Katchafire: Say What You're Thinking

By Rachel Fallon

For the who may not be familiar with Katchafire, this seven piece started out in 1997 as a Bob Marley covers band and have since developed into Aotearoa's most well-known and embraced reggae act. They have successfully produced a string of platinum albums and on first listen I must admit my reaction was to think 'Oh yeah, more of the same'. However further inspection reveals that our boys from H' Town have come up trumps once again. There's the usual hook-filled ditties about dancing and girls, but meaningful depth is added with such subjects as P (methamphetamine), suicide and a touch of politics. Multi-instrumentalist/percussionist Leon Davey, keyboardist Haani Totorewa and drummer Jordon Bell all contributed not only to the writing, but shine through as talented vocalists to boot. Their beautiful harmonies and vocal styles are more old school soul than on previous tracks, adding a richness to the sound, while the production by Nick Manders at York Street is very polished. Having left Mai Music this is their first independent release which is distributed by EMI in NZ. Let's hope this accelerates them towards the wider international success they increasingly deserve.

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NZ Musician

October/November 2007