Finding The Frequency

It’s shaping up to be a big 2012 for Kingfisha.

The reggae and dub group have been hard at work over the last few years, carving out a space for themselves in one of the busier Australian genres. But when Kingfisha took out Triple J’s Unearthed Roots competition in 2010 it signalled the start of big things for the Brisbane five-piece.

“The best thing to come out of that was being able to go together to a music conference,” explains bassist Shannon Green. “But we also got to play to [Bluesfest director] Peter Noble, and although he didn’t give us a gig that year we managed to snare a slot at Bluesfest this year [2011]. That was a big thing for us, something that we’d been trying for, and it’s not an easy gig to get. You need a few people lobbying for you. You could probably put getting the gig at Bluesfest an eventual outcome from the Triple J award.”

Kingfisha have also leveraged that interest into the recording of their first longplayer, set to be unleashed this coming April. It’ll be the band’s first proper set list of recorded music since their 2008 EP, released in the band’s very early days.
“The album’s coming along really well, actually. We’re really close to finishing. It’s been a long time in the making for us. It always seems to take a bit longer than you hope.”

Despite the frustration inherent in any such delays, Green sees the album’s long gestation as something positive, allowing Kingfisha to finely hone their songs and get comfortable with producer Paulie B.

“It is a good thing. We’ve definitely written a few more tunes,” he says. “We’ve played the songs quite a bit. And just to be doing them with Paulie B in the end it seems that things have definitely turned out for the best. Initially, we were looking to produce the album within the band, but something just wasn’t really quite right with it. We knew we needed some outside perspective and someone else to come in and help push it all through. That was going to be their main focus and it would get done.

“That early EP was recorded all live in the studio and we’ve always been hankering for a more produced approach, using some drum samples and being able to get more sense and be a little more picky about where we use effects and things like that. I guess it is a big opportunity for us to really do more of that.”

But before Green and his bandmates can think about the release of the album, they first have to negotiate a set at this year’s Earth Frequency festival on the Jimna Range. It will be a slightly different environment for the band, meaning they’re thinking hard about how to approach their set.

“It’ll be a different vibe for us,” Green admits. “That sort of music and that sort of thing is something that I know me and Andrew [Stephens, Kingfisha’s guitarist] have been interested in since the mid ‘90s when we started going to outdoor doof parties and things like that. It’s music that we all really like and follow. You tend to think of it as being really segregated, but you realise through events like Island Vibe and things like that that there’s a really big crossover between electronic dance music and reggae bands and funk bands and soul bands and stuff like that. It’s just about an appreciation of music.

“We’ve talked about doing some instrumental songs and making it more dubby – specifically for Earth Freq, just because people will appreciate that there. It’ll be interesting. We’ve two or three new songs that have just made their way into the set, and one more that might get in there, but we’ll see how we go. It’s a busy time of year, so I don’t know how much we’ll get to rehearse.”
As for the rest of 2012, it’s all about the album release and plenty of touring. The band will also be looking to get back to one of their favourite destinations: New Zealand.

“We had a really good tour in New Zealand at the start of 2010, and that was really good for us. That’s definitely a place we’ll be looking to go back to. I hate to say the word, but it’s been a really good market for us,” Green laughs. “We’ll definitely be looking to get the album into the hands of people over there and organise another tour for 2012.”

KINGFISHA PLAY EARTH FREQUENCY, WHICH TAKES OVER  AT LANDCRUISER PARK, JIMNA RANGE, FEBRUARY 17-20. earthfrequency.com.au