Blue King Brown

Natalie Pa'apa'a, co-founder of and co-songwriter with the award winning Melbourne based band Blue King Brown, has come up with her own definition of their style. After various critics' attempts at defining the rhythmic, rootsy sound the band produces and the intelligent lyrics it contains, she has decided it is its own brand of soul music.

"It's been called different things," Pa'apa'a explained when we discussed the question of whether one could call their lyrics political or socially aware. "I think across the board, people get an idea of what type of lyrics if you say political, which is not my favourite sort of term really, but people at least in this country seem to understand what that means. Socially aware is another way of describing it I guess, and another way again is - we just say it's lyrics from the soul, you know, from the heart and soul. It's soul music, essentially."

The remarkable aspect of this is the band's ability to combine such messages with a sound that is an energetic mix of reggae, Latin and associated roots music, with an end result which is as much fun as anything else.

"We're very positive in the deliverance of our message and our music is very high energy. We're a very percussive band especially when we hit the stage, it's definitely a concert that you come to to dance and move. The fact that we're able to combine our love of all these different styles of music with our own to make this sound that we have, and as well as that combine it with our message, we just love being able to do that.

"What we do, instead of making people feel guilty for living such a great life or feel guilty that there's other people starving to death, we really focus on making a positive thing, that people can get involved in making a change to all these injustices and to poverty and war. We're really about empowering people to take it upon themselves to really start making changes in their lives and thereby in the world."

Their current album 'Stand Up', released on their own label Roots Level, is their debut full-length release and gives a pretty good indication of the live sound of Blue King Brown, which is not always an easy thing to accomplish.

"We were definitely aiming to capture the live vibe," explains Pa'apa'a. "Of course it's an age-old thing where sometimes it's so hard for these amazing live bands and their recorded stuff isn't as amazing as the live stuff. We really kind of focussed on trying to get the live vibe in there as well as a studio vibe, as well as being able to make good use of the studio and get in a horn section and strings and all that sort of thing."

It's this effective combination of lyrical depth with musical enjoyment, and the ability to reproduce it equally well in the studio or in concert, that makes them an ideal addition to this year's WOMADelaide. Though the band itself has not played the festival before, it is not the first time that at least a couple of members have enjoyed the event.

"Carlo, who's the bass player and the manager, and myself have been coming to WOMAD for a few years and we'd only ever dreamed of being on the bill. This was way back when we were just percussionists on the street and we'd come to WOMAD and see these superstars of world music and these amazing sounds from all over the world. We were just in heaven, so to be coming there with our band and doing our thing is really exciting. We're really pumped for it, the whole band is totally pumped."

Before we pursue that topic further, perhaps a more personal question. What have been Natalie Pa'apa'a's highlights of her time in the band to date?

"I guess it's been the journey of becoming not just a singer because I never really sang. I was a percussionist, I'm used to being behind the drum. To come from behind the drum to in front of a microphone and not just sing but sing about things that are so close to my heart. Then to be a front-person in a band and to deliver a message to a room full of people or a festival full of people - just that whole journey of becoming and learning."

So OK, why must people check out Blue King Brown at WOMADelaide?

"I think that Blue King Brown is a really great representative of Australian music that's happening right now, and something that is growing not just as a band but as a genre. The roots scene is really growing and I think we're definitely a part of that scene. We're not just playing music that you can come and dance to and party on to but we're also giving you a positive message as well. Anyone who's interested in checking out what's happening with young people and their music these days can come along and see us and check out what's up."

It will also be their last time in Adelaide for a while, so it's not surprising to hear the parting comment "...we're definitely going to make it a big one!"

WOMADelaide is in the Botanic Gardens from Fri 9 to Sun 11 March