Most probably feeling a little jaded after fielding questions from curious hacks for several hours, the Resin Dogs’ DJ Katch – aka Andrew Garvie – is nonetheless polite and eager to please as he chats to ITM during the critically-acclaimed band’s exhaustive national tour. Speaking from Northern NSW – where he now calls home – Andrew is relaxed as he talks up the Resin Dogs’ mammoth 30 date pilgrimage across the nation to promote their third long player, ‘More’.

To take in several stops in Sydney, Melbourne, Adelaide, Perth and, of course their home town Brisbane, the Resin Dogs are set to bring their renowned live performances to the masses, and Andrew can’t wait. “We’ve always been known firstly for our live shows and not for record sales,” he says. “I guess cause we’ve always come from that live background… [so] people have come to check if we’re still alive and checking out what we’re up to lately. So you’re winning over new fans and bringing back the old ones as well.”

While their electrifying live performances have rightly attained legendary status since the Dogs burst out of their Brisbane kennel over a decade ago, their new album reflects the Resin Dogs’ increasing maturity as musicians and, on the production front, is their most solid and consistent work to date. Co-produced by The Nextmen’s Brad Baloo and featuring an array of collaborations, including with MCs like Demolition Man, Yungun, N’FA and long-time Resin Dogs ring-in Abstract Rude, foundation members Andrew and Dave Atkins have displayed a willingness to push the boundaries in order to remain fresh and evolve as a group.

While their debut album ‘Grand Theft Audio’ and the follow up, 2003’s ‘Hi Fidelity Dirt’ (in addition to several mini-albums and EPs in between) both impressed critics with their heady mix of electronic-tinged funk and hip-hop, ‘More’ has gone one step further. It’s a fitting summary of a group who have not let deserved worldwide success go to their heads. While that organic feel of a Resin Dogs dancefloor destroyer is still present, it just sounds better, and more polished, than ever before on ‘More’.

“With [Return To The] Volcanic Lab there were more writers and more members in the band than there are today, where it’s [now] broken down to myself and Dave,” Andrew says. “This time round we went for a more solidified thing; more songs instead of jams and stuff like that. We tried to steer away from being a compilation record…with all different sounds all over the shop. We tried to make it more stylistic and solidified and definitely touring overseas helped a lot with the shaping of this record.”

Relentless touring throughout the last few years have seen the Resin Dogs play at some of the world’s most prestigious festivals, including the UK’s Womad Festival, Colours Of Ostrava in the Czech Republic and Hungary’s Sziget Festvial, in addition to club dates at London’s Fabric and Cargo. They’re all experiences Andrew believes contributed to the group’s more international appeal showcased on ‘More’. “Being able to play in these places is mind-blowing, especially for where we come from,” he says. “Being accepted to be able to go there is great [and] we were accepted ‘cause we’ve got that party vibe.”

Fiercely independent since day one, Andrew once compared having a major record deal to having ‘a glorified bank loan, only with a music video’, and ‘More’ – echoing that sentiment – was once again released on the Resin Dogs’ homegrown imprint Hydrofunk, but paired with MGM for distribution. Having done the hard yards for many years to build the Resin Dogs into what they are today, Andrew is forthright when asked whether he or the group have any regrets about their grass-roots approach.

“It’s always good to control your own destiny that’s for sure,” he says. “Not being owned by anything or have to answer to anyone is brilliant; I recommend it to anyone, but at the end of the day you’ve got to put in the hard work, and that’s the truth. We did have the deal back in the day for the first and half way through the second record,” he continues. “Looking back, we couldn’t turn around and go to each other ‘we should’ve taken that deal; we could’ve done better if we took the record deal’. We gave everyone that opportunity to do so at the time.”

“We’ve been with major corporations; their end line is they’re there to make money cause record companies are owned by bigger companies no matter what people think,” he details. “You’re spending other peoples’ money, whereas as an independent you’re spending your own money so you’ve got to work out what budgets and stuff and do a hell of a lot more work. There’s a lot of factors to think about instead of just making the music these days. What you put in you get out of it in the end.”

These words were perhaps never more truer than late last year when their track ‘Fine Mess’ reached the semi-finals of the International Songwriting Competition. They soon bettered this amazing feat by winning a global competition to find the ‘Best Hip Hop Producers In The World’. Following their national tour Andrew and Dave will fly to Malibu’s lauded Document Room studios to work with respected producer J.T. Meskiel, who has previously worked with the likes of Lauryn Hill and even Britney Spears. The Resin Dogs go pop? Garvie doesn’t think so, but he and Atkins are looking forward to it whatever comes of it.

“It still hasn’t sunk in,” Andrew says. “The only time it will is when we step off the plane and hit LA. In the mean time, we’re still working on a lot of other projects here.” These projects include a remix album as well as several other surprises. After more than ten years, they’re still working like dogs.

The Resin Dogs continue their exhaustive ‘More’ Australian tour throughout May and June. Get your butt along to a show if you know what’s good for you!

Fri 25th April – Carrington Hotel, Katoomba
Sat 26th April – Groovin’ the Moo, Maitland
Thu 1st May – Sodens, Albury
Fri 2nd May – Prince of Wales, Melbourne
Sat 3rd May – Groovin’ the Moo, Townsville
Sun 4th May – Caxton St Festival, Brisbane
Fri 9th May – Bellingen Memorial Hall, Bellingen
Sat 10th May – Coffs Hotel, Coffs Harbour
Fri 16th May – Republic Bar, Hobart
Sat 17th May – Batman Fawkner, Launceston
Fri 23rd May – Sandbar, Mildura
Sat 24th May – Live on Light Square (formerly Night Train), Adelaide
Wed 28th May – Indie Bar, Scarborough
Thu 29th May – Prince of Wales, Bunbury
Fri 30th May – Settlers Tavern, Margaret River
Sat 31st May – Amplifier Bar, Perth
Thu 5th June – A.N.U Bar, Canberra
Fri 6th June – Manning Bar, Sydney
Fri 13th June – Great Northern, Byron Bay
Sat 14th June – Sands Tavern, Brisbane