Vampires coming to the Northern Rivers
With their latest, seventh, album Nightjar, ARIA Award winners The Vampires mark a watershed in their 15-year career, making them one of Australia’s most acclaimed acts. Having just returned from a successful European tour of Nightjar, The Vampires are in fine form for their Australian tour and an upcoming gig at Coorabell Hall.
Melding saxophone and trumpet, intricate melodies, and expansive groove soundscapes into their austral-facing jazz textures, they effortlessly capture the essence of their genre-hopping ethos into an immersive musical experience – they have the sound we all want to hear. Last week Seven spoke to trumpet player Nick Garbett about the upcoming tour.
The Vampires have been together for 20 years – you all met at uni. Forget the education, is it just a melting pot for musos to meet each other?
Definitely, yeah, particularly for us. We went to a music university, a conservatorium and that’s a huge part of it. I am still playing with a lot of the musicians I went to uni with. It’s great. It sort of forms the community really.
What is the place where reggae and jazz meet?
It’s actually been happening since the ‘50s in Jamaica – that meeting place between reggae and jazz – particularly through the ‘60s, ‘70s and ‘80s, bands like The Scatalites, Tommy McCook – there was a lot of bands that were the house bands for the studios in Kingston, Jamaica. And they’d do their own projects which were more instrumental and very much influenced by jazz, American jazz, lots of improvising. It really, really works. The Vampires just have a different approach to it – we love playing Jamaican-inspired grooves. But, we also take inspiration from other parts of the world too with some Balkan elements, and definitely some South American elements to some of the songs. Yeah.
You’ve been busy since the latest album came out?
We’ve been touring it all through last year, and this is sort of the tail end of the tour – we’re playing a lot of new music now too, and we’re about to go back into the studio.
What’s inspiring you musically?
That’s a big ask! I love the social aspect of playing music. I’m incredibly lucky to be in Australia, to be surrounded by friends in the bands I work with.
Are you having enough fun?
Yeah, I’m having plenty of fun. I’ve been doing a lot of touring in the last couple of years. A lot of touring in Europe. I’ve toured with The Vampires and several other bands, and it’s exhausting, but it’s a lot of fun.
What’s your current ear worm?
My current ear worm is an artist from Niger named Bombino. His latest album Sahel is amazing!
What can the Coorabell audiences expect that they might not have seen before?
I think the band in the last two or three years has developed a lot. It’s even more groove based and kind of a lot more dub informed. It’s still a concert for people who want to sit down, but it’s also dance music as well these days – it’s a natural progression.
Also, our good friend, Animal Ventura, is supporting us!
See The Vampires on Saturday, February 8, at Coorabell Hall from 8pm. Tickets: events.humanitix.com/the-vampires-with-special-guest-tainui-richmond.
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