Fly My Pretties O.G. Barnaby Weir opens up about the collective’s latest collab, which this time roped in a whole university to help. That’s a lot of moving parts to manage but for Barnaby and co-creator Laughton Kora, it’s the kind of pressure that makes diamonds.

It must have been a busy summer for everyone involved, turning October’s Wellington Jazz Festival concerts into a live album. Or is that kind of pressure all part of the Fly My Pretties’ creative ethos?

Yes ‘Elemental’ is not your usual album, and Fly My Pretties is not your usual band. Just like all our albums and live show concepts, it’s a unique collaboration between fresh and unlikely combinations of songwriters and musicians creating an album and show that comes together seemingly very quickly. Actually Laughton Kora, some of the writers, the Loop team and I have been working for a couple of years on this project in different forms and thankfully, it’s now all come together. There is a positive pressure in that whatever we do needs to be very special and a unique presentation of concept, music, visuals and live performance magic. I put this pressure on myself first, then piece it together and in doing this we try to set a high standard of experience in the show for the audience. You might say it’s emotional, like good art should be. 

Is it hard, particularly for you and Laughton, to surrender yourself to the collaborative process that is at the heart of Fly My Pretties? And to convince other artists to join in?

It’s not hard once we have a clear idea of the concept and the overall feel and general sound of the show. This first part of finding the core elements of our project is challenging at times. Once we know what we want to say, it begins to become a little easier in finding the talent and the stories we need to make an arresting show. Laughton has brought in a huge amount of experience in show-making and storytelling to this ‘Elemental’ concept. He really helped me to discover and work out what it is we really need to say and express in the show. He questioned and helped answer why and what we are doing, why it’s important and how we can deliver it – he has amazing talent. The Loop team, Dan Clist and co-founder of Fly My Pretties Mikee Tucker, really help push the project along, as we have been working on this for years. Everyone is all in.

This time the collab extended to lecturers and students at Massey University, who filmed, recorded and mixed the performances that the new album captures. Tell us about that process?

This ‘Elemental’ collaboration reached even further into a new territory creatively and in a tech sense. It was created within a partnership with Massey University Wellington and their amazing tutors, mentors and students contributing hugely to the project. James Coyle at Massey University was essential to this massive collaboration where we were lucky enough to utilise the audio, visual, studio and tech resources available to be able to deliver our first shows and record the album. We literally had a huge team of talented tech and Massey students helping us to deliver this awesome show and concept and I am humbled they had the faith and took the chance to work with us on this one. There is a lot to it. We performed in the university’s Great Hall, recorded live directly to their main studio (which is amazing), and we used the biggest LED screen I have ever seen as our backdrop, with spectacular visuals crafted for the show by Mikee Tucker and Mike Busy. The results have been impressive, and I am a very critical artist, can you tell? lol.

You are returning to the Isaac Theatre Royal for this show – that's a venue close to your heart, isn’t it?

Yes, it surely is! We absolutely love playing at the Isaac Theatre Royal. Again, we have a great relationship with the venue operators and have done some really cool shows there in the past. After the quakes and the rebuild, we were so fortunate to open the Royal – it was special. It's a damn fine place to play, as is Christchurch in general. The vibe for Fly My Pretties has always been strong there.

As with all the Fly My Pretties’ projects, the talent is amazing – vocalists AJA, RIIKI REID, Taylah, TAWAZ and Louis TM, all held together by a rhythm section of Iraia Whakamoe and Aaron Stewart. How did the lineup come together?

Ummm, slowly hahaha! Nothing has been rushed with this project. We listened to many artists’ work, trying to figure out what we wanted. In the past we have had more artists in the lineup but we had to keep it tighter this time. We searched and listened and then we made our choices and put it out to the artists. Then we had writing workshops over 2023 and 2024 where we made new material and experimented to see what might come out of it. A lot of work went into selecting the final crew for our show. I feel so privileged to share the stage with our current band and vocalists.

How has that smaller group influenced the sound?

We still have a big sound – I guess everyone has to work a little harder on stage. It has given us a solid musical consistency and a good glue to the whole sound in my view. Nothing is additional, it’s all essential and ... elemental, innit? 

Also new with this project is the prominent use of te reo Māori in the lyrics – how did that come about? Who helped or advised?

Yes, with ‘Elemental’ I really wanted to have a broader representation of what it is to come from Aotearoa so it was imperative we embrace te reo Māori in a more confident way within the music. The Māori language, ideas of spirituality and the understanding of elemental concepts of life are expressed so uniquely, and I felt it was really important to try to bring this in closer to my world and the world of Fly My Pretties and to celebrate it through our music. Songs that do this beautifully on the album are ‘AIE’, ‘Tie Together’ and ‘Everflowing’ in particular. Bilingual lyrics that are inclusive and deeply special in their message, I love this aspect of the new album. Tawaroa Kawana was hugely instrumental in encouraging this increased understanding and expression of te reo Māori in ‘Elemental’.

Any observations on the increasing use of te reo Māori by Kiwi musicians across the spectrum, from Alien Weaponry to Lorde and Marlon Williams?

I think it’s a slow but important change we are seeing and it’s very special and worthwhile. Music is a wonderful way to educate and inspire on this. 

What are you listening to at the moment?

I just came back from the YAMI SouNZ Summit in Wanaka, a youth music two-day workshop where I was recording demos with Lee Prebble (longtime friend and musical mate). It was so special to hear what the youth are writing and performing. One standout teenage band that performed is Powder Chutes, who I think are pretty RAD – big riffs and energy. I think they will go far if they can stay together. Otherwise, I like my JJ Cale, George Clinton with Ice Cube ‘One Nation’, The Sonics, old-school hip-hop, my TRiPS band (new album I made with Andy C last year, please stream it every moment of every day), listening and working on the new Black Seeds album and listening to my kids DJ on my phone. Also, silence is a great album by LIFE – Elemental x 

Anything on the cards for when you’re in Christchurch?

I love all the food offerings – Riverside Markets hello! – and seeing old friends.

Finally, what’s next for you? More Black Seeds? More solo projects?

Yes, we're working on our eighth Black Seeds album, plus lots of parenting and shows.

Fly My Pretties, Isaac Theatre Royal, Saturday 14 June
‘Elemental’ the album out Friday May 16
flymypretties.com