The Cat Empire has been in a state of constant movement as they’ve explored some big changes in the past few years.
In their latest endeavour, the Australian band is teaming up with symphony orchestras across the country for a series of celebratory shows that reinvent old favourites and explore new textures and colours with its fresh line-up and orchestral arrangements by trumpet player and collaborator Ross Irwin.
Long-time fan and Adelaide Symphony Orchestra associate principal percussionist Sami Butler has witnessed the band’s sound change over time from his first encounter with them as a child.
“I would have been eight or nine years old when their first album came out, and the song ‘Hello’ was all over every radio station,” he says of the group, which started out as a jazz/funk band in Melbourne around 24 years ago, released their debut album in 2003 and have been a favourite among WOMADelaide revellers since first playing in Botanic Park the same year.
For Butler, The Cat Empire sound marked a formative experience for him as it opened his eyes to the wide world of percussion instruments.
“As a kid, I used to play drums along to their songs, and I also became interested in the other percussion instruments I was hearing, such as congas and timbales.
“I’m very grateful I branched out from just playing the drum kit into playing all sorts of percussion instruments… I certainly wouldn’t be where I am now these days had I not.”
As rehearsals and plans get underway for the meeting of the groups at The Cat Empire with the ASO on October 4 and 5, Butler says the combination will be “epic”. The performances will be conducted by Vanessa Scammel and will also feature flamenco guitarist Richard Tedesco and flamenco dancers.
“There’ll be so many musicians on stage and it’ll just be such an enormous sound and lots of energy.”
ASO associate principal percussionist Sami Butler. Photo: Supplied
Butler has seen the band’s music develop in its complexity from its earlier “raw” and “improvisational” styles – they’ve often been described as “the ultimate party band” – to their current fusion of influences and genres.
“So Many Nights [2007] was a great album, and I felt like that was where you could start to hear a shift in approach towards a more controlled style of production and songwriting,” says Butler.
“It’s great to see The Cat Empire still thriving in its new form.”
This current era of The Cat Empire was heralded by the change in its line-up of members. Drummer Will Hull-Brown, bassist Ryan Monro, vocalist and trumpeter Harry Angus, DJ and percussionist Jamshid “DJ Jumps” Khadiwala left in 2022, along with long-standing manager Correne Wilkie.
There’s this whole new depth and musical landscape to explore
Riebl and keyboardist Ollie McGill have since rebuilt The Cat Empire with a collective of artists and new “characters” that he says bring fresh sounds and influences to grow the band’s musicianship while maintaining the beating heart of its ethos of fun, vibrant dance music.
“We were very aware that we wanted to keep the spirit of that collective experience alive,” he explains.
Cuban trumpeter and percussionist Lazaro Numa, Seychelles-born African-Australian bassist and singer Grace Barbé, drummer Daniel Farrugia and percussionist Neda Rahmani joined in late 2022, bringing their own deep knowledge of a diverse range of musical styles.
“[The band is] a genuine vehicle for discovering new sounds, for becoming better performers and better musicians,” says Riebl. “There’s this whole new depth and musical landscape to explore with those new characters and influences.”
The Cat Empire’s fan base has remained strong throughout the changes, with many of the shows on its current tour selling out. The only blip was the postponement of its planned shows with the Melbourne Symphony Orchestra after the orchestra’s cancellation of a concert with pianist Jayson Gillham due to his comments about Gaza. The band released a statement explaining it valued “the principles of freedom of speech, artistic expression, and inclusivity”, and pivoted to present a pair of intimate shows at small Melbourne venues.
Tickets are still available for The Cat Empire’s two shows with the Adelaide Symphony Orchestra at the Festival Theatre, which will be followed by a series of shows with the Perth Symphony Orchestra.
The Cat Empire performing at Bluesfest. Photo: Marrs Coiro
Reflecting on the changes to the band over the past few years, Riebl says it is an exciting time to be part of the group. The members have been finding new ways to make music that pays homage to what came before but which also feels true to them at this stage in their lives.
He says the practice of placing new material next to the old recontextualises it all in a new way.
“It kind of breathes life into the old stuff as well,” says Riebl.
“The great thing about a band like this is it’s a lifetime that we’ve been spending in it. Now, we’re evolving into something where we’re trying to celebrate that.”
While The Cat Empire have carried their older material through to its current iteration, it is clear that Riebl is energised by the potential for the band’s future, saying the pursuit of musical growth means the “sky’s kind of the limit”.
“The thing about music is if you just think you can do one thing and that’s all you do, then it often has a time limit or it has an age limit,” he says.
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“If we can stay really, really focused on things that we find musically thrilling and going to different places there’s ways to evoke the spirit of the band through all those different means.
“I really do see this as a journey, a great journey… and one I would like to see well into old age.”
The Cat Empire will be performing with the Adelaide Symphony Orchestra at the Festival Theatre on October 4 and 5. Their new album, Bird in Paradise, is due out in March 2025.
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