Feature: The WBC - Ska Fees

"Why are my pockets so empty?" croons Matiu Sadd on Uncle Benny, an ode to life as a musician, surviving on the artists' benefit and whatever else can be scraped together to make ends meet - and The WBC's most successful song to date.

And it's precisely this lack of money that has delayed the release of the WBC's debut album 'Hi-Fidelity Offbeat' to mid 2006, after seven years together. In that time The WBC (which stands for Wuda Bang Clan), has released two stopgap EPs - the 'Ska Septet' in 2000 and 'Ease Ya' Mind' in 2003 - plus the aforementioned release. It's with hindsight that Sadd argues it was better for the band to bide its time with their first album.

"I definitely think it was good to have released material previously," he says. "It's putting in the hard yards and the groundwork - it pays off in the long-run. Everyone really wants to do an album-length project and any band is itching to record and have their stuff out there, but it comes down to whether you're ready as a band. We're ready for it now."

It takes but one listen to 'Hi-Fidelity Offbeat' to see what he means. There's no filler here, just a selection of 13 solid and well-constructed tracks honed to painstaking perfection. Their progressive, reggae infused ska-rock has branched out considerably since 'Ease Ya' Mind', lending an impressive all-encompassing accessibility to the new record.

"I think our sound has continued to evolve since the band started and there's quite a definite change from the [second] EP to the album," offers Sadd. "The album's a bit more guitar-heavy; a lot more distorted guitars. It's just where we're at. It's not a bad thing at all, it's kind of cool really. The EP was almost soundtrack-esque. There were five songs on the EP and they're all quite different."

After seven years of waiting it out, the band's patience has paid off with a consistent, well-rounded and professional album. When they started pre-production they went back through the 30-odd songs the band had written to date, pulling out the best. They were aiming for a really good, consistent album Sadd explains.

"Some of the tracks we've had in the band's repertoire for a while, but the majority of the material is new and there are some brand new songs that we thought would work quite well with the album."

 
Uncle Benny is the only track on 'Hi-Fidelity Offbeat' to have been previously released, though it is a slightly extended version and no longer features the guest talents of MC Tyna.

"Originally when we wrote the song, Tyna wasn't even on it. It was quite good and something a bit leftfield getting him in for that song, [but for the album] we went back to what we'd originally done."

Whilst earlier releases 'Ease Ya Mind' and single Uncle Benny were recorded at York St, 'Hi-Fidelity Offbeat' was recorded and mixed at Dave Holmes' studio Venn Productions, in Kingsland, Auckland; with recording by Clint Murphy at significantly reduced 'family' rates.

"He was our drummer and at the time [of the EP] he was the house engineer at York Street. We still had to pay for the use of the studio but he was working for free."

Murphy has since parted ways with The WBC and headed to the UK, replaced on drums by Jordan Stone. This time around the band opted to record with Dave Holmes in the producer's chair.

"He has a company called Venn Productions, and he's recorded the likes of Gramsci and Autozamm, among others. We spent the whole of November tracking the album and I think we tracked originally about 16 or 17 songs."

Only 13 made the album though it seems that is mainly because the band simply ran out of time.

"It would've been nice to record all the material we had originally planned to, we just couldn't - which is not a bad thing. We're pretty happy with the effort, a month is a good time to track."

The extra songs will likely be used for future releases, another EP, or b-sides for a single release.