Kora doing things their way

Kora and Katchafire will kick-start their joint summer tour at Black Barn Vineyards on Friday.

The seeds are being planted for a new album, as Kora prepare to hit the road with Katchafire for a joint summer tour.

While songs are still in skeleton form, Kora brothers Brad, Francis, Stuart and friend Dan McGruer, are set to enter the studio in April.

"We have been working on some ideas, it's always a progression, we grow as people, we share experiences to create our sound - that's the fun thing," Fran Kora says.

"The tricky part with us is we have never really had a commercial hit, there's no rules on how to get into the commercial realm but as long as we are happy with it and we feel it represents us, then that's alright."

Their latest offering Light Years was released in 2012 - featuring a future-shocked fusion of funk, dub, metal and psychedelia which brought a cult audience.

Following on from the album's success, they took time out to work on individual ventures this year, coming together for select tour dates.

"Personally it's been busy, I've had a few different projects - I did a feature film called The Pa Boys which comes out in February, worked with the Heavy Metal Ninjas.

"The first show we did was in Rarotonga with Che Fu, then we played some really cool festivals in Australia."

Summer was also shaping up to be busy, with performances at Gisborne's BW campground and La De Da in Martinborough to welcome the new year.

The tour with Katchafire kicks off at Black Barn Vineyards in Havelock North on Friday and winds down at Brewers Bar, Mount Maunganui on January 4.

"Those boys are like our brothers. We know each other's styles - the cool thing about them is that they are just such a tight act - musicianship-wise it helps us to lift our game."

Hailing from Waikato, Katchafire are the undisputed masters of Aotearoa roots reggae and they have travelled extensively in the Pacific and United States.

A relentless schedule sees the seven-piece act touring 49 weeks of every year, resulting in an extremely tight live set.

"The last festival we played with them was Rippon, a few years ago, since then they have been overseas conquering the world."

Kora and Katchafire will perform at Black Barn Vineyards on Friday from 6pm. Tickets are $50, general admission available from www.blackbarn.com.