Bret Mckenzie and mates take to the road

Bret Mckenzie is heading out on tour. Not with Flight of the Conchords, not with The Muppets. This time, he’s going with his mates.

A collective of sorts, The Strange Caravan Tour comprises five of Aotearoa’s most talented and technical musicians – Mckenzie, Age Pryor, Justin Firefly, Nigel Collins and Ben Lemi.

Buddies who’ve known each other through the Wellington music scene for years, the group’s credits include Fly My Pretties, Wellington Ukulele Orchestra, Trinity Roots, French For Rabbits, and Mckenzie’s Conchords.

Playing seven dates across the country in November, each artist will showcase several original songs, with the others in support.

The collaboration began 18 months ago, as little more than a jam session between friends. But Mckenzie says the love they all share for making music ‘‘just for fun’’ has kept the momentum going.

‘‘Because I’ve been doing so many songs for films – songs that had to adhere to a story or be cut for a picture – I was enjoying doing some that were just for the music or the song, not for anything else.’’

Mckenzie says it was his idea to turn the jam sessions into a tour. ‘‘I’m really loving playing live at the moment. I’m really over screen life. I’m keen to get out there among real people, and get people together to just have a live experience.

‘‘I also love the way playing live is great for musicians, because you figure things out that you don’t know until an audience is there. It kind of helps you work out what’s working and what’s not.’’

With a focus on workshopping each other’s songs and seeing what happens, Mckenzie says they’ll bring that same inthe-moment attitude to the live shows.

‘‘It’s five songwriters all taking a turn, but all the other songwriters play the band for each other’s songs, so it’s kind of like musical chairs. We’ll be changing instruments, and each person will do a few songs.

‘‘I’m going to try not to crack too many jokes,’’ he chuckles down the phone line.

Their varied musical projects are familiar to many Kiwis, so Mckenzie says fans can also expect the beats to be a little more weird and a little more funky.

‘‘I tend to love the sort of retro 70s sound, but I feel like occasionally we push into a slightly more futuristic sort of feel. I’ve been describing it as retro future.

‘‘It occasionally gets a little psychedelic, too,’’ he says, hinting that it will be a night full of surprises.

It’s this excitement of not knowing what could go down at any session, or on tour, that has all five men so eager to get out on the road.

Mckenzie’s ‘‘playground mate’’ Age Pryor – who agrees there’s ‘‘some pretty deep history there’’ – says he’s not surprised by everyone’s shared enthusiasm for the project. ‘‘I’ve observed over the years that it’s kind of a pattern. Fat Freddy’s Drop, the Ukulele Orchestra, Flight of the Conchords, they’re all groups that ended up becoming really successful, but started out as a fun hangout, or a side project.

‘‘I’ve seen it happen heaps and I’m not surprised it’s happened with this one.’’

Appreciating the uniqueness of the lineup, he adds that ‘‘it is a very Wellington thing. Everyone’s going one-for-one, and sharing ideas and trying stuff out. It’s all pretty open in terms of where it might go.’’

As for the people in the group, Pryor says the sheer calibre of the artists is reason enough to get along to one of these shows.

‘‘It’s really high-standard musicianship which I’ve been loving all the way. I’ve been loving playing with these people.

‘‘There’s a lot of variety in these songs because they’re coming from different places, and there’s a lot of variety in people’s minds.’’

So what can punters expect to see on stage? Mckenzie says not even he’s sure yet, but he does know it will be one helluva good time.

‘‘I’m looking forward to finding out what we’re going to do as well. I literally don’t know because we haven’t started rehearsing yet, but it’s a lot of great players, a lot of great songs, and I think it should be a night of great music... fingers crossed.’’