The Herbaliser: Same as it Never Was heralds happy, dancy return

May 27th 2008, by Tobias |

Funksoul HipHop band The Herbaliser are about to return to the scene with their first album in three years. Promos for “Same it Never Was” have already been sent out and since yesterday, the general public can treat themselves to a fresh round of sweat-soakingly energising tunes. Ollie Teeba and Jake Wherry have once again assembled a pumping live band around them (this time amounting to a leaner five man orchestra), including a slew of guest vocalists, such as MC Jean Grae, More or Les and Yungun Aka Essa. The Herbaliser have also made the acquantance of 22-year young Jessica Darling, a London-based Soul singer. The meeting has resulted in her vocals featuring prominently on “Same as it Never Was” and constuting one of the distinct sound elements of the new album. The band openly admit that the focus was more on a Big Band, Jazz and RnB production this time, even though the duo has made it clear their roots remain strong. “It’s still a hip-hop inspired record”, Wherry said, “but at the same time it’s a lot broader because our musical and emotional horizons are broader.” While The Herbaliser were one of the main projects on the roster of the visionary Ninja Tunes label for years, they are now relying on German expertise for their latest album: “Same as it Never Was” will be published by !K7.

To publically demonstrate their pride in being able to feature the new album by one of England’s flagship live bands, !K7 have set up a special microsite and shot an eight-minute video shot at the recording studio, which introduces the entire band and sees Teeba and Wherry explain their approach for “Same as it Never Was”: “It all goes back to Jessica. We approached our writing quite differently now, because we’re actually doing songs for the first time. We’ve still got rap tunes and instrumentals on the album, but with five or six tracks which have Jessica on them, it gives our music a broader appeal.”

Jessica Darling joined in the chorus of happy voices, stressing “how well things worked out” and “how fast everything went” during the production of the album. The spontaneity of “Same as it Never Was” will also translate to the upcoming live shows of The Herbaliser. “In the past we’ve had a ten-man band. (...) We’ve had to streamline it a little bit. I play the bass and Ollie’s on turntables”, Jake explained, “Two Horns and a Drummer and a Keyboard player” – as well as a new DJ tools, allowing the integration of turntables and laptop sounds on stage.

The long waiting time for the new album has certainly not resulted from The Herbaliser falling into a depression, but from them searching for something both refreshing and recognisable. In the end, it looks like “Same as it Never Was” has really turned into the “happy, dancy album” they envisioned it to be.

Homepage: The Herbaliser
Homepage: The Herbaliser at MySpace
Homepage: !K7 Records