“It’s pretty incredible, I’m pretty humbled by all of it,” says guitarist Ji Fraser. “We finished our summer tour last month and since launching our album about a year ago we just haven’t stopped. I’ve been all through Europe, to the States twice, toured New Zealand and Australia multiple times and it doesn’t look like it’s slowing down.”
It certainly doesn’t. When it was released, their self-titled album Six60 bested the Foo Fighters as iTunes’ biggest selling album, and all five singles have been certified somewhere between gold and triple platinum. Adding to this, the album has been the number one best selling album in New Zealand since its release. Oh, and they just signed with Sony Music across Europe.
“Obviously the industry is different now and a lot of people were saying albums aren’t selling at the moment but we’ve kind of proved all of them wrong,” says Fraser. “We’ve gone almost four times platinum here. It’s definitely something special that maybe doesn’t come along all too often. I’m really proud and really humbled to be a part of it. I just hope we can keep going the way we’re going.”
Speaking to Fraser you get the sense that he’s loving the ride but he’d be happier if it all slowed down just a little. “You can only really look back at it, you can’t really take it in at the time,” he states. “It’s so hectic. It’s funny we’ve been all through Germany and places like that and it seems like we blinked and it was over. It’s far too hectic to take it in while it’s happening.” But he’s still loving it, and obviously grateful for the band’s success. “You gotta make hay while the sun’s up, you can’t complain.”
Given Six60’s huge success in the relatively small New Zealand, it’s hard to imagine that life could have remained even vaguely recognisable, but when asked about it Fraser simply laughs. “I’m pretty safe walking down the street. Our singer might be struggling a bit but I’m ok. We’re lucky, our fan base here is hugely supportive. They’re not crazy, they’re just loving. We definitely stop and take photos a lot more now but I love it, I love doing that for the fans. The more the merrier, the bigger the better.”
One thing that does get a little old though is being asked when the next album is coming. “I feel like every time someone asks me when the next one’s coming I feel like saying ‘come on man’. It’s literally been just over a year (since the last one). But that’s just another credit to our fans – they just want more. I want to give it to them. We’re working on that now, trying to get them something new. We’re working on some new songs, trying to get a good feel for the new album.”
Their success has been so great they’ve inevitably started to be claimed as Australians in some media stories. “Don’t tell the Kiwis. Obviously it’s a natural step for a New Zealand band. Australia’s like the bigger brother you know? And everyone just wants to get over there. I understand that some people might get upset about it but I don’t see it as that big of a problem. I’m happy to be an Australian and a New Zealander. I don’t see the problem. Some Kiwis might be upset by that, but not me.”
But there are even bigger frontiers ahead. “We’ve signed with Sony Europe,” explains Fraser. “We’ve got confirmed we’re playing at Glastonbury this year so we’re really happy about that. I hope that after Glastonbury we’ll get a few more festivals lined up and we’ll definitely head back to the US. We’ve just done South By Southwest over there. As hard as we can be working – that’s what we want to be doing.”
And how was South By Southwest? “Incredible. It’s nothing like New Zealand festivals where they’re situated in rural areas with big marquees. Not like trying to house 30,000 people without annoying anyone. The whole South by Southwest was 250,000 people crammed into Austin, Texas. The roads were cut off and everything. It was neat in the sense that you could just wander into a bar and see a band you’ve never heard of, watch them play. They had really big names – Kendrick Lamar playing in a 1,000 person venue with 10,000 people trying to get in. It was great to see the big acts but the opportunities to see people you’d never heard of before were brilliant too.
“I’m looking forward to heading back to Australia, can’t wait to get back. Last tour was our first tour doing the bigger venues and we’re doing a big run again, I can’t wait to get back. Really nailing these next tours of New Zealand and Australia are really important to us as we won’t be back here for awhile after that.”
BY JOSH FERGEUS
