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THE BLACK SEEDS
New album
Love & Fire
out now!

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Photo – David James

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Celebrated Aotearoa eight-piece The Black Seeds have today released their seventh studio album Love & Fire. This carefully crafted 10-track album is a “big slice of The Black Seeds’ love and musical heat.” 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!

The title track ‘Love & Fire’, also the focus track with the album release, came about following the online purchase of a prized vintage synthesizer by keyboardist Nigel Patterson, who describes the track as a winning combo of authentic keyboard and synthesizer 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. The Black Seeds’ Barnaby 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.

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‘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 dancefloor tracks to heavier more conscious material.

Love & Fire began with jams and demos at The Surgery in Wellington, NZ, back in mid-2018, resulting in a “huge collection of ideas and song demos that were to be refined over the next two years to become LOVE & FIRE,” says lead singer, Weir. 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. In some ways – without being together gave the lads that creative mind space to lay down something meaningful,” says Weir.

Love & Fire is a skilfully woven album of soul, dub, roots, reggae, funk, Afrobeat and other elements brought together by well-honed musicianship and production – in other words, The Black Seeds!

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The Black Seeds are:

Barnaby Weir (Vocals/Guitar)
Daniel Weetman (Vocals/Percussion)
Jarney Murphy (Drums)
Nigel Patterson (Keyboard)
Ryan Prebble (Guitar)
Francis Harawira (Bass)
Barrett Hocking (Trumpet)
Matthew Benton (Saxophone)

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The Black Seeds 
Love & Fire

1. Let The Sunshine Through
2. Love & Fire
3. Raised With Love
4. Bring The Sun
5. It’s So Real
6. Non Justice
7. Greatest Expectations
8. Meditation
9. Game Over
10. Raised With Love Dub

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Follow THE BLACK SEEDS
Website – Facebook – Instagram
Twitter – YouTube

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AMNPLIFY – DB