“My favourite part about Jamaica was working with legendary icons like Sly and Robbie,” enthuses Pa’apa’a. “We were definitely star-struck about those guys! It’s just really cool to even be able to say that we had them contribute to our music. I think my favourite track off the entire album ( Worldwize Part 1: North And South’) is Mo’ Truth, which we did with Sly and Robbie. The song definitely has a flavour that Blue King Brown wouldn’t have come up with by ourselves.
“That’s what collaboration is all about though,” she admits, “adding extra flavours that you wouldn’t normally come up with as a band. It’s kind of funny because you’re freaking out on the inside but you’re trying to act cool in front of such big names at the same time!” she laughs. “In the end, the song was a very nice mix of my vocals and their background track.”
Pa’apa’a means it, too, when she calls Worldwize a “truly global album,” featuring an array of big names and big beats, not to mention lyrics that contain powerful messages in each song. In short, as Pa’apa’a agrees, Blue King Brown have outdone themselves yet again on their second full-length album.
“We were also lucky enough to get Queen Ifrica and Jah Mason on the record,” explains Pa’apa’a. “We were blown away by how enthusiastic everybody was to collaborate with us. With this album we feel like we really cracked the code musically. We ended up using a much broader range of sounds than we planned and certainly elements that we’d never used before on our first album which was quite live and rootsy.
“This album has basically been about us finding out how to make music that we’d like to listen to,” she muses.
“But this is just the first installment of something that we see as a bit of a project. This album is really part one, covering ‘North’ and ‘South’. The next album is going to cover ‘East’ and ‘West’ because the aim is to represent lyrics and music that matches our philosophy about being part of a global community.
“There is a connection on Earth,” she continues, “between all four corners of the globe. We are living in interesting times now and we share history. We are using all four directions of the world to acknowledge people from those corners, regardless of their colour, creed or religion.”
It’s a philosophy fans of Blue King Brown have come to embrace and celebrate ever since the band’s 2006 debut Stand Up … Having recently conquered the festival circuit in Canada earlier this year, Pa’apa’a says building an international foundation is currently the main priority for the band.
“We’re always going to have that Australian element though, no matter where we are,” assures the singer. “This is where we’ve grown up, this is where we live, it’s our immediate community that surrounds us, so as much as we’re a multicultural band, we’re still very much Australian. We just like to mash up other world elements into that.
“It’s hard to put your finger on that unique Austarlian-ness but it’s definitely there, no matter what flavours we try out musically. Australia is a special country in general because there it’s possible to be independent and be successful too. The industry is well-connected like that; it’s made up of a lot of good friends. I think John Butler Trio really led the way in showing people how much you can achieve totally on your own because they’re extremely independent. It comes down to the right work ethic, vision and focus, which is something Australians are well-known for all over the world.”
Pa’apa’a’s own band are also fast gaining recognition among world music legends like Carlos Santana, who Blue King Brown had the pleasure of supporting a few years ago. Along the way, the collective has also scored fans the likes of Lauryn Hill and Michael Franti thanks to their breath-taking and awe-inspiring live shows. Fear not, though, as according to Pa’apa’a, Blue King Brown remain one bunch that’s not about to let success go to their heads…
“We feel very blessed that people in general have been receptive to us as much as they have,” she gushes. “We’ve met so many amazing people along the way and made so many friendships to last a lifetime, both in Australia and overseas. But to hear Carlos Santana tell us he is a fan was one of those moments you never forget,” she grins. “He’s such a beautiful human being, he’s just gold. We really appreciated how much he immersed himself in our music and how interested he was in what we do and what we’re all about.
“He literally,” she continues, “took the time to find out about our band when we supported him, he pulled me up on stage, and it was a dream come true to share a stage with an artist of that caliber.”
