It's a hallmark in a career, and it could very well be the defining
moment in a musical lifetime. But for Melbourne Afro-fusion band The
Seven Ups, this doesn’t seem to be the case with the release last month
of their self-titled longplayer. “We’ve only just done it in the last
couple of weeks, and it’s already been amazing,” says band member Marcel
'Mac-Daddy' Tussie.
“I mean, the only real response we’ve seen
is at shows. When we finish a show, when people come up to us and are
interested in buying merch, not only the CD but on vinyl as well, which
is becoming more and more popular, that's been a great response.
“It’s
been a supportive response, not only from punters but from other bands
and fellow musicians, you know they want to get the record, they wanna
hear the music on the recording and they want to support live music.
It’s been a really satisfying feeling, and it's only the beginning.”
The band's style is not something you hear every day. There’s something
unique about a group of suburban Australian musicians, from a variety of
different artistic backgrounds, coming together to play a style that
undoubtedly has its roots in African music. “We’re not exactly doing
Afro-beat to its truest form; we’re not replicating anything Fela Kuti
would have done back in Nigeria in the 1970s or anything – we’re just
trying to modernise it.
“We’re not playing 15-minute songs where
we sort of jam-out with 10-minute solos. We’ve sort of taken elements of
that, and elements of pop songwriting, where you’ve got an intro, a
verse, a chorus, a solo. There’s structure in every song to keep the
audience interested, 'cause you either have to be incredibly talented
musicians to keep the audience going for fifteen minutes on one groove
or you’re just really selfish and willing to play that for your own
satisfaction.
“Take elements of pop songwriting and elements from
Fela Kuti and also some more modern bands such as Antibalas, who are
doing their thing on the Daptone label in NY at the moment, anything in
between those dudes is where we’re definitely getting our influence. But
there’s definitely a long list of bands in between that I could rattle
off to you.”
Recording 'The Seven Ups' was done in a timely manner. “For us we played
the songs a lot live, and we rehearsed it as well, so we knew down to
the very last detail what we wanted to do in the studio; and due to the
cost of studio time and the cost of sound engineers, and everyone else's
individual time; everyone has at least two or three other bands they’re
playing in. Once we got the dates sorted, it was just a matter of doing
four or five twelve-hour days back to back in the studio."
And
of course, no first album release is complete without an obligatory
favourite track. “The favourites have to be the one we struggled with
the most,” Marcel says. “The song 'The Boss', for us, was really
challenging, 'cause we were playing it and listening back to it and
saying this sounds nothing like it does when we’re playing it live. So
that was a real big shock to us, but we are most proud of it.”
scenestr.com.au
Tracklist
| A1 |
Hello Afro |
3:23
|
| A2 |
The Boss |
2:51
|
| A3 |
Senora Doll |
4:21
|
| A4 |
The Chase |
3:07
|
| A5 |
Not Afraid Of Dying |
4:34
|
| B1 |
The Trial |
3:41
|
| B2 |
No Compromise |
4:16
|
| B3 |
Brunswick Special |
3:10
|
| B4 |
Scarlett Fever |
2:42
|
| B5 |
New Mellow |
6:55 |
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