Six60: The world beckons

SIX60 have enjoyed a "crazy" whirlwind start to their career and now they're taking their sound to the world.

The band - Matiu Walters, Eli Paewai, Ji Fraser, Marlon Gerbes and Chris Mac - blend soul, rock, dubstep and drum and bass. They've scooped two platinum singles, one double platinum single and a double platinum album that hasn't been out of the Top 10 since it debuted at No1 back in October.

For singer and guitarist Walters, Six60's successes have been "hard to fathom".

"It's been crazy," he says.

"We are just a bunch of dudes, a bunch of guys from Dunedin who have fun, who love what we do, who are passionate about it."

He describes their music as honest, which he believes is one of the reasons behind their success.

Over summer, Six60 performed a sold-out summer tour in which they played to more than 15,000 people in just seven performances.

"Those shows were great."

Walters says the band likes to have fun and, on tour, they'll give audience members the chance to hear songs they love while also presenting new material.

"Hopefully, we're going to try some new things out ... a lot of energy and good times."

Six60 will tour New Zealand from March 2 to April 14 before heading to Australia, Britain - where they have already sold out three London shows - followed by Ireland and the United States.

Walters says their world tour venues were selected after asking their Facebook fans where they wanted Six60 to perform, as well as places band members were keen to visit.

Once their world tour is over, Walters says they'll look at putting out their next album. And although Six60 has a lot of support in New Zealand, they will consider basing themselves overseas if that's where they need to be for their music.

"These are our roots and this is what we love."

Meanwhile, Walters has some messages for musicians who are wanting to follow in Six60's footsteps and pursue a passion as a career - reach for the stars, be honest with your music and practise because "practice makes perfect".

"Believe in yourself because a lot of people are going to give you advice on what they think is the right way to go. If people can feel it [your music] and relate, it will be great."