised, some got tossed, then we went into the studio”. Simple as that, it would appear!

There is a quick mention of ex- Black Seed/ current Conchord Bret Mackenzie, and I ask Nigel is the Seeds ever contemplate/d a career in novelty folk. “(laughs) I think Bret does it better than we could. I love that show, it’s just internationally funny, America is actually the only place I’ve ever encountered that kind of confusion: “where?” (laughs)”

What kind of non-musical influences do you have? “Non-musical influences, geez...good question- food. Vegetarian food, healthy food, I love nature”

What does a Black Seed do in his time off then? “Were all learning to utilize our time off, were respectful towards each other. I’m not the best person to ask, I play in a loud party band in my time on, so I’d do something relaxing, see bands I haven’t seen, go dancing...”

Before some terrible beeping cuts us off, Nigel, what do you hope to achieve from your shows?

“Just good good good vibe people who wanna have a dance and a good time. One of the best things about being a musician is meeting people from different walks of life”

Solid Ground is out now through Sonar Kollektiv.

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