THE FUNK IS OUT
Of all the numerical musical ensembles, a 'nonet' is certainly one. But it is valid to say not the most common of such terms bandied about, however the eclectic Melbourne funk/ latin/ hip hop outfit LABJACD are beginning to firmly etch the word, and more so their tunes, into the Australian consciousness, having seemingly cheated Old Gregg out of the 'The Funk' and made themselves some very funky shakes indeeed.

With, firstly, apologies for the arbitrary 'Mighty Boosh' reference above, Scene had the pleasure of speaking to trumpeteer Declan Jones on the band's new direction, unlikely fun gigs and the trials of keeping a nine piece together. Speaking with a Melbourne-situated Jones, I discover the roots of the band's talent are in fact much more organic and not the result of any alien intervention. He also tells of a very chilled, but nonetheless committed, period ahead.
"Well right now I'm just sitting in Federation Square, relaxing. I'll be catching up with the rest of the guys later to do a little bit of jamming, just to tweak some of the new material for a live setting," he explains.

With their second album, 'Words Out' being released next month, a somewhat more political edge has been applied lyrically since their debut 'Vote With Your Feet'. Also, sonically the band have evolved, incorporating African styles, reggae, Afrobeat and Andean folk (I know, how derivative! LOL!), so as to ensure the live shows are still very much groove-inducing and entertaining despite the deeper lyrical themes.

"The way I see it is anyone can make music in any style they want, regardless of what they're singing about. It's just that we made a conscious decision that we didn't want to lose the great live dynamic that we have, which is our primary strength," Jones says, "and with the new directions, we're really happy with the mix of styles we were able to achieve. There's some more traditional hip hop and funk, and then there's a bit of Afrobeat and even Andean folk influences, which we love."

Oh, and just to clarify to any sods so far who are all "What, how do you say their name? Is that an acronym? Oh it's all a bit weird for me!", it's pronounced 'Labjacked'.

One of the obvious questions I have for Jones is how has it been keeping a nonet together? "Well yeah it isn't always easy getting everyone together for a jam, as people inevitably have all sorts of things on at any given time, but we've managed pretty well," he explains, while dodging some Fed Square hooligans' stray football, "but in saying that, we actually added an extra brass section and a few other instruments on some of the new album tracks, boosting the numbers up to 15 or so."

Impressive, and what is the writing process like in a band of nine (or 15) talented musicians jockeying for position? "It's a pretty varied process. Sometimes one of us will just bring a fully written and arranged piece to a jam and we'll all just learn our parts. Other times we'll just launch into an improvised jam and then try and make a mental note of what we came up with. That's probably the most fun way, particularly if we come up with something crazy in a live-jam night setting."

With the core nine of Jones, Adam King, Julian Langdon, Tristan Ludowyk, Luis Poblete, Cristian Saavedra, Julian Scheffer, Alfie Vielma and Andy Williamson, LABJACD are a truly eclectic live outfit, a fact that does not hamper their attitude to using samples in their music. "No, we don't have any issues on that front. We just believe that if it's available, one should use any sound that helps their piece of music. We sourced a lot of stuff that we really believe complements the new tracks. And at the end of the day, we're still a live band."

That they are, and miss these guys at your peril when they hit the Zoo and Shark Bar, or you will be missing out on some of the best homegrown, World-inspired dancing ever!

With such a live performance rep I have to ask Jones if he has any favourite gigs? "There's so many, we always have a lot of fun. But one that springs to mind was in the early days, and there would have been maybe six people in the crowd, so there was more of us than them! But we just went ahead with our usual energetic routine and weren't affected by it, and everyone in the room loved it."
Alex Condon

LABJACD’s 'Words Out' is out on April 11. LABJACD play The Zoo April 3 and the Shark Bar May 1.