The Black Seeds will be in Hawke's Bay on Saturday showcasing their seventh studio album, Love & Fire.
The band will be playing at the Woolbrokers Pavilion, in Hastings, with local sideline acts Scarlett Eden, Joe Cole and Jayrasik.
This carefully crafted 10-track album is a "big slice of The Black Seeds' love and musical heat," says lead singer Barnaby Weir.
Featuring previously released singles 'It's So Real', 'Bring The Sun', 'Let The Sunshine Through', 'Raised With Love' and the most recent, 'Game Over' - Love & Fire also has four new tracks that are set to hit just as hard.
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Advertise with NZME.The title track, 'Love & Fire', also the focus track with the album release, came about following the online purchase of a prized vintage synthesiser by keyboardist Nigel Patterson, who describes the track as a winning combination of authentic keyboard and synthesiser tones, coupled with a fat rhythm from Jarney Murphy and a killer vocal from Barnaby Weir.
'Non Justice' is the contribution of bass player and "legend in the Aotearoa roots scene", Francis Simeon Bassie.
Weir's lyrics capture the essence of the music, making a conscious statement that touches on issues of justice, inequality and isolation.
'Greatest Expectations' is a gentle, uplifting track perfect for those hot summer days, with some wispy organ from Patterson and a layer of "ear candy" paired with classy horn lines from Barret Hocking and Matthew Benton.
'Mediation' has a great vocal by Daniel Weetman, supported by a heavyweight band rhythm. This track showcases the band's versatility as it moves effortlessly from upbeat dance floor tracks to heavier more conscious material.
The Hastings show is the second in the band's nationwide which starts on Friday with a sold-out show at Mount Maunganui.
The tour then travels to the South Island for gigs in Christchurch and Wānaka, before returning to the North Island for their rescheduled dates with New Plymouth, Auckland and then a hometown Wellington show on August 7 to end the tour.
Love & Fire began with jams and demos at The Surgery in Wellington, back in mid-2018, resulting in a "huge collection of ideas and song demos that were to be refined over the next two years," says lead singer Weir.
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Advertise with NZME.Originally planned as a classic 'band-in-a-room' recording, like many other creative projects the album took an unexpected turn with the arrival of Covid to New Zealand.
Lockdowns saw studio sessions cancelled and bandmates unable to gather - resulting in a lot of zoom-based creativity.
Weir and keyboardist Nigel Patterson's studios became the hubs for pulling everything together.
"Ideally, each member sent in one or two takes of what they were feeling they wanted to add to the track, and this worked well," Weir said.
"In some ways, not being together gave the lads that creative mind space to lay down something meaningful."
Tickets from banishedmusic.com/loveandfire
