Katchafire

Katchafire’s no-frills, vibe-heavy roots reggae tunes harken back to the genre’s beginnings. Not surprising, given that the all-Maori group began jamming in a Hamilton, New Zealand garage in the late ‘90s as a five-piece Bob Marley tribute band, and their name pays homage to The Wailers’ iconic 1973 album. In 2002, they put out their first original single, the sun-kissed “Giddy Up”, which became the country’s highest-selling single that year and pushed their 2003 debut, Revival, to double-platinum status. Apart from increasing their production values alongside their rising renown, Katchafire have stayed a mostly classic course with their approach, keeping the bass pumping on tracks like 2007’s “Love Letter” and adding tasteful flourishes of synth on 2014’s “Down With You”. On 2018’s Legacy, the band embraced elements of R&B on the simmering “100”, and 2021 brought the slow-burning “Whaingaroa”, a hazy ode to the titular special place.